Clearly, Oliver Stone has been into the taco lifestyle for some time now. The Doors starring Val Kilmer was released in 1991. His next film is W.

Our tireless friends at SaveOurTacoTrucks.org have declared May 1 to be Taco night, a night to support your local taco truck (especially in the unincorporated areas such as East Los) and show the power of the taco lifestyle. Visit the site to sign the petition or other action items that will connect you to Gloria Molina and other anti-taco supervisors.

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.

Bookstore shelves practically sag under the weight of every tome published on the art of graffiti. Nothing tells the story as beautifully or fully as the epic Graffiti L.A., released last year by author and photographer Steve Grody, who has been shooting walls in Nuestra Señora since 1990. The full color pictures are stunning, while Grody details the basics of the art form for the curious, simultaneously exalting it as the important evolution in painting that it is. He also gives voice to some of the city’s best to speak for themselves on long-ranging debates about style, technique, mediums, and what makes an artist a graf artist. Plus, it finally gives L.A. writers the props for pioneering, innovation, and progression that is deserved.

Bravo Mr. Grody, we can’t wait to see what’s next. And we gotta know, what’s your favorite taco?

Steve Grody: “Thanks for the support! Though it’s hardly an obscure spot, Senor Fish at 1st and Alameda is a regular save-my-ass when I”m hungry place. I most often get the seafood burrito, but also the seafood quesadilla or omelet.”

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.

Tacos el Carnal 1 & 2 ~ Alameda St. & The Santa Monica Freeway

Orale Tacos El Carnal #2!! What’s cookin’ good lookin’? Cuban and Hawaiian sandwiches, huaraches, sopes, desayuno, burgers, tortas, cemitas poblanas…Mmmmnnn, sounds like my kind of girl; Flexible. Talented. And multi-faceted too. Plus, she’s got an attractive friend, El Carnal #1, right next to her. She just likes to watch, I gather.

This colorful truck is slanging tacos mostly to truckers driving into the lot to bust a stream of diesel into their tanks. When I approached it from afar, it was settin’ there by its lonesome, wondering why nobody could appreciate a lady with so much to offer. I locked my eyes on and scanned the goods. But yes, they had none of their listed birria and no suadero, so I stuck to the same ole, same ole pastor, asada, carnitas routine. There was a long list of taco meats available though. Some of which I bet they have on occasion.

I liked the carnitas a lot. It was not a traditional stewed, wet carnitas, just marinated, sliced, roasted pork mingling with cilantro, cebolla, and salsa roja. The tacos are little dudes, but full of generous chopped cuts of meat, and a slightly fried outer tortilla adds a lot of flavor and texture to the experience. The carnitas were extremely soft, offering no resistance as they crumbled in my maw, and the salsa is fairly spicy. This is exactly what I wanted to be eating at the time. You know that feeling?

The pastor came exactly like I likes it. It is crunchy. A crunch-fest! Captain Crunch should land and colonize its ass. It also has a lightly charred taste. The pastor’s flavors are deep, sometimes zesty, sometimes mildly tasting of tomatoes and adobo. These pastor tacos were so rindy, chewing them only squeezes out more flavor as they condense like miniature sponges under your teeth. A divine texture if crackily pastor floats your boat. You also get a lemon AND a lime to flavor your food.

Now for the bad news, Carnal. The asada disappointed me. Hey, trust me, I didn’t want it to, we were in it together really, but it just couldn’t hold its end of the deal. Gray, dry cubes peeked out from my tortillas and I wondered if I hadn’t got some lengua or buche slipped in my shite. The asada was flavorless and the consistency was a turn-off. Just boring. There might not be a second date on that one. Also, the horchata can be skipped. It looked homemade, coming out of one of those giant glass beehives, but the taste of powder rules the watery cup of tame sweetness.

But hell, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad and Tacos El Carnal hits the bullseye with its carnitas and pastor, which take more expertise anyway. I would definitely recommend hitting El Carnal when and if you’re downtown and leaving or entering the Fwy. They seem to have something for everyone, as evidenced by our Cuban brothers who took over the taco train riding on El Carnal’s fragile frame as I was leaving. Que bola man? It ain’t no fun unless we all get some!