El Tarasco is located on 3rd street, a block east of Loma near Downtown Los Angeles. Anthony and I were in search of a tiny cart that appears on 3rd and Crown Hill in the evenings, but it didn’t seem to be there that night. We saw El Tarasco’s Virgin de Guadalupe on its truck side across the street and made our way for a trial.

I ordered two pastor tacos but was informed by the truck owner’s teenage son that they were out. I went with carnitas, buche and lengua.

The carnitas were flavorless, and suprisingly chewey. They had a chicken-like texture, and this was quite disconcerting. Also, the taco was slabbed in salsa verde and guacamole salsa. The mixture of the two salsas did not work well. Overall, they were quite disappointing.

The buche and lingua faired no better- it was chewier than usual. So chewey in fact that I am conviced that the meat was actually pig’s fat. They were cut into strange cubes that were not pretty to the taco-eating eye. The above mentioned, Salsa Verde/Guacamole mixture did not help the situation.

The five tacos, while filled with meat, did not satiate my appetite. Their flavorless and chewy texture actually made me feel quite ill at ease. 10 minutes after ingestion, my stomach began to feel queasy. Plus, the cart didn’t offer Horchata- I had to settle for a can of 7-Up (which was covered in a strange grime). I decided, I needed to save taco-face so Anthony and I headed over to Taco Zone to kill the bad taste in our mouths with real carnitas. I still needed 2 Pepto pills to get through the night.
Beware of El Taracsco.
Summary

Taco Grade: C-
Salsa Grade: (Verde) Hot
Horchata: N/A : (
Price: $1.15

Positives: Good amount of meat in tacos. Full Selection of Tacos (theoretically). Provides beets, pickled onions and peppers, and avocado salsa free of charge.

Negatives: Dirty cart. Overall bad tacos. Ran out of Pastor and Carnitas. Terrible Buche and Lingua. No Horchata, and bottom of Soda cans covered in filth.

One of my favorite late night carts in all of Los Angeles- I’ve seldom been led astray by the tacos at Taco Zone.

At any time of night you’ll see a good mix of Echo Parquians standing in line- from blue collar laborers to hipsters and families. That’s when you know a Taco Truck is a neighborhood staple. The owners are quite friendly and don’t mind orders coming in English (which can be kind of a big deal at some smaller joints and temporary stands).
Taco Zone offers the entire gamut of tacos: carnitas, asada, al pastor, pollo, buche, lingua, cabeza, tripas, and even vegetarian. The carnitas are some of my favorite in the city- as they are flavorful, and slightly crunchy (usually a sign of overcooking-but in this miraculous case it works to an advantage). The asada is always fresh and lean. I’ve yet to try lingua, cabeza and buche here but the tripas was excellent. Like the carnitas, the tripas were cooked deeply and offered a crunchy experience. Coupled with onions, cilantro and some excellent guacamole salsa- you have yourself taco perfection.

The price is right with each taco costing about $1.10 a pop. Soda runs a dollar, but the horchata runs $1.50. That’s a bit expensive for Horchata, especially considering it comes in a medium sized Styrofoam cup. However, it’s certainly not bad- and is worth a sip especially if dousing your tacos in salsa roja. Plus, pico de gallo is available as taco filler- not shabby at all.

Summary

Taco Zone

Rating: A-
Horchata Grade: B
Salsa Roja- Hot.
Positives: Serve full variety of tacos (Carnitas to Buche) and have mulitas, burritos, and quesadillas too. Excellent pastor and carnitas. Solid asada. Vegetarian tacos (beans) for your hippie vegetarian friends. Full salsa control offering red, verde and guacamole flavored salsas.
Negatives: Can be a little slow. Sometimes might not be there.
Price Per Taco: $1.15
Location: Montana and Alvarado in Echo Park (next to Vons).
Hours: 8PM -2 AM Sun-Fri, 8PM-3 AM Sat