Keep On Truckin’ is BDCwire’s epicurean summer food truck column. Every Tuesday, we showcase the best four-wheel fares roaming the streets and attracting lines of cultish foodies.
Sometimes I like to think back to a time before Korean met tacos and this whole idea of mobile gourmet dining experiences. When late night eating meant scurrying to the 7-11 on the corner of your street or hitting up one of the city’s finest taco trucks. As a Los Angeles native, some of my favorite meals came off the feisty, off-white loncheros, also known as ‘roach coaches,’ that have crawled the construction sites and bustling street spaces in Hollywood and Highland Park. It’s no secret, in Los Angeles, great Mexican food can be had, day or night, for very little money, from somewhere within walking distance.
That’s not the case here in Boston. I know too many people that qualify Boloco as Mexican, and I’m sorry, but boneless buffalo chicken wrapped in a wheat tortilla is not a burrito. Anyways, before I was about to succumb to the notion that I probably won’t find a decent carnitas taco to suffice my craving, I discovered The Taco Truck.
We’ve all seen the bright orange rig rolling down Boylston or surrounded by a horde of people at the SoWa open market, and for good reason. The Taco Truck provides succulent tacos, tortas, and quesadillas that a city like LA runs on, but here on the east coast for deprived Bostonians.
Inspired by the flavors of the small taquerías and taco carts that the owners encountered in their time spent in Southern California and Mexico over the years, the tacos from The Taco Truck are wide, yawning affairs, overflowing with citrus-laced chicken or barbacoa braised beef, thick with salsa and freshly chopped white onions – the unmistakable mix of salty beef, always fresh off the plancha, and zippy salsa plus a couple of warm, soft tortillas will keep The Taco Truck in the Beantown taco lexicon for years to come.
With help from critically acclaimed chef and Mexican food purveyor, Chef Roberto Santibanez, The Taco Truck has crafted a straightforward menu with undoubted authenticity. There is something to satiate everyone at The Taco Truck, from the dedicated taco eater to the wary taco truck newcomer. Others may opt for the carnitas, a version which may have no rank with porky purists, but is served warm, tender, and overflowing with juices for the rest of us. These are hearty tacos, meant to satisfy.
For the overindulgent, the plantos fritos – fried sweet plantains drizzled with crema and lightly dusted with sugar – and churros are the perfect counterpoint to the fiery flavors abound.
Catch The Taco Truck on Boylston at the Boston Public Library, at SoWa open market, or at their new brick and mortar location in Harvard Square.
[Photo Cred: Taylor Wojick]
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