Waiting for Zuperman

mexicali

The best carne asada in Los Angeles isn't found in a taco truck, but rather a parking lot (Photography by Tien Nguyen)

By Noah Galuten

The Real Mexican Street Food of Mexicali Taco & Co.

Long before you could find Twitter-fueled mobile food vehicles serving macaroni and cheese sandwiches with barbecued pork, or Filipino-style pork cheeks over Jasmine rice, Los Angeles was a city pervaded with old-line Mexican taco trucks. In fact, it still is. Right now, on just about any city street, you may well come upon a rectangular white truck smelling of crispy carne asada and sizzling al pastor. For those smart enough to patronize these trucks, it is perhaps the best value in Los Angeles. The tacos, often better than you'll find at many Mexican restaurants, are cheap, filling, and convenient. But just because something is good, it doesn't mean that it couldn't or shouldn't be better.

A few nights a week, in an empty parking lot on the corner of 1st and Beaudry, two men set up an outdoor grill, some plastic tables and chairs, and then proceed to make some of the best Mexican food the city has to offer. Most taco trucks buy very cheap cuts of meat, cook them on a flat top, toss them onto generic (and truthfully quite mediocre) corn tortillas, and then spoon a little salsa over them. The men of Mexicali do not. At Mexicali, they are about using better ingredients, grilling them over a real fire, and preparing their food with the sort of care and attention to detail it deserves.

I learned about Mexicali from L.A.'s own Mexican food expert Bill Esparza (of the blog, Street Gourmet L.A.), who called their carne asada tacos the best in L.A. He also rightly pointed out that carne asada needs to be cooked over fire, or roasted, to be considered asada. That stuff they're doing inside of trucks? That's bistec.

When you first come upon Mexicali, the differences are apparent. There are two men doing everything themselves – working the grill in front of tables loaded with a variety of salsas and condiments, chopping their meat on a tree trunk, and conversing with their noticeably happy regulars. You will also find that the parking lot is frequently filled with a surprising number of luxury automobiles.

They offer just three kinds of meat: carne asada, chicken, and chorizo. But they can be eaten in a few different forms. The vampiro, a sort of meat-stuffed quesadilla spiked with their house-made garlic sauce (hence, "vampiro") is a lovely mixture of crispy, pliable exterior with gooey, meaty insides. Of course, any of the three meats will work well in here, but the chicken, which they prepare very well, is especially enjoyable.

There are also cachetadas, made using a flat corn tortilla that has been grilled until crunchy, then covered in meat and squirted with their spicy chipotle aioli. Then there is the zuperman, a sandwich made from two tortillas, cheese, and a combination of all three meats. But while it is something to behold, and rather fun to say, the zuperman ultimately muddles the nuanced flavors of the individual meats. Be sure to return to the condiment station a few times, to try out the oregano-dusted red onions and the many different salsas, including the spicy and massively satisfying jabanero version.

But the best thing, and what I find myself going back for over and over again, is the carne asada taco. While many taco aficionados scoff at the notion of using a flour tortilla, here it is a must. These taqueros hail from Mexicali (the capital of the state of Baja California), in Northern Mexico, where flour tortillas are king. And to ensure that the tortillas are just right, they actually bring them up from Mexicali themselves. The deep bovine flavor of the ingredients comes to the forefront when nestled inside these soft, forgiving tortillas, and is enhanced further when accented with the thin, creamy guacamole. Yes, they cost twice as much as those from far inferior truck tacos, but they're bigger, and at a mere two dollars, an absolute steal.

The only real problem with Mexicali Taco & Co. is that they aren't always around when you need them. They set up shop Wednesday through Saturday from 8pm to midnight, but have been known to sell out early. That is why, of course, you should keep track of their Twitter page (Twitter.com/MexicaliTacoCO), just to make sure – because driving to the corner of 1st and Beaudry on a Friday night at 11 o'clock, and being greeted by an empty parking lot, is far sadder than anyone deserves.

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