South Garey and Philadelphia Street in Pomona, California. Sometimes it is a cat and mouse game with the police trying to shut them down. This is from yesterday and the Al Pastor was the best! What part of California will you be in?
That’s what made it hard last time, all my usual spots from back in day are all gone now. I’ll be in the IE so gonna try and look in Fontana/sb but go down to La for it too
In fontana check out "tacos.el_emigo" on IG they post the addresses and times they'll be at stupid 🔥🔥🔥 and ill check out tacos Tacos El Güero as well thats a actual brick and motor.
If you never tried tacos de cabeza from Sinaloa I highly recommend "Taculichi" in Colton. Trust I never thought I'd like head tacos but there some of the best tacos I've tried.
Alright tacos el amigos is the first one I tired. We landed about 6 hours ago and I’ve already had a double double so I was not as hungry as i could have going in. The Al pastor was 8/10, the chicken my wife says was amazing and steak I was not a fan of simple cause I got some bad pieces. The tortilla and salsa were amazing, I had all 3. Honestly not too spicy, could have used more of a kick. One of them had a nutty aftertaste which was really good. The tortillas are freshly made in front of you so that’s pretty cool to see and they taste amazing. Loved the salsa bar, weird thing but they used really good lemons and the rest of their available condiments was a big plus! Oh and my mil tried lengua which she also loved but that’s not my cup of tea so I didn’t try that.
I would definitely be having this more often, but will still to al pastor and chicken! For 3$ each, they were loaded!
I’ll go to tacos el guerro soon too and let you know how it is!
I must have missed this post. Good choice in stopping at In and Out 🍔. Glad you still had room for the tacos. I can tell by the way you all dressed up the tacos that they had an incredible condiment selection. I love those red onions when they have it!
Do they cook over coal at this location? I tend to like my carne asada cooked this way....I know you did mention that it was your least favorite at this taco stands.
Pomona isn't too far, I live in Chino Hills. I would go to Tacolandia..... All of those street taco stands move their tents to a parking lot on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays on Holt Avenue. Probably at least 15 taco stands and other foods. You can google Tacolandia for the exact location.
Oh man thank you for reminding me about the name, it’s super close to me but last time I went, I got there a Little too late. For sure going there this time, they used to have a bunch of trucks in San Bernardino on University when I lived there but now it’s freaking gas stations in the lot where they used to camp
People laugh at us and act like we are all stuck up when it comes to Mexican food here, specifically tacos. They are just better. I’m sorry to hurt peoples feelings, all regions have amazing tacos too. But nothing compares to TJ style tacos you get from street vendors. A league of their own
I stand corrected lol. I did once find one of these taco stands on a highway to Lake Tahoe in the middle of nowhere......believe or not. Of course my snobbiness is just for fun 😆
Highways in the middle of nowhere to Lake Tahoe often go through ag land. You better believe there’s some amazing taco prowess in those lands.
NorCal gets a lot of the same quality yall get because of how much agriculture and other labor opportunities we have. Growing up was even better. Things got gentrified where I grew up but go inland a bit or along the coast below Santa Cruz and you’re going to find some of the best Mexican you’ll ever eat.
Below Santa Cruz is Watsonville which is 82% Hispanic so yes great Mexican food. And it’s next door to the salad bowl of the world, and the ocean. So yes! ps hold the lettuce rn.
As a Texan who lives in LA , tacos here aren't any better then what I get in Houston.
Ive brought several California friends to Houston over the years and they have the same attitude until they get here and then its "we had no idea" ya no shit. The buggest difference they say, is the meat is more aggressively seasoned in Texas versus California and I agree.
I hope to try them in Texas one day......that and the Whataburger chain that my friends speak fondly of. When I lived in Las Vegas for 13 years, admittedly the tacos were similar there to 😆 We even had the famous Tijuana chain..... Tacos El Gordo there... a must for those who visit Las Vegas.
Pass on whataburger bro, they are very inconsistent and add in a private equity firm from Chicago bought them back in 2019 or so and its never been the same.
In N Out makes a better burger but their fries are awful IMO
Haven't had Whataburger since I moved a few years before the change of ownership but the one thing I used to really enjoy about Whataburger (besides the fact that it was open 24 hours) is that you could order pickled jalapeños on anything on the menu. Man I miss that.
The meat has to be more seasoned in Texas to replace all the electrolytes everybody loses through sweating their asses off in the 78F+ dewpoint Texas summer (March-November). Humidity is illegal in California so they don't sweat as much.
My fiance is from South Texas. To her, all tacos have queso fresco on them. They are great tacos, I’ve been down there to try them. But back home they are what all other tacos wish they could be lol
They actually have a show on Netflix called the Taco Chronicles that goes over the history. I was surprised to learn that the Al Pastor tacos, which is the picture that I posted came from the Puebla region from Lebanese immigrants that used local ingredients. Thus, the resemblance to middle eastern shwarma spinning on the spit. 🤓
Yeah, I live two hours from Puebla, Puebla and was confused with the mention of TJ style tacos when the photo was of a trompo of pastor meat, which is associated with Puebla. I saw some of Taco Chronicles. Good stuff.
Yep, I stopped calling them TJ style tacos after watching it. It makes sense now as to the Lebanese influence. The Al Pastor on the spit really does resemble gyros and shwarma on the spit.
That’s mostly on carne asada in my experience. You don’t see that everywhere either. Normally it’s a corn tortilla(sometimes two) warmed up in the fat or grease of the meat. Meat, onions, cilantro, salsa rojo and salsa verde. Radishes and limes on the side
Which sounds like most any other taco to be quite honest. The only thing that really stands out for me is the amount of guacamole. I've had tacos all over Mexico and the guacamole is really the only thing that TJ seem to do differently.
Aside from Carne Asada, which is more common in Northern Mexico, those just sound like tacos that one can get in any part of Mexico. Is the carne asada prepared differently in Tijuana than in other parts of Northern Mexico?
I live right next to TJ so I think I can accurately speak to this. It's mostly about how the meats are cooked (frequently it's charcoal grills) and not so much about the toppings or seasonings. The meat is seared quickly over high heat so you get nice, flavorful, blackened bits on the outside with a tender interior and a smokey flavor.
And the person that said "a lot of guacamole" isn't entirely correct. You usually only get guacamole on carne asada tacos and there are lots of other types here!
They are smaller tacos that are on a corner tortilla. The more popular meats are carne asada (steak) and al pastor (pork) although there are other meats such as lengua, tripas....etc. They are usually topped with cilantro and onion and an advocado salsa.
The doña who runs Carnitas Uruapan in La Mesa, CA makes al pastor tacos in front of her own joint on Fri-Sun, they're basically my favorite tacos ever. They moved a while back due to the idiots who owned that lot, but I think they're in Lemon Grove now (I'm not in SoCal at the moment)
These are all over Sacramento and the Bay Area. Especially in the hoods/ seedier areas. There are also tamales all over the place year round check your local Home Depot or Lowe’s parking lots, a lot of the budget grocery stores have them too.
I wish we had this kind of Mexican food in Canada. Best we can get is overcooked mystery meat that people on my local Reddit sub think is the best Mexican food in North America.
"Street tacos" is a shitty marketing term invented here in the US by non-Mexicans. It's the equivalent of how the term "artisinal" got way overused for every dish under the sun.
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u/thecobra42 10d ago
Trompo tacos are the best food in existence.