Taco Trail, Day 1
Sacramento, Modesto, Turlock
July 2, 2016
Not too long ago, Saveur magazine featured a taco-centric road trip, and it happened to take place in California. With the 4th of July weekend coming up, we wanted to get out of town, and we decided to take the Taco Trail ourselves. We started at the top of the trail and finished short of the end in Fresno (the original trail ended in Bakersfield, about 100 miles further). In order to survive our Taco Trail (7 stops in a day and a half), we decided to order (and share) only two tacos at each establishment, and one of those tacos had to be the type mentioned in the article.
Taqueria Mi Lindo Apatzingan, Rio Linda, chicken tacos
Our first stop was in Rio Linda, just outside of Sacramento. As we neared our destination, the voices (Google Maps) took us from one little street to the next, and we began to wonder if we were heading to someone's house (Maybe they sold tacos out of the garage?). Instead we landed at a run-down little strip mall in the middle of a neighborhood. Before we even got there, we both declared our intention to violate the self-imposed 2-taco rule; we were simply too hungry. SO, we each ordered a chicken taco (as mentioned in the article), I added a lengua (beef tongue) to my order, and Patrick the al pastor (barbecued pork); we both had rice and beans. The chicken in the tacos was very good - dark meat, nicely marinated with charred little fatty bits - though the taco as a whole was lackluster. Patrick's al pastor was okay, but my lengua was deliciously tender and packed with flavor. The rice was average, and the refried beans were good but on the salty side. The real winner here was the agua fresca. If you don't already know agua fresca, it's a drink made of (not always, but in this case) fresh fruit blended with water and sugar. It's magical - it tastes like the fruit itself, liquefied, as if nothing at all has been added. We had watermelon. Patrick got the large, which amounted to about a quart of watermelon juice. It was so, so good.
Chando's Tacos, Sacramento, cochinita pibil
Next up, Chando's Tacos in Sacramento. Patrick, full of watermelon juice at this point, was sad to realize the 2nd stop was 10 minutes from the first. He promptly reinstated the 2-taco rule. Here, a small, stand-alone building across the street from a gas station in the middle of nowhere occupied a space half as large as the parking lot dedicated to it. Just outside, close to the order window, a large grill filled with marinated chicken sent a delicious aroma into the air. We ordered the cochinita pibil and carne asada. (Damn the 2-taco rule! I came up with that rule and already regretted it. It should have been a 3-taco rule.) The tortillas here were a little more rubbery than what we had at Taqueria Mi Lindo, it seemed unlikely they were freshly made. I found the carne asada (marinated, grilled beef) to be bland and chewy, saved only by a generous dollop of avocado. The cochinita pibil (pork braised in achiote marinade and shredded, to oversimplify things) was juicy, packed with flavor and a hint of spice - a delicious taco. Patrick, living in an alternate universe, really liked the carne asada, especially the creamy guacamole against the spicy grilled meat. He found the cochinita pibil to be bland, a nondescript stewed meat. Clearly, we weren't eating the same two tacos.
Viva Taco, Turlock, carnitas
Silvestre Valencia, the gentleman who runs thistruck bus in Turlock was the star of the Saveur article, and it's easy to see why. He's a sweet, talkative man. He asked us what we liked best (carnitas); I asked him how he made this and that, and he has no secrets. Since it had been 2 hours since we last ate, I was able to talk Patrick into three tacos. We had the carnitas (pork braised in lard and shredded, essentially), barbacoa (stewed beef), and chicken. These were the type of tacos Patrick really loves - small corn tortillas with just enough filling and a barely there garnish of raw, diced white onion and chopped cilantro. The chicken was unlike anything I'd had before: chunks of dark meat cooked in chicken base with salt and chili powder. I can't say it was my favorite, the flavor was fine but the texture, mushy. The barbacoa was tender and well seasoned but the carnitas stole the show. The shredded pork shoulder was juicy and flavorful, complete with crispy porky bits; a little greasy, but so tasty it didn't matter. The partly chunky, partly creamy pinto beans were surprisingly good for how simple they were, only salt and garlic added (as I said, no secrets).
