2024 Recap
It’s Saturday afternoon, the sun is high, and the taco scene is in full swing along Boyle Heights’ Olympic Boulevard. Hungry taco lovers weave between famous trucks and bustling stands, each spot drawing a crowd. With the scent of sizzling meats in the air, Taco Touristas embark on the ultimate taco crawl, hitting multiple stops to sample the best of L.A.’s taco culture.

💥 Las Taquerias 💥
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Carnitas Los Chingones
Order:
Carnitas taco
“Three copper kettles are fired up on the sidewalk for carnitas and carnitas-fat-fried tortilla chips that make radically good chilaquiles.” -LA Times -
Mariscos Jalisco
Order:
Taco dorado de camaron“Famed for tacos dorados de camarones — golden tacos filled with shrimp that emerge tender at the center and crisped on the edges after a dip in the fryer — the truck has been a part of every “101 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles” guide since 2013.” -LA Times
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Tacos Birria La Unica
Order:
Tacos de birria de chivo con consome“Taquero Yasmany Mendoza’s popular food truck is one of the big winners in Los Angeles’s birria wars, always commanding a long line of taco devotees that show up for goat and beef birria.”
-Eater LA -
Sonoratown
Pro Order:
Taco de costilla
Rookie:
Caramelo
“The proposition of well-seasoned chicken, melted cheese, roasted Anaheim peppers, and tomatoes wrapped in a flour tortilla, which is then lightly fried, is a simple pleasure worth repeating.” -Eater LA -
Guerrilla Tacos
Order:
Sweet potato taco
PERMANENTLY CLOSED
“Guerrilla Tacos first started in 2012, when chef Wes Avila began serving tacos on a standalone griddle outside Arts District coffee shops. He then operated a popular food truck before working towards a permanent space, gaining a reputation for innovative takes on tacos like sweet potato and feta-topped tacos.” -Eater LA -
Ditroit
Order:
Duck carnitas taco
“Ditroit is the breezy daytime operation behind Damian (from the chef of Pujol in Mexico City and Cosme and Atla in NYC), which means the causal food here is super elevated and leans pricey: a ‘daily catch’ fish flauta, cochinita pibil taco, and a palo santo-cucumber-yuzu agua fresca will run you almost $30.” -Infatuation LA -
Holbox
Order:
Smoked Kanpachi Taco
“Its namesake is a Caribbean island just off the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, but this beloved counter, located inside the Mercado La Paloma, is a distinctively Angelino phenomenon.”
-Michelin GuideOne Michelin star
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Guatemalan Night Market
Order:
Garnachas
“As customers walk by, they are greeted by the chorus of vendors whose offerings — an array of native Guatemalan dishes — roll off their tongues: ‘pepián de pollo, caldo de pata, chuchitos, tamales, rellenitos de plátano, garnachas.’ That’s just to name a few.”
-LA Times