I drove down Venice blvd the other day and saw a truck called Ruben’s in front of the Smart & Final at Clarington Ave. It looked exactly like the Ruben’s Taco truck that is at Santa Monica Blvd and Gateway, so the first thing I asked the girl taking my order was if they still had the Santa Monica Blvd location. Yeah they still had it. They had two trucks now, she said. Cool, I said, and I ordered tacos (asada, al pastor).
Ruben’s is one of the few taco trucks on the Westside that has an al pastor spit. But because there’s not much competition on the Westside they never really have it in action. Yes, the pork is on the rotating spit, but that seems just for show; the al pastor is always griddled. On this night the spit wasn’t even turned on, and the pork for my al pastor came out of a container and was crisped up on the grill.
asada and al pastor $1 each
The tacos could be better here and it’s obvious they take short cuts with everything from the meat to the tortillas, but with the salsas they don’t fuck around. You’ll probably want to cover your plate with the red onion, radish, and cucumber salsa, and if you like spice then skip the roja and go with the salsa verde.
There were a few people in line when a man rode up on a bicycle and shouted, “Hey, what can I get for five dollars?” The people in line turned around but no one answered him. Everyone just looked at him like he was the most unhip (and rudest) person in all of LA. After a few minutes the man on the bicycle yelled, “nothing? nothing for five dollars?” and then rode off angry. What a pendejo. Even my mom knows five dollars at a taco truck in LA will get you three tacos con todo and a soda.
3/5
Ruben's Tacos
10113 Venice Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90034
tacos $1 each
Rate Ruben's Tacos
As someone who lives nearby this truck, I have to say I think your 3 rating is a little generous. I think 2.5 is the most you can give this place, just b/c they so obviously skimp on everything. I'd give it a 2 myself. Even the pictures of their items are incredibly misleading. They have a couple dishes like a crispy taco and nachos that just aren't anything like what is pictured. I I think I tried pretty much everything this truck has, just in hopes that I'd find something that I liked at a taco truck within walking distance, but I eventually gave up on it, because it felt like I was getting screwed over in some way every time I went there.
ReplyDeletemaybe a little generous but i really like the salsa verde
ReplyDeleteNever going to eat there again got three crisp chicken tacos last night gross chicken half gristle cartliledge very little meat. A rip off
ReplyDelete