Since starting this blog over 5 years ago the taco truck I have been emailed the most about hands down is Taco Zone in Echo Park. I tried Taco Zone several years ago, and I thought the tacos were good but not great. But the emails keep coming and I’ve been wondering if I was missing something, or if there was just a massive hipster factor playing into Taco Zone’s incredible popularity.
I got there just as locals were queuing up. The line was about 10 deep but it moved quickly, and orders came out of the window at a decent pace. An interesting collage of stickers on the taco wagon gave it some character. Taco Zone really does embody the local flavor of Echo Park and Silverlake. There was a steady flow of patrons; hipsters mixed in with 9 to 5’ers mixed in with local thugs. Now and then a random vagrant would walk up and ask everyone for change.
al pastor
I ordered suadero, carne asada, al pastor and garnished my tacos with onions, cilantro, and salsa. I sampled a bit of meat from each taco and I couldn’t tell the difference between them. I went for the taco with the avocado salsa first. I figured it was either carne asada or suadero. After the first bite, I still couldn’t tell, but the salsa was excellent and it didn’t much matter. The coolness of the avocado, the piquant heat from the chile, and the vibrant flavor masqueraded the weakness of the meat. Was it suadero? Asada? I didn’t care anymore.
I dug into another taco but still couldn't tell. The meat was so dry it didn't taste like much of anything. The only flavors were the excellent salsa roja and the onions and cilantro. The salsa roja had good heat with a peppery blend of multiple chiles putting the homemade horchata to good use. The last of the tacos ended up being al pastor, but it wasn’t very good al pastor, and not even the salsa could save it. It wasn’t the worst al pastor I’ve had in LA but I think it might make the line-up.
This stretch of Alvarado is a traffic nightmare and I wouldn’t advise any taco hound to attempt the journey. For the taco explorer who wonders about the taco truck with 290 Yelp reviews and an average rating of 4.5 stars my advice is not to fall for the temptation. The reward is minimal, no matter how many hipsters light up your email telling you to try the suadero.
2.5/5
Alvarado & Montana
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Echo Park
tacos $1.25 each
Rate Taco Zone
Oh Bandini Tacogini I couldn't agree with you more. It's the same with Tito's and Yuca in my opinion. There is some other magical hip/buzz factor that has NOTHING to do with the quality of the food which is mediocre at best, Maybe there is a 'Taco Spell' we don't know that draws people to 'meh' places. I hate mystery meat!
ReplyDeleteThe only think worth eating at taco zone is their Chorizo tacos or quesadillas. Everything else is meh and I would rather drive up a few blocks to the truck on Sunset/Alvardo. Much better flavor.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Salsas are all excellent but all the meats are uniformly bland. I live 2 minutes away but drive out to La Estrella on York when I want tacos. I hope the nice ladies who run taco zone read this and improve their offerings!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I went a few years back and couldn't understand the enthusiasm. But then again, there's Angelenos aplenty who won't venture (for whatever reason) further east than Echo Park, and even more who won't go THAT far east, so they just don't know anything better exists. I know Valley types who don't know anything east of Warner Center. Fortunately, I'm just north of Highland Park and am blessed with some of the city's best tacos. And am ready to take a field trip to East LA in search of taco heaven at a moment's notice. Is that you calling, Los Cinco Puntos? :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, even though great tacos exist all over this town, many of those trucks/restaurants are in areas that many folks are kind of a-skeered to venture into, which is a shame in at least a few regards.
Yeah, I went a few years back and couldn't understand the enthusiasm. But then again, there's Angelenos aplenty who won't venture (for whatever reason) further east than Echo Park, and even more who won't go THAT far east, so they just don't know anything better exists. I know Valley types who don't know anything east of Warner Center. Fortunately, I'm just north of Highland Park and am blessed with some of the city's best tacos. And am ready to take a field trip to East LA in search of taco heaven at a moment's notice. Is that you calling, Los Cinco Puntos? :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, even though great tacos exist all over this town, many of those trucks/restaurants are in areas that many folks are kind of a-skeered to venture into, which is a shame in at least a few regards.
Oh Bandini Tacogini I couldn't agree with you more. It's the same with Tito's and Yuca in my opinion. There is some other magical hip/buzz factor that has NOTHING to do with the quality of the food which is mediocre at best, Maybe there is a 'Taco Spell' we don't know that draws people to 'meh' places. I hate mystery meat!
ReplyDeleteThe only think worth eating at taco zone is their Chorizo tacos or quesadillas. Everything else is meh and I would rather drive up a few blocks to the truck on Sunset/Alvardo. Much better flavor.
ReplyDeleteThis post sucks. It has only been a hipster paradise since they tried to shut down trucks a few years back. This place is on the way for me and I used to eat here all the time as far back as 7 year ago. They suadero, al pastor and chorizo are top notch. The slasas are delicious. Don't let hipster hate steer you wrong on this place. It's been serving up the goods for years. I eat at a lot of trucks and to give this a 2.5 is tragic from such a respected taco truck blog. I guess everyone can have a bad day blogging.
ReplyDelete