Guns and Tacos

Taqueria el Taconazo

September 2nd, 2009 in Tacos! by Jay | 4 responses

Stylin.

Since the section of Irvington with all the tacos apparently can’t be found intentionally, I had to purposely get lost in the area in order to find it.  I didn’t have a taco stand in mind, but the idea was to find a whole block of taco joints and just pick one particular truck.

Since I hate getting lost, I got a friend of mine to pick me up in his car so he could deal with the frustration of getting lost instead, while I pretended to navigate.

I came across a small stand called Taqueria el Taconazo.  Wow!  I mean, most taco trucks call themselves Taqueria de “Some place in Mexico?”, but somebody had the eggs to call their stand Taqueria el Taconazo.

"And I shall call it, TAQUERIA TACONAZO. "

That’s like, Tacos from the Land of All  Tacos or something.

There was another taco truck directly across the street that had 99 cent tacos. I would have gone there instead but admittedly, I was intrigued by the Taconazo name.

There was something really intriguing about this stand- it had a picture on the front that stated, “Tacos de Trompo”, with a familiar photograph of the method al pastor was served in my old Tijuana running grounds. I recalled this Houston Press article I read in 2006 by Robb Walsh all about tacos de trompo, where he explains the cooking method.

Tacos de Trompo. Only found in Mexico.

“Trompo is the Spanish word for the child’s toy we call a top. In the parlance of taquerias, a trompo is a stout metal skewer loaded up with strips of marinated pork cut in a rounded shape. The meat is narrow at the bottom and gets thicker higher up, forming the shape of a top. When the trompo revolves on a vertical roaster, the pork is cooked on the outside edges. When you order a taco, the cooked meat is shaved off, then grilled until it’s crispy. It’s then used to make tacos al pastor (a.k.a. tacos de trompo) and other treats. At least, that’s the way it’s supposed to be.” –Robb Walsh

In this article, he also explains why “tacos de trompo” has been deemed illegal by the Health Department. So even though the tacos al pastor may not be carved from this magnificent meat display, the picture on the front of the taco stand says it sure as hell does.

It’s kind of like a jewelry store having a poster on the window that says, “We Now Carry Blood Diamonds”. You know blood diamonds are probably bad, but you secretly want one or two, although you generally don’t really like diamonds anyway.

That was a really bad analogy. Anyhow, the real reason tacos de trompo are not allowed by the health department is, the health department’s objective is to shut down taco trucks. This is nothing new.

My amigo ordered tortas. “This is a taco stand, what are you thinking?” I asked.

“I’m a real Mexican, so I can order whatever I want”, he explained logically.

I ordered two brisket tacos (“bisteka”), two tacos al pastor, and two fajita tacos. Since I’m currently a Level 2 tacomaster, I went ahead and ordered a lime Jarrito soda while everyone around stared in awe at my sound judgment and impeccable taste.

I keep coming across the same type of red salsa in this part of town.  It has an oil base and a smoky taste. It’s good, but it’s not particularly spicy. I like the smoky flavor, but the taste can be overbearing if you really overload your taco with it.

The green salsa was disappointing, and didn’t have much bite to it at all, which in my opinion is the whole point of using the green stuff.

The al pastor was good, but not great. It was heavy on the paprika as expected, and had a savory flavor that went well with the smoky red salsa.

The fajita was the best of the three, and I loved it.  Norteamericanos  in general tend to put a big emphasis on tender meat, but when it comes to tacos, I like the chewy, gristly stuff that puts hair on your chest, peckerwood.

The torta was another story. Although I didn’t order one myself, my buddy’s torta was PACKED with meat, and looked absolutely amazing. Next time, I’ll be getting the fajita torta.

A preview of the Level 3 Tacomaster beverage: Jarritos Tamarindo.