There’s nothing a street taco can’t fix.
After a long day at school, it was always a nice treat to drive down the street from Nogales High School to grab three cabeza tacos from El Parícutin. One bite of a juicy cabeza taco and my math class slip-ups were gone from my memory.
If my parents had a long day and didn’t make a trip to Safeway after work, it was no problem — we could just drive to El Vanquete, where we would get massive carne asada burritos and tacos to later scarf down around the table while we laugh about our days.
Tacos are even the one thing that can cure the Sunday scaries. You’re not thinking about the week ahead or work on Monday when you are eating a carne asada taco topped with cabbage, lime and spicy pico de gallo.
Taco trucks are the backbone of this community. While trucks may not have all the glitz and glam of brick-and-mortars, their food is just as amazing — and sometimes even better.
I mentioned a couple of my favorite taco trucks in my hometown of Nogales, but let's head back to Tucson. Below are 10 taco trucks — though there are so many more — that can help fix your problems with just a bite.
Two birria tacos made with goat from El Chivo de Oro.
El Chivo de Oro
You’ve never had birria tacos like the ones at Chivo de Oro. Here, they make their birria the traditional way: with goat. While the gaminess and funkiness of goat may turn people off, you don’t have to worry about that at Chivo de Oro. The way they season and spice up their birria makes it so flavorful, you can’t even tell you're not eating beef.
These are some of my favorite birria tacos in town. From the first bite I took, I was hooked; it is truly unlike any birria I’ve ever had before.
Carne asada (left) and tripa tacos from El Manantial Tacos y Hot Dogs.
El Manantial Tacos y Hotdogs
Not only does El Manantial make a great Sonoran dog, but they also make a killer taco. From cabeza to carne asada, they have a wide variety of tacos for whatever mood you're in.
The carne asada taco has a nice smokey taste, but my absolute favorite is their tripa taco. Tripa, aka cow tripe, is tricky to get right. It has a way different texture and can be really chewy if it isn’t cooked right. At El Manatial, their tripa is crispy with just a little bit of chewiness, similar to a chicharrón. Their tripa taco with lime squeezed on top was perfection!
At Ensenada Street Food, Magdalena Alvarez brings flavors and fan favorites from the street food in Baja California, such as their shrimp tacos.
Ensenada Street Food
This women-run taco truck brings all the flavors from the street food seen in Baja, California to Tucson. This colorful spot on South Park Avenue does not play when it comes to street tacos. They have a long menu of tacos, including many vegan options.
Their birria and al pastor tacos are packed with spicy beef and smokey-yet-sweet pork that I devoured in a second. The real showstopper for me is their shrimp taco. Breaded and fried shrimp sit in a corn tortilla topped with a spicy crème sauce, cabbage and pico de gallo. After I finished, I knew I had found my favorite shrimp tacos in Tucson.
Tacos El Tijuanense
When making al pastor tacos, you typically see the cook shave the adobo-marinated pork off a trompo, or giant spit, straight into the tortilla. The end result: a juicy, sweet and savory taco that blows you out of the water. Some taco places don’t use the trompo when making al pastor, but at Tacos El Tijuanense, trompos are their specialty.
Their Google reviews are filled with five-star ratings, with many people saying their al pastor tacos are the best in town. Just scrolling through their Instagram, you can see countless videos of them shaving al pastor off the trompo. Be careful, though: watching those videos will make you want to immediately jump in your car and drive over.
Local food truck 520 Taco Stop makes vegan quesabirria tacos.
520 Taco Stop
520 Taco Stop has made a name for themselves by creating some of the best vegan tacos in town. A crowd favorite is their quesabirria tacos that are made with jackfruit instead of beef.
I was a bit weary of the jackfruit substitution, wondering how it would stand up against your typical beef birria. Boy, was I wrong to be worried. Their jackfruit tacos are so flavorful and have a nice spice, I truly couldn’t tell I wasn’t eating meat. The texture is perfect and mixed in with a cheesy taco only elevated the taste.
At Carnitas Los Reyes, carnitas tacos come with shredded pork which is mixed with pork skin and pork belly and wrapped in a homemade corn tortilla.
Carnitas Los Reyes
The dirt lot on Broadway and Rosemont Boulevard is home to many food trucks and you can always expect to see Carnitas Los Reyes parked there, serving up delicious Michoacán-style carnitas. Eleno Sanchez learned to cook carnitas from his mother and spends 4½ hours each day crafting his savory pork.
Carnitas, along with the pig skin and pork belly, are served on a homemade corn tortilla, where you can top it off with fresh tomatillo salsa. Their pork is soft and juicy, plus you get the slight fattiness and chewiness from the belly and skin which elevates the taco, making it much more than the shredded pork you can get anywhere else.
A cabeza and chicharrón taco from Taqueria Alamos.
Taqueria Alamos
As I looked at the menu before ordering, I saw something so beautiful I almost cried: tacos de cabeza y chicharrón. Cabeza is my favorite kind of taco and I love a good chicharrón, so I knew I had to order it — it was basically made for me!
Upon my first bite, I knew I would be coming back often. The tender, juicy cabeza mixed with the crispy chicharrón was a match made in heaven. I was very impressed by Taqueria Alamos and their exceptional tacos. I’ll be back soon to try the barbacoa and chicharrón taco!
The tostada de ceviche de camarón is another one of Cocteleria La Palma's dishes. While ceviche originated in Peru, it is a popular dish in Sinaloa.
Cocteleria La Palma
This truck that sits diagonal from the Santa Cruz Catholic Church has been a longtime favorite in Tucson — and for good reason. The way Esther Romero and her family make their seafood is a talent, transforming fish and shrimp into a flavorful explosion just by using limes, spices and chiles. Anything you get here will leave you wishing you were eating mariscos on a sandy beach.
Their shrimp tacos are a hit with customers, but my favorite is the tostadas (that kind of counts as a taco, right??). Their shrimp ceviche and aguachile tostadas are a must-order and they hit every time. If you like your tacos doused in lime like I do, these will be right up your alley.
Chicharrón (left) and cabeza tacos from Taqueria Rositas.
Taqueria Rositas
Don’t drive by too fast or you’ll miss the little trailer parked near the Tucson International Airport. Taqueria Rositas may be small, but it packs a punch. Their tacos have a good portion of meat and are topped with cabbage and cilantro, which I loved.
I tried their cabeza taco and chicharrón taco and I was impressed with both! The cabeza is juicy and soft, no mushiness found here. The chicharrón had a great flavor and was the perfect combination of crispy yet chewy. You never want your chicharrónes to be as hard as rocks.
Taqueria Lingo Lingo
Taqueria Lingo Lingo is another big hit here in Tucson. Like Chivo de Oro, they are known for their goat birria. Many reviews said they believed this truck had the best birria in town. Whether you’re craving a quesabirria or a taco dorado, Taqueria Lingo Lingo’s got you covered.
And although we're sitting in triple-digit heat, Taqueria Lingo Lingo's vichi broth is a go-to order on a cold day.
