Horray, Triumph for Taco Trucks

A Los Angeles County Judge overturned the unpopular ordinance regarding taco truck parking. I acknowledge that taco trucks may have lower costs and could be driving brick and mortar businesses out, but that's what competition is all about. Plus I would rather get a meal at a truck than many of the so-called taqueiras. Regarding the claims that taco trucks create noise and trash, I haven't seen it personally so I can't speak to that.

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-me-tacos28-2008aug28,0,2873228.story?track=rss

A Taco You Don't Need to Catch

El Super Taco
Corner of Pico and Sawtelle
Los Angeles, CA 90189
$1.25 per taco

El Super Taco is basically a sedentary taco truck. The food is the same as you can get from any of the many mobile eateries around LA. Meat choices include carne asada, pollo, chorizo, lengua, cabeza, tripe, al pastor, and a few others I can't remember off the top of my head. The tacos are cheap, three or four make a good meal. The salsa bar had many choices, including a refreshing avocado based salsa thinner than guacamole and a formidable habanero salsa.



I ordered three tacos: carnitas, cabeza and lengua. To be honest, the cabeza and lengua looked good, but tasted pretty similar, just chewy beef. The carnitas was sadly dry and plain. I can make better carnitas than that and I can hardly be considered a Mexican cook. Dry carnitas are just about the worst kind of meat there is. The bland pork almost feels like it's leaching flavor from anything else you put it next to, a kind of flavor abyss or blackhole. Luckily a little bit of salsa made it bearable. Next time I will try the torta though. I'll still prefer a random truck to this place, although the parking is useful.

Cuando Vuelo, Vuelo a la Paloma Selestial

Paloma Selestial
Somewhere around Pico & Overland
$1.25 a taco

On the opposite spectrum of my Comme ça lunch, I went to my first taco truck the other day. Considerably cheaper, as reflected in the facilities, I think both are equal in terms of value to cost ratio. I'm paying less and getting less in terms of service and ambiance, but the food is still quality tasty. Now I know, being the food lover that I am, it's a great shame I have only just recently gone to a taco truck. I like to talk big about how I like food all along the price spectrum, but up until now, I just never found it convenient to go to a taco truck. I know where several are parked, but they've never been a destination in themselves rather than a convenience at best. Now I know better, a good taco truck is worth checking out.

Several months ago, the tacos were only $1 each. But seeing as how gas prices are outrageous, I suppose an extra $.25 per taco at a mobile kitchen is reasonable. I have a healthy appetite and four tacos were filling without weighing me down. I opted for the carne asada, lengua, cabeza and al pastor tacos. To be honest, when they came all on one plate, I was hard-pressed to distinguish between them. All come with cilantro and onions, but two had salsa and two had guacamole. Al pastor is a roasted pork rotisserie similar to a Middle-Eastern Shawarma . Lengua is beef tongue, very high in fat and chewy. Cabeza is meat served from the roasted head of a cow. I'm not sure what parts of the head, but I'll just leave it at that. Sometimes it's better not to ask.

Paloma Selestial means Celestial Dove, but I'd be hard pressed to figure out what makes this truck celestial or dove-like. It looks like all the other catering trucks, which are under new legislation that seems to have little effect, so you might have to look around to find it. It's usually next to the Pep Boys, so you can use that as a reference point.