Photo by Travis Pratt Jerk-style tacos served with sweet plantains and fried yucca are available at El Sloppy Tacos in Brunswick.

Previous tenants included three bars and an Asian food restaurant. No problem with the Asian food place, it was the three bars before it that had an off-limits sign with my name on it.

El Sloppy Tacos, however, brings a breath of fresh air, and hopefully, a pleasant reputation for future diners.

My girlfriend and I chose the lunch hour for our meal. We were the only ones there at the time. No surprise there since a substantial part of the population in the city either commutes to work, either on the MARC train to Washington, or drives out of the area.

Entering my former forbidden zone, I was impressed by the change. The new owners have given the place a nice makeover.

New wood floors have been put in, new lighting has been installed and gone are the pool tables which, during the building's former bar days, were standard equipment.

The ordering format of El Sloppy Tacos is simple. You go in, pick your seat, go up to the counter, place your order, pay for it and wait for your food to be brought to your table.

I'm not a big lunch-eater so I chose, from a simple but impressive menu, a hard-shelled taco. More specifically, I chose the Barbacoa, Tinga Porloana, Jerk-Style Taco. A combo meal is offered, but I chose the single taco.

It contained shredded Chuck Eye beef, marinated in special sauce for 24 hours. Throw in grilled peppers, onion and shredded romaine lettuce and it was time for me to eat.

Taking a chance, I added a few drops of Mexican hot sauce. Not too much hot sauce though. My stomach is not that strong.

What I got out of it was an impressive taco. Not a whole lot, just the right amount for lunch time. Easy to handle, too, nothing dribbling. But there are tacos on the menu which do just that, hence the name of the restaurant.

My girlfriend wasn't very hungry so she opted for a basket of chips and salsa, which we shared. The salsa was mild. Coming off even the small amount of hot sauce, I wanted to be careful. Too much spicy stuff tends to revisit a person at inopportune times.

We chose sodas, regular and diet, as our beverages for lunch. The owners kept checking back with us to see how we liked our food. That's what I like, when an establishment keeps checking back with its clients during the meal.

There's much more on the menu at El Sloppy Tacos than just tacos. Ribs and chicken are on that list. A complete menu is on their website (www.elsloppytacos.com)

Clean-up is pretty-much do-it-yourself. Return the trays to a location near the front door and dispose of napkins and disposable baskets properly.

There is a bring your own bottle policy in force at El Sloppy Tacos. Management says it will keep the beverages cold for clients.

But management stresses clients must act responsibly when providing their own drinks. There was a time when previous clients in the buildings' history did not do this.

It's too soon in El Sloppy Tacos' brief history to make a judgement on how it will fare in comparison to its predecessors. From my view, though, it's off to a good start.

In Good Taste reports on an unannounced dining experience and is not meant to be a critical review.