In my experience, most taco trucks aren’t worth blogging about. It’s not that I feel like I am too good for them or that they aren’t interesting, but in most cases I have found that they all taste pretty much the same. This is not true of Tacos El Gallito. I stopped by here one night with no plans to blog, but just hoping to get a decent taco. Instead, I had one of my most legendary LA nights and wound up befriending a couple of their Mexican patrons named Toast and Reuben. I also fell in love with the truck and vowed to return to give them a proper unvegan review.
The truck parks in a lot at the corner of La Cienega and Venice, then sets up a table outside the truck with assorted taco toppings like salsa, onions, cilantro and limes. Then they charge 1.25 per taco, a steal! There is beauty in this for any unvegan, not just because of the price, but because it means you don’t have to ask for your taco without onions or other bothersome vegetables. Instead, they just give you the tortilla with meat and let you build your own tacos. I ordered myself two carne asada tacos and one taco al pastor, then I handed over my 3.75 and waited. The wait time surprised me, as the last time I visited the wait had only been a couple minutes. This time it reached about 10 minutes and I realized the culprit was the guy before me that had ordered fifteen tacos. Damn him!
But I wouldn’t let him spoil my tacos. When they were ready, I filled up on salsa, cilantro and lime, then hit the road. When I opened my bag of food, I found two foil packets. One contained my three tacos, but I had no idea what to expect in the other. I opened it up and found…onions! Huh? I never ordered these, but was taken aback by how good they smelled. But I would not be swayed by these Sirens of the vegetable world. The onions would have made a non-unvegan happy, but I was just as happy knowing that they were wrapped separately and made no contact with my real food.
I dug into my tacos and was reacquainted with the taste I fell in love with oh so recently ago. The asada had great seasoning and although it was slightly dry, the salsa quickly remedied that situation. The pastor was also delicious and was juicy as well. I was so happy to be able put on just as much salsa, cilantro and lime as I wanted.
Next time you roam the streets of LA looking for late-night Mexican food, Tacos El Gallito is worth a visit. The build-your-own taco concept is genius and the price is unbeatable. It makes all other taco trucks pale in comparison.