El Mexicano C, Modesto, cabeza
It wasn't until we visited the taco bus that we realized we overshot the intended third stop. This taco truck is so off the grid, Google couldn't find it by name and I mistakenly had us set to go off-trail. So, back to Modesto we went for cabeza tacos at El Mexicano C. We ordered cabeza (beef head), carne asada, and fried serrano peppers and onions. The handmade tortillas were delicious, arguably the best part of the simple, ungarnished tacos. The finely minced carne asada lacked flavor. The cabeza, moist and sticky shredded meat, was delicious, but it needed a punch of acid or spice, more than the accompanying lime wedge could provide. Both of these tacos would have benefitted from a little onion-cilantro garnish, or perhaps a touch of salsa. The fried serrano peppers and onions were thrown straight into the deep fryer - no batter or coating; good, but the chilies were spicy as heck, the onions a little too oily.
Four places down, three more to go. The Viva Taco bus was our winner, so far...
Not too long ago, Saveur magazine featured a taco-centric road trip, and it happened to take place in California. With the 4th of July weekend coming up, we wanted to get out of town, and we decided to take the Taco Trail ourselves. We started at the top of the trail and finished short of the end in Fresno (the original trail ended in Bakersfield, about 100 miles further). In order to survive our Taco Trail (7 stops in a day and a half), we decided to order (and share) only two tacos at each establishment, and one of those tacos had to be the type mentioned in the article.
 |
| photo by Jasmine |
Our first stop was in Rio Linda, just outside of Sacramento. As we neared our destination, the voices (Google Maps) took us from one little street to the next, and we began to wonder if we were heading to someone's house (Maybe they sold tacos out of the garage?). Instead we landed at a run-down little strip mall in the middle of a neighborhood. Before we even got there, we both declared our intention to violate the self-imposed 2-taco rule; we were simply too hungry. SO, we each ordered a chicken taco (as mentioned in the article), I added a lengua (beef tongue) to my order, and Patrick the al pastor (barbecued pork); we both had rice and beans. The chicken in the tacos was very good - dark meat, nicely marinated with charred little fatty bits - though the taco as a whole was lackluster. Patrick's al pastor was okay, but my lengua was deliciously tender and packed with flavor. The rice was average, and the refried beans were good but on the salty side. The real winner here was the agua fresca. If you don't already know agua fresca, it's a drink made of (not always, but in this case) fresh fruit blended with water and sugar. It's magical - it tastes like the fruit itself, liquefied, as if nothing at all has been added. We had watermelon. Patrick got the large, which amounted to about a quart of watermelon juice. It was so, so good.
 |
| photo by Jasmine |
Next up, Chando's Tacos in Sacramento. Patrick, full of watermelon juice at this point, was sad to realize the 2nd stop was 10 minutes from the first. He promptly reinstated the 2-taco rule. Here, a small, stand-alone building across the street from a gas station in the middle of nowhere occupied a space half as large as the parking lot dedicated to it. Just outside, close to the order window, a large grill filled with marinated chicken sent a delicious aroma into the air. We ordered the cochinita pibil and carne asada. (Damn the 2-taco rule! I came up with that rule and already regretted it. It should have been a 3-taco rule.) The tortillas here were a little more rubbery than what we had at Taqueria Mi Lindo, it seemed unlikely they were freshly made. I found the carne asada (marinated, grilled beef) to be bland and chewy, saved only by a generous dollop of avocado. The cochinita pibil (pork braised in achiote marinade and shredded, to oversimplify things) was juicy, packed with flavor and a hint of spice - a delicious taco. Patrick, living in an alternate universe, really liked the carne asada, especially the creamy guacamole against the spicy grilled meat. He found the cochinita pibil to be bland, a nondescript stewed meat. Clearly, we weren't eating the same two tacos.
 |
| photo by Patrick |
Silvestre Valencia, the gentleman who runs this
 |
| photo by Patrick |
It wasn't until we visited the taco bus that we realized we overshot the intended third stop. This taco truck is so off the grid, Google couldn't find it by name and I mistakenly had us set to go off-trail. So, back to Modesto we went for cabeza tacos at El Mexicano C. We ordered cabeza (beef head), carne asada, and fried serrano peppers and onions. The handmade tortillas were delicious, arguably the best part of the simple, ungarnished tacos. The finely minced carne asada lacked flavor. The cabeza, moist and sticky shredded meat, was delicious, but it needed a punch of acid or spice, more than the accompanying lime wedge could provide. Both of these tacos would have benefitted from a little onion-cilantro garnish, or perhaps a touch of salsa. The fried serrano peppers and onions were thrown straight into the deep fryer - no batter or coating; good, but the chilies were spicy as heck, the onions a little too oily.
Four places down, three more to go. The Viva Taco bus was our winner, so far...
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