Javier Cabral: When you
come to — come have tacos, you come just for tacos.
You don't come for comfort. You don't come for, like, any
kind of restaurant amenities. You're here for the tacos, and you eat tacos
any way you can. Joe Avella: We're at Avenue
26 Tacos in Lincoln Heights. Over the past few
years, this taco spot has amassed a
large following, sometimes having
lines around the block. Look how crazy
it is over here. Customer: I come
here about two to three times
a month, I'll say. I'll make the drive out
here, from the Valley all the way here,
just to get some tacos. I got al pastor,
and I also got buche. So, this one's
the buche right here. But the al pastor
I already ate. Joe: Javier from LA Tacos
is gonna be joining me, and we're gonna find out why
Avenue 26 Tacos are so great. Javier: We are
at Avenue 26 Tacos. It is arguably one of LA's most famous
taquerias in the street. We are in the neighborhood
of Lincoln Heights. They've been doing
this for a long time. They've been doing
this for over 15 years, and they've been
consistent about it. Their taco is suadero, which
is braised beef brisket, almost like
carnitas, but it's beef. I feel this spot fulfills
the need of, you know, when you have friends who
don't know about this spot, you bring them
here, and you tell them, "Hey I know this,
like, secret spot." And it's hidden, it's
not on the main street. And it's just — it's a thrill. It's a certified taco thrill. Now, because of the tacos, there is, I think,
seven vendors. Everything from, like,
churros to esquites to pizza now, like,
brick-oven pizza, so it's street-food city. So, usually when you see a
flat-side grill like that, they're usually gonna
have the standard, which is suadero, al pastor, and they're gonna
have tripa, buche. Tripa is intestine. Buche is, like, the
lining around pork belly. And they'll have
some version of carne asada
that will be grilled. So that's kind of, like, the general LA style
of, like, street tacos that started in, like,
the '80s to late '90s, and that style is
really iconic LA taco. Joe: All right, you
wanna get some tacos? Javier: Let's go eat
some tacos, man. Joe: Let's do it.
Javier: Taco life. [Joe laughs] So, what I look
for in a taco is the swoon factor, is
what I call it. Right? Like, that taco euphoria that
you feel when you get a bite. So you get, like, a
nice, tender, fatty meat. People forget
that a tortilla amounts to 50% of a
taco experience. Don't forget that, like, a taco cannot be a good taco
without a good tortilla. But I also look for,
like, uniform textures in, like, onion, cilantro, to see that it's limes
and not lemons. There's a lot of little
factors that account into, like, the
overall taco experience. Joe: So, just off the bat,
while we're waiting in line, like, what tacos are you
thinking about getting? Javier: So, I'm for sure
gonna get the suadero, 'cause that's what
they're known for here, and it's actually
a taco that's relatively hard
to find in LA. You're not gonna
see it everywhere. Again, it's a braised
beef brisket in fat, and it's just slow and
tender, and it's delicious. I'm also gonna get al
pastor, 'cause you have to. I like to call that a
category F5 meat tornado. [dramatic music] Javier: Give me
one of suadero Joe: Can I do the one
that was your favorite? Can I do the
intestines one? And let me do al pastor. And what was some other —
what did I miss? Javier: Suadero. Suadero.
Joe: Suadero, yeah. Javier: And you know
what? I'm feeling crazy. One more of cabeza please. Joe: How many did you get?
Javier: I got four. Joe: And I got four.
Javier: Yeah, I got four. Joe: OK, so we
both have four. Let's do it. Javier: Gracias. It's just a dollar. It's, like, the
best deal in LA. Javier: Yeah, you can't
get any cheaper. So, if you're in the know, you go and
ask for a potato. Joe: Yeah. This thing
over here, it's, like, cooking oil, right? Or
butter or lard? What is that? Javier: Some people use
lard; some people use oil. That's their secret. But they're dropping
a potato in there, and it just, like,
cooks until it's buttery and, like, beautiful. Joe: I want one.
I want a potato. Javier: Let's get a potato. This is why this
place is special. There aren't many
other places in LA that will give you
a freaking potato. If you're here, and you're happy to spend,
like, a dollar per taco, and you get a potato
while you're at it. So, before we eat, I
know we're starving, but there's one final touch that, if you see
it in a taqueria, get it. It's, like, the
caramelized onions that are actually
fried or grilled in the own beef
fat of the actual tacos. Or the pork fat. Not all taquerias
have it, but if they do, just go and get it. It's right here. Yeah, so. Yeah, it's literally, like, caramelized onions
or grilled onions. I mean, raw onions
in a taco is amazing, but grilled onions just adds another layer of
richness to it. Joe: Do you normally
put, like, salsas — Javier: Of course. A taco
without salsa is just — Joe: Was that a stupid
question that I just asked? Javier: I think that was
a very stupid question, but don't worry, man.
It's good. It's good. Before we add any salsa,
definitely get some limes to make sure that the
lime juice actually hits the meat and the tortilla
before the salsas, 'cause, you know, you
get more flavor that way. It adds a nice little layer
of, like, refreshing acid, which you need when you're
eating these fatty meats. Last but not least, because
vegetable and fiber, maybe, you know, get some radishes. I like to get a couple just to say that I've had
some vegetables today. Joe: Oh, OK. Javier: You know, get,
like, a nice little handful. And you also put some
lime and salt on those, so you kind of create a
quick pickle. You know? You gotta get some fiber
in your body somehow. My rule of thumb is: When
all else fails, green. Joe: OK. Javier: Because
green is acid, tartness. If you can't hang any heat,
usually the watery red ones are always gonna
be the best for you. Joe: I'll try a little bit of heat. Javier: Yeah, normally a
taqueria will always have green, red, and a
taqueria guacamole, which is like a thinner,
watered-down guacamole, so it's more saucy
instead of gloppy. Sometimes the guacamole
replaces the green salsa, or sometimes the green salsa
replaces the guacamole. Yeah, that's it. And then
we're ready to eat, man. Joe: All right, let's go eat. I'm starving, dude. Javier: Some people eat
it inside of their car, sitting down in front
of the steering wheel. Others prop the
food down on the — either in the
hood of their car, and just eat, like, you know, you have to have, like,
that 90-degree angle down so you don't get
any salsa all over you. Joe: Mm! The potato. You know it's been
simmering in that oil for a while. Javier: California used
to be part of Mexico, and some people say that it
never stopped being Mexico because some tacos, like
the tacos that you get here, are so delicious and so close to what you
would actually find in Mexico. Rule No. 1 of
finding good tacos is actually stopping
and trying them. Joe: [laughs] That's
a good point. Javier: Because there
are so many here in LA, your first reaction to when you drive by
or walk by a taqueria is you look it up online to
see reviews or something, but I'm telling
you, screw all that, just stop and have a taco and see if you
like it personally. And, like, you'll
be surprised. Sometimes you'll
find some great spots that haven't really
been, you know, written about or
celebrated as much. Street food in LA is there to serve its
immediate neighborhood. And if you're lucky enough
to drive by or walk by and you find — and it smells
good, and it looks good, and you see a crowd
of people around it, stop by and try it. That's the best way you're
gonna find out if it's good. The first taco
that I always get at a spot that
offers it is cabeza, because you can
really learn a lot on how they treat their cabeza. Joe: How is that? Javier: Cabeza is
steamed cow head. If you don't know what to
— if you're indecisive, I usually always
go for cabeza because it's hard to mess up, and it's like, who
doesn't love, like, just tender stewed
braised meat with salsa? Suadero is, like, the
hardest one to find in LA. It's like carnitas
but with beef, so it's, like, slowly
braised in lard until it gets crisped
up and it gets tender, and that's really hard to find, so that's actually
really good here too. Just two months
ago, in 2020, they finally legalized
street food in LA. Through lots of outreach, people in LA who love
street food got together, and they fought for the
rights of street vendors here. It took, like, around
a decade of work to work through the
bureaucracy of the city to finally legalize
street vending in LA. If you come to LA, some of
your most happiest moments, or most
memorable moments, that you'll have when
visiting the city is, like, probably will be
tacos after a show. Or, like, a bacon-wrapped
hot dog after, you know, when you come out of a
concert and you smell the smell of bacon. Street food is so
essential to the city, and it took this long for the politicians to
finally realize that and try to make change
and make it legalized. People love to come to
a taqueria and, like, fulfill their
need of, like, a nice, greasy in a good way,
just rib-sticking taco, and these tacos fulfill that
because it's a lot of meat, you know, the salsa bar
is, like, there for you so you can put
as much as you want and suffer as much
as you want. And I think the No. 1
thing about it is, like, people love the concept
of a dollar taco, and this is one of the
last-standing taquerias in LA that still charges
a dollar per taco.
this is the stand they killed that young police officer at
Critical people don't seem to understand that you can get really good tacos here...FOR ONE DOLLAR! That kind of makes it a big deal.
I've had them. Not worth the trip. Over rated. Similar to 1986. I stand by it.
I watched the whole thing! LA tacos definitely taste different than MX even as close to the border as tj tacos. I lived in South Central closer to the 10 fwy when I moved back and hands down, the best tacos in LA. Since a lot of the customers in this area don't really use Yelp or Google you won't find tons of ratings but I made sure to register the ones that I visited. Try closer to 40th St and Central and you'll be in the middle of taco lane. Also for fish tacos try Tacos Baja on Whittier for nearly identical SD/TJ fish tacos!
Shit i live 5 minutes away from that place and I have yet to go there.
crazy how tons of places on the side of the road smoke like every restaurant for tacos. like it gets worse coming out of a building somehow lol