The Taco Truck Nextdoor

Some time a few months ago, a Mexican/El Savadorean food truck, Tacos El Torito, started showing up just outside the community that I lived in. At first, it was only a few days a week but lately, I've walked past it every day that I can remember.

I told myself that at some point, when the lines weren't quite so long, I would go try the place out. The pictures on the truck looked good but I wasn't sure that the food was worth the wait. As it happened today, I was out looking for food and the truck was there with no lines!

The Menu

While many items on the menu look like standard Hispanic fare, Beef Tongue Tacos and gasp Cow's Head Tacos will raise some anxiety with your typical non-foodie. The prices are very reasonable for Arlington, Virginia and I was already hungry at the time.

The Food

I am generally a daredevil when it comes to food but as the truck now seems to be a permanent fixture in the neighborhood, I decided to start conservative -- I ordered two Tacos al Pastor and two Tacos de Carne Asada. They were ready within 5 minutes, neatly packed in a Styrofoam box with a small cup of green hot sauce.

The tacos use corn tortillas topped with generous sprinklings of cilantro and onion. Several wedges of lime and cucumber accompany the tacos and it's definitely good to have them in there. The filling seems to be precooked and heated up on a very hot griddle. Both the steak and the pork were coarsely chopped more than well-done but still very tender. The pork had hints of garlic and ancho peppers while the steak tasted of a simple lime marinade. Unsurprisingly, I preferred the steak as the rich, meaty flavors steak didn't need a whole lot of boosting to taste great.

The Verdict

The tacos were very good. The tortilla was less fragrant than I expected, as a well toasted (or better yet, grilled) corn tortilla can be a treat on its own. These must've been a mix of corn and flour as they held up very well structurally as I was stuffing the tacos into my face. The meat was also a bit on the greasy side but in the age of carbs-bad, fat-good, who the f**k cares? In fact, the accompaniment of those lime and cucumber slices were perfect in cutting through the fat and letting your taste buds take a breather before scarfing down the next taco.

Though these aren't the best tacos I've had by a long shot, I would definitely go back to this truck again... and again... and again. The greasy street-food nature of it gives the food a homey and comforting feel and the next time I stop by, I'll make sure to have a nice cold Mexican beer, like Dos Equis, in the fridge waiting for me.

Edit: For those in Arlington, the truck is usually parked around N Glebe and Pershing, outside Glebe Market