As a public service to the taco lifestyle, we have asked famed street gourmet Bill Esparza to drop some taco knowledge in this ground-breaking series we call TACOS 101. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

The Crowd

The universally accepted rule of stands and trucks is that where there’s a crowd, you shall find good tacos. This is more applicable in Mexico where there are full on taco wars, a gaggle of stands all serving carne asada for example. Customers will have established the supremacy of a stand over time. It’s always true that a crowd keeps the tacos fresh, with a higher turnover than a slow stand.

In Los Angeles, a place can sometimes be popular for various reasons, look for the crowd, but look for other indicators of excellence too.

There are a large group of Mexicans standing in line so it must be good? Well, many of the Mexicans standing around were born in the United States, and are Mexican-Americans. Many Mexican-Americans don’t have experience with great tacos, and aren’t aware of Mexican cuisine outside a cursory knowledge. Mexican-Americans are Americans, they love hamburgers, hotdogs, pizza, and Harry Potter, just as much as a non-Latino. There are pockets of Los Angeles that have more recent arrivals from Mexico that carry a little more taco experience. But, never assume someone is a foodie or an expert just because of their heritage.

LA Taco Scene

Los Angeles is flush with taco trucks manned by unskilled taqueros cooking meats on a flat iron, which should be fried, roasted, or steamed. Hog’s maw, chicken, steak, brains, al pastor, tripe, tongue, all from a single taquero cooking  on a flat iron? These aren’t the best practices, and this style of taco doesn’t exist in Mexico. This is a style that has developed in the local Mexican-American community.  No separate money handlers? This is essential for hygiene, and part of a taquero apprentice program where young aspiring taqueros clean, handle money, and prep before learning the finer skills of tacoing. Being a taquero isn’t a job, it’s an occupation requiring training, just like being a chef. Taqueros are specialists. An al pastor man is an al pastor man for life, moving from stand to stand, and taqueria to taqueria.

Salsas at our trucks tend to be bland and often are the same styles everyone else has. Condiments are an afterthought, and the pride and commitment to maintaining a fresh and clean condiment station seems unimportant to many.

Meats are bought for the sole purpose of keeping the cost of the taco at a buck. This means poor quality meats and ingredients. A great taco for most types of tacos in LA isn’t possible at the dollar price point. Our economy is different. In Mexico, even some of these tacos are more than a dollar, but they remain around a dollar due to lower food, employee, and operation costs. Carne asada has to be above two dollars in order to deliver a quality bite here in the United States.

That being said, there are good versions of the Los Angeles style of taco truck here in LA, and they garner a loyal following.

Taco Hunting

For those seeking the best tacos in Los Angeles, the rewards will outweigh the inconveniences. Sure, it’s great to grab a late night taco at a random truck. But, it has been my experience that when presented with the genuine article, most people have a hard time going back. So, let us dive in!

Start with regionalism. There is a certain pride that comes with representing a particular region of Mexico that marks the best stands, trucks, and taquerias. When your taco shop calls out their state or hometown, it’s likely they are making their regional style of tacos. Think small Mexico vs. big Mexico. Tacos Mexico is a sloppy, and bland taqueria chain. There isn’t a taco to represent the entirety of Mexico, like their name, their tacos are generic.  A truck or stand called Tacos Nayarit is better as it refers to a state, but even more specific would be a stand or taqueria named Tacos Acaponeta, named after a city in Nayarit. Mariscos Jalisco, estilo San Juan de Los Lagos, from the highlands of the state of Jalisco, is one of our best tacos in Los Angeles. The reference to their hometown is what brought my attention to this truck. They have a shrimp taco made from a secret recipe brought back from their town. It’s these little things that matter.

Look for specialists, and skilled taqueros. Look for places that observe traditional serving times, like places that do carnitas, or birria in the mornings, or on the weekends only. Any eateries observing Mexico’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner practices are worth a stop. Carnitas at night that are boiled, then fried in the truck are going to be salty, have a stringy texture, and lack in pork flavor.

Some Traditional Tacos in LA

Al Pastor/Adobada-adoboed pork roasted on a vertical spit.

Service-after 6PM until 2AM, or 4AM on weekends.

Region-Best from Mexico City, Puebla, Guanajuato, Yucatan, Baja California, but is done in all states.

Tacos Leo, Mid-City

http://www.streetgourmetla.com/2010/09/tacos-leola-brea-and-venice-tacos-al.html

Barbacoa-Pit roasted lamb and pancita(offal stuffed lamb stomach) served with lamb consommé with chick peas.

