Taco trailers in Waco: Authentic, inexpensive Mexican food on the go
By Wendy Gragg Tribune-Herald staff writer
Taco truck lexicon
Here are some definitions that may help you with your dinner decisions:
Pastor — marinated, grilled pork
Barbacoa — steamed beef
Chorizo — sausage (typically pork)
Lengua — beef tongue
Cabeza — beef head
Chicharon — pork rinds
Asada — roasted beef
Carnitas — shredded, roasted pork
Pollo — chicken
From Los Angeles to New York, food trucks are all the rage on the eatery scene. Austin boasts a bunch that produce everything from pie to Indian food.
Waco may not have caught onto the trend at that level yet, but if it’s tacos you want, taco trucks we’ve got.
Taco trailers have popped up all over town, offering inexpensive, tasty and fairly authentic food. Let this serve as a primer to the uninitiated who have yet to step up to the trailer window and purchase the foil-wrapped fare.
Huracio Herrera serves up an order for a customer at Las Trancas #2 at the corner of Parkwood Drive and Bosque Boulevard.
Rod Aydelotte / Tribune-Herald
Francisco Juarez cooks up ribs inside El Rey at 25th Street and Morrow Avenue in Waco.
Duane A. Laverty / Tribune-Herald
Tacos from Las Trancas on La Salle Drive near the circle come with salsa, limes and a jalapeno pepper.
Rod Aydelotte / Tribune-Herald
Randy Childers, building official for the city of Waco, estimates about 25 to 30 trailers operate in Waco and said most of them have open-air vending permits with the city.
Menus differ slightly from place to place, but the main staple among these eateries on wheels are tacos. Choose your meat and whether you want corn or flour tortillas. Most include onion and cilantro with lime and salsa on the side. They are simple, savory and cheap — at most places $1 or $1.25 each — so get a few and try different kinds. The chorizo at one stop may not taste the same as the chorizo at the next, so shopping around is recommended.
Some of the trucks offer taco plates featuring a few tacos with rice and beans.
Before ordering, it helps to know the protocol. Pull up at the truck, decide what you want, trot up to the window, place your order and pay (BRING CASH). Then return to your car, crack your window, and wait for your order to be up. Some places will give you a number, others will just wave at you from the window when your food is ready.
Tacos are the staple among these trailers, but you also will find burritos and quesadillas on many of the menus. For the most part, the menus are similar, but there are some differences. El Arriero, at 18th Street and Clay Avenue, has started offering elotes for $2.50. Elotes, in this instance, is a cup filled with corn, topped with sour cream and grated cheese and comes with lime, chilé sauce and salt to add as desired. You have to try it at least once.
El Rey, at 25th Street and Morrow Avenue, is a mobile vendor with a little different offering. For $7, you can get the “medio pollo,” which includes half of a roasted chicken with tortillas, salsa, limes and an entire roasted “cebolla” (onion).
Don’t plan on asking for substitutions or getting into lengthy conversations at many of the trucks unless you happen to speak fluent Spanish. Just place your order and pay. You and your friendly street taco purveyor will likely both speak enough of the same language to get through the transaction.
wgragg@wacotrib.com
757-6901
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