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The Search For The Best Tacos In Town Takes Us To Taqueria El Garibaldi

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Taco Tuesday

This week our search for the best tacos in Chatt Town brought us to Taqueria El Garibaldi.

I kept passing this food truck on E. Main Street waiting for the day it would open. Last weekend I was headed to Mean Jeen’s and saw the now open banners blowing in the little to no breeze we’ve been having, so this week I went to see what they had and try their tacos.

The gentleman inside the truck, wearing his hair net, said he has chicken steak, and Mexican sausage. I ordered two steak tacos and an order of empanadas for mom’s dinner later in the evening.

The one thing I noticed that got me excited was he was using a true traditional method of making steak tacos by stacking the meat on a vertical rotisserie, cooking the meat as it spun and then shaving the meat off and onto the tortilla.

I waited for my food as three other men were ahead of me. They each ordered the pollo con papas (chicken with fries). As I waited, I looked at the food truck and noticed it had several Biblical phrases about the power of Jesus and helping and feeding people in need.

Nice sentiment.

He packed my order adding two packets of salsa verde, one with hotter red sauce, which he warned me about, and another with sour cream. He said there are four empanadas in one order, which usually means they are smaller than most.

Boy was I wrong!

Once home, I opened the empanadas and found four large empanadas each topped with crema and lettuce. In other words, mom had dinner for more than one day.

I tried one empanada. The skin was crisp and flaky. The chicken was tender and moist. The touch of crema added a hint of creaminess, and the lettuce added a crunchy bite. The tacos were served with the onions and cilantro on the side as well as two lime wedges. I topped each taco with the onions and cilantro, squeezed lime on both and poured salsa verde on both. Heeding his warning I didn’t even open the red sauce.

Did I find the best taco in the city?

That is still to be determined, but I did find the best steak taco I’ve eaten so far. I attribute that to his cooking method. Stacked meat and using a vertical spit is how they do it in the streets of Mexico. It was introduced to Mexicans by Lebanese immigrants. It was likely stacked flank steak or skirt steak. The meat had crispy edges, and the rest was tender and juicy. They were phenomenal tasting tacos.

I wonder if he uses stacked chicken on a vertical spit?

I’ll have to go back and ask. There is a small menu posted in front of the truck. Pupusas, a taco torta sandwich, empanadas, quesabirria, quesadilla, sopes, carne asada, burrito, gorditas, gringas, fajitas, and a few other items I am not familiar with.

Like, what the heck is Tlaconete?

I had to google that, and it is 1) a small Mexican Salamander (eww) or 2) Mexican -Style steak with mushrooms and mozzarella cheese. Let’s hope he is serving the latter and not the first.

Something else I had to google was Alambre Fortachón.

According to google an Alambre "Fortachón" (which translates to a "strong" or "musclebound" alambre) is a mega-protein, extra-hearty twist on the classic Mexican Alambre which features steak, bacon, and cheese. The Fortachón variation is stacked to the brim with multiple heavy proteins—usually adding chicken, chorizo, and ham or longaniza to the mix.

The gentlemen said they opened about two months ago and they are open every day except Tuesday. Give Taqueria El Garibaldi a try. The truck is parked facing Main Street by the Texaco Station.

Taqueria El Garibaldi

What’s your favorite taco place and why? Send me an email at Pattyl@brewermediagroup.com