Service-Weekend mornings to early afternoon

Region-Best from Hidalgo, Guerrero, Puebla, and the State of Mexico.

Borrego de Oro, but better at underground locations.

http://www.borregodeoro.com/

Birria- Oven roasted or stewed goat, beef, lamb, or other proteins (even seafood), in a sauce of cumin and red chilis.

Service-mornings to early afternoon

Region-Best from Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Michoacan, but prepared in all states.

Flor del Rio, Boyle Heights

http://www.streetgourmetla.com/2010/02/taco-task-forcethe-best-birria-de-chivo.html

Carne Asada-charcoal or mesquite roasted beef.

Service-after 6PM is when the carne asada stands get going,’ til around 2AM, and 4AM on the weekends.

Region-Best from Sonora, Baja California, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Coahuila, generally dominating the northern states.

Mexicali Taco Co., Downtown LA

http://www.streetgourmetla.com/2010/09/for-unlawful-carne-asada-knowledge.html

Carnitas-pork fried in lard, traditionally in a cazo(large copper pot)with various parts.

Service-Mornings to early afternoon, especially on weekends.

Region-Best in Michoacan, Jalisco, Mexico City, Aguascalientes

Tacos Los Guichos, Vernon/Main

http://www.streetgourmetla.com/2011/01/tacos-los-guichoslos-angelesca-mexico.html

Tacos de Guisado-stews and braised meats, seafood,poultry,vegetables,etc.

Service-Mornings to early afternoons during the week.

Region-All over Mexico, but the greatest tradition is in Mexico City.

Tacos Carmelita, MacArthur Park

http://www.streetgourmetla.com/2010/12/tacos-carmelita-mexico-city-risingtacos.html

Tacos de Pescado-tempura battered fried fish

Service-mornings to early afternoon

Region-Baja California, especially Ensenada

Ricky’s Fish Tacos, Silver Lake

http://www.streetgourmetla.com/2009/12/las-best-baja-fish-taco.html

Tacos Dorados de Camaron-deep fried shrimp and vegetable tacos

Service-mornings to early afternoon

Region-Highlands of Jalisco

Mariscos Jalisco, Boyle Heights

http://www.streetgourmetla.com/2008/10/mariscos-jalisconot-just-another.html

Previously: Part 1 / Part 2

One of our favorite publications, Food Safety News, has the scoop on last night’s decision to add letter grades for LA’s flotilla of food trucks:

Los Angeles’ fleet of over 9,000 food trucks, a niche culinary fad gone mainstream in cities across the U.S., will soon be subject to the same food safety rules as restaurants in Los Angeles County.

That means rogue food trucks will have to submit to posting their food safety letter grades. Yesterday, the New York Times called the move perhaps the “ultimate sign that this faddiest of food fads is going mainstream.”

According to the Times, food trucks in LA may soon also have to file route maps with the county health department, ensuring that health inspectors won’t have to check Twitter or Facebook to find the street vendors, who typically retain a level of mystery by sharing their whereabouts via social media.

“As with restaurants, health inspectors will be empowered to shut down a truck that scores less than a C for not enough attention to basic safety and food hygiene practices — for example, dirty counters, food left out, unwashed hands,” according to the Times’ Adam Nagourney.

It sounds like a new level of bureaucracy that may stifle some of the fly-by-night attitude of some of the city’s upstart mobile food vendors, but also that consumers may welcome the added scrutiny. It’s amazing how thousands of taco trucks can operate for decades in the city with little or no mainstream interest, but when a few dozen “new age” trucks come on the scene, the city gets moving.

While all of this may not be an issue if and when East Los Angeles becomes a city, another victory in the Taco Truck Wars against the forces of the Board of Supervisors and their leader Gloria Molina, has been achieved. The AP Reports:

The great Taco Truck Wars of 2008 appear to have come to a close.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said Friday that it won’t appeal a judge’s ruling in August that threw out a law requiring taco truck operators to move every hour or face $1,000 fines and possible jail time.

Phil Greenwald, an attorney for the vendors, praised the prosecutor’s decision.

“After all, they’re not selling porn, they’re not selling drugs, all they’re selling is food,” he told The Associated Press. “Carne asada is not a crime.”

Gloria Molina, Deputy DA Steven Gates and their anti-taco supporters plan to make the taco truck ban a central component of the County Board of Supervisors fall term. The AP reports:

“All there is to say right now is that we have filed a motion for reconsideration, requesting that the court reconsider its previous ruling,” said Deputy District Attorney Steven Gates. He declined to discuss the basis of Monday’s appeal but said the county requested a hearing Sept. 19.
“We will definitely oppose,” said attorney Philip C. Greenwald, who represents the taco truck drivers.

As we told you last month, the battle has been won but the war is on and getting hotter then ever. Taco lifestylers must be ready to defend the Taqueros of East LA and other unincorporated areas of the city at a moment’s notice. We know we can count on the readers of LA TACO to do the right thing and oppose Molina and her minions. Fight on!

Hola taqueros around the world and welcome to this week’s taco news update, with hot taco news action from all over. Did you know that the taco lifestyle has moved up to the #4 most popular alternative lifestyle in the USA! We’re now just behind “Fetish” and ahead of “Motorcycle”, which is a huge step forward for our movement. So get out there and eat some tacos, spread the word, and keep the taco lifestyle going strong.

MODESTO: When is a Taco Truck Not a Taco Truck?
FREY: Author Says Angelenos Consume 250 Tacos Per Year
WINE: Food Pairing– Coastal Chardonnay and Fish Tacos
THE OC: Best Al Pastor in San Juan Capistrano?
SAN DIEGO: Great Fish Tacos at Petco Park
NEBRASKA: Cristinas– Tasty Mexican in Lincoln
BOARDS: Best Tacos in San Diego? Have Your Say

PHOTO CREDIT: “Taco Truck All Stars, East Oakland” by Anarchosyn

The cartoon above is by Al Guerrero, one of our city’s up-and-coming cartoonists and a blogger at our new favorite site laeastsise.com. We also heard from our pals at York Blvd. who send along a “Save the Taco Trucks” online petition: www.saveourtacotrucks.org.

Meanwhile, our poll results are overwhelming– 88% of our readers, who represent a cross section of the taco lifestyle, are against Gloria Molina’s anti-taco truck law. So, vote in the poll, sign the petition, visit the pro-taco truck sites above.

After passing anti-taco truck legislation last night, the Board of Supervisors must now contend with mobile Taqueros who say they’ll resist the new ordinance. The Los Angeles Times has the following quotes in today’s edition:

They can try to move us, but we’re not going to go,” said Aleida De La Cruz, whose taco truck has been a family business for 20 years. “What are they going to do, take us all to jail?”

“I don’t think it’s a crime to sell tacos for a cheaper price than the established business,” truck owner Eugenio Sanchez told supervisors. “And the people are happy to see us because they say, ‘Finally, we have someone selling tacos.’ ”

There must be a reasonable balance between restaurants and taco trucks. We, the taco consumers are caught in the crossfire of this pointless war, and we call on the parties at hand to save the taco trucks! Sure, it’s no good when a mobile Taquero shows up right outside a taco shop, but there must be a better way to regulate things than this draconian measure, causing popular trucks to move every hour, wasting gasoline, hurting the environment and contributing to traffic problems. We call on the county leaders to think about the war they’ve started and to immediately seek a better solution.

The Los Angeles Times weighs in on the simmering debate over mobile taco wagons, commonly known as taco trucks, in East Los Angeles. The story frames the debate as one of vendors (taco trucks) versus merchants (restaurants). Featuring quotes from both vendors and merchants stating their cases, the story is light on the opinions of the people who matter most– the customers. Followers of the taco lifestyle, please let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Are taco trucks an illegitimate threat to traditional taco shops? Should taco trucks be forced to scurry around the city, changing position every hour? Vote below, then comment on this post.

The battle for Los Angeles’ Taco Truck providers heated up on Tuesday night as several taco truck operators stormed the council floor in order to bring a real debate to the staid chamber. According to the Pasadena Star News‘ intrepid city reporter Alison Hewitt:

A county ordinance targeting food vending trucks took some heat Tuesday when a couple dozen truck owners and their lawyer came to the Board of Supervisors meeting to oppose it.

The supervisors had given the ordinance tentative approval last week. But after the vendors’ protested Tuesday, the supervisors put off a final vote, which now could take place next week.

One vender vowed to sue the county unless changes are made to the proposed ordinance.

Specifically, the vendors oppose a 60-minute time limit on parking at one location, even though current county law prohibits such trucks from staying for more than 30 minutes in one spot. The vendors said 60 minutes is still not long enough.

Even worse, they said, was a provision that makes it a misdemeanor to park beyond the time limit. Now, county law calls only for citations for lagging lunch trucks.

The group’s attorney charged that the ordinance, as written, would not hold up in court.

County supervisors arranged an impromptu information session for the apprehensive truck owners, but their lawyer was barred from the session.