From the March 2007 feature Las Fabulosas Taco Trucks in the Houston Press.

#1 Jarro Café Trailer
In front of Jarro Café
1521 Gessner
What to get: Don’t miss the steak (bifstek) taco made with thin-sliced Angus sirloin. Also recommended: the Campechana (beef and chorizo), cochinita pibil (slow-cooked pork) and beef-and-mushroom tacos. Flour tortillas are available for a little extra. Don’t miss the salsa bar. The dark-green jalapeño-and-cilantro salsa may be the mildest; the dried chile salsa is complex and picante. Only the most dedicated chile-heads should attempt to ingest the incendiary orange chile de árbol sauce and the rip-your-lips-off neon green serrano slurry. The food is a little cheaper and a little faster at the taco trailer, but they have the same tacos inside the air-conditioned restaurant, where you also get chips, ice water, knives and forks and an expanded menu.

Photo by Robb Walsh

Photo by Robb Walsh

#4 El Norteño
Long Point and Gessner
This is a “chain” with a couple of blue school buses and at least one blue trailer. They change locations often, but they can usually be found around the corner of Gessner and Long Point. At this writing, there is a blue bus on Gessner north of Long Point and a blue “El Norteño” truck out in front of the shopping center at 9893 Long Point. What to get: “Pollo asado estilo Monterrey” is their specialty — $6 for half a chicken, $10 for a whole one. Both come with tortillas, a roasted onion, chiles and condiments. The chicken is good, but “costillas al carbón” — a whole slab of grilled spare ribs with onions, chiles and condiments for $15 — are even better. A half slab, which goes for $7.50, is more than enough for two.

#5 Tacos Tierra Caliente
1300 block of Montrose Boulevard in the “We Fix Flats” parking lot
Maria Samