Tacos Savannah - Echo Park

Driving through Echo Park it’s not hard to tell which of the two trucks parked on Alvarado is more popular. You have Taco Zone (1342 N Alvarado St) and its taco wagon plastered with stickers from everyone from Shepard Fairy’s Andre the Giant “Obey” to Pabst Blue Ribbon. Then you have Tacos Savannah with two lonely stickers on its menu board: a 100.3 The Sound sticker and a peace sign sticker with the words “don’t tread on me”. Not exactly hipster swag. It sounds like Echo Park was infiltrated by a confused hippie.


Tacos Savannah's meager sticker collection


Taco Zone: "All your stickers are belong to me!!"


Tacos Savannah salsa containers


al pastor, chorizo, carne asada $1 each

I ordered al pastor, chorizo, and carne asada. The tubs of condiments included three salsas: roja, verde, avocado, as well as radishes, lemons, onions, and cilantro. The al pastor wasn’t helped by the too mild salsa verde but it was pretty plain anyway. Ground pork that is marinated in pinapple juice isn’t real al pastor. The chorizo was better than most chorizo I’ve had which can be too greasy. This felt like I was eating real sausage. The carne asada with the salsa roja was good enough that I ordered another. The greasy bits of steak had good flavor and no fatty bits.

The salsas at Tacos Savannah are inferior to Taco Zone’s, which to be fair are pretty damn good. But any meat-to-meat comparison would have to favor Tacos Savannah. But if you absolutely must eat from the taco truck with the best stickers then go to Taco Zone.

Tacos Savannah
Alvarado and Kent St
Eco Park 90026
tacos $1

2.5/5

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Taco Zone - Echo Park

Since starting this blog over 5 years ago the taco truck I have been emailed the most about hands down is Taco Zone in Echo Park. I tried Taco Zone several years ago, and I thought the tacos were good but not great. But the emails keep coming and I’ve been wondering if I was missing something, or if there was just a massive hipster factor playing into Taco Zone’s incredible popularity.



I got there just as locals were queuing up. The line was about 10 deep but it moved quickly, and orders came out of the window at a decent pace. An interesting collage of stickers on the taco wagon gave it some character. Taco Zone really does embody the local flavor of Echo Park and Silverlake. There was a steady flow of patrons; hipsters mixed in with 9 to 5’ers mixed in with local thugs. Now and then a random vagrant would walk up and ask everyone for change.




al pastor

I ordered suadero, carne asada, al pastor and garnished my tacos with onions, cilantro, and salsa. I sampled a bit of meat from each taco and I couldn’t tell the difference between them. I went for the taco with the avocado salsa first. I figured it was either carne asada or suadero. After the first bite, I still couldn’t tell, but the salsa was excellent and it didn’t much matter. The coolness of the avocado, the piquant heat from the chile, and the vibrant flavor masqueraded the weakness of the meat. Was it suadero? Asada? I didn’t care anymore.

I dug into another taco but still couldn't tell. The meat was so dry it didn't taste like much of anything. The only flavors were the excellent salsa roja and the onions and cilantro. The salsa roja had good heat with a peppery blend of multiple chiles putting the homemade horchata to good use. The last of the tacos ended up being al pastor, but it wasn’t very good al pastor, and not even the salsa could save it. It wasn’t the worst al pastor I’ve had in LA but I think it might make the line-up.

This stretch of Alvarado is a traffic nightmare and I wouldn’t advise any taco hound to attempt the journey. For the taco explorer who wonders about the taco truck with 290 Yelp reviews and an average rating of 4.5 stars my advice is not to fall for the temptation. The reward is minimal, no matter how many hipsters light up your email telling you to try the suadero.

2.5/5

Alvarado & Montana
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Echo Park
tacos $1.25 each

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Tacos Arizas - Echo Park

Taco trucks in Silverlake and Echo Park are overrated because of hipsters. That’s what I’ve been told anyway. And I believe it. There are just a lot more connector types in Silverlake so when a taco truck that is good has a lot of hipster clientele it becomes much more than just good. The hipster runs in larger social circles than the working class taco lover in Boyle Heights. When I hear of people talking up a taco truck it’s location is everything. If it’s in Silverlake it’s going to be overrated. Hipsters overrate shit. But if it’s in mid-city or east LA then I know it’s going to be legit.



Tacos Arizas isn’t really the Hipster’s favorite taco truck. That would be Taco Zone with its 258 Yelp reviews and average score of almost 5 stars. The hipsters even have a favorite secret meat option. Suadero. Except they say it this way- Suaaadeerrro . Fucking hipsters.

The tacos come bare and you garnish them with onions and cilantro from a container at one of the wagons windows. I’m not too crazy about this and would rather have my tacos come already garnished with onions and cilantro. The container of onions and cilantro was difficult to maneuver and it was less than tidy. They did however have squeeze bottles of their salsas (roja and verde), which I prefer over the open air salsa table set up.




carne asada & carnitas $1 each

Everything was nice and hot on the plate; the tortillas were nicely oiled, the carne asada greasy and delicious. The carnitas on it’s own was lacking but the salsa verde saved it from mediocrity. The salsa verde really makes the tacos. And it can’t really be overstated enough – without the salsa verde I could take or leave these tacos. But with this salsa verde as I write this I am already craving them. The heat from the salsa is pleasant and slowly builds up but never becomes unbearable. It’s the flavor that it brings with that heat that makes these tacos so crave worthy.

With the new voting system attached to each taco truck posting the score I give to a taco truck isn’t so definitive. It’s just my sometimes reliable, sometimes not opinion. So we’ll see where Tacos Arizas lands in the grand scheme of things. I know one thing. I’m heading back tomorrow night for that salsa verde.

3.5/5

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Tacos Arizas
Logan and Sunset
Echo Park
6pm til late
tacos $1

El Paisano - Echo Park

(review #30 of the 30 taco trucks in 30 days challenge)



It was the last night of the 30 taco trucks in 30 days challenge and barring some unforeseen circumstances I was going to complete it. During the last 30 days I gave up beer (and all alcohol). There were two reasons for this ;If I was going to overindulge with one vice then I had to restrain from another. But more importantly I knew that there was a good chance I would go out to the pub, drink one too many, and forget to blog. I would fail the challenge and be the laughing stock of the internets. So as much as I wanted to finish the challenge I was equally looking forward to my first pint of lager in a month.

I drove out of downtown and took Sunset Blvd. The plan was to go to Tacos Arizas on Logan and Sunset. I’ve never reviewed Tacos Arizas for the blog but had been there a few years ago. But then I saw El Paisano, a truck that parks at the corner of Sunset and Boylston and remembered that someone had suggested it recently.



I ordered al pastor, carne asada, and lengua. The tacos came topped with onions, cilantro, and a spicy salsa verde. They didn’t have jarritos which was disappointing. Every truck should have jarritos.


carne asada, al pastor, lengua $1 each

carne asada and al pastor


The lengua may have been the best tongue taco I’ve had ever. A lot of lengua has a waxy texture and a gamey aftertaste. I’ve had a lot of bad lengua ; it can be rubbery, fatty, flabby, gross - pick the adjective. But this lengua was soft and tender with subtle beef taste and little hints of exotic flavor. It was paired with the excellent spicy salsa verde.

The carne asada and al pastor were finely chopped and had good flavor but the real star was the salsa verde which was a blend of jalapeno and tomatillo. The salsa verde was hot and had my lips humming with little beads of sweet forming on my temple. I’ve made this kind of salsa at home before - it’s mostly just blended jalapenos with a few tomatillos tossed in for balance. The al pastor wasn’t from the trompo. I probably wouldn’t include it on my plate next time at El Paisano.

After eating my tacos I got back in my car and cruised down Sunset Blvd until I got to Alvarado. I was tempted to turn right and go to the Taco Zone truck. It had been a few years since I had tried the truck most beloved by Silverlake and Echo Park hipsters. But there would be plenty of other nights for Taco Zone. I needed to get home and write this review. And that pint of Stella was sounding pretty good too.

This concludes 30 taco trucks in 30 days. Thanks for reading.

3.5/5

El Paisano
1185 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
tacos $1 each

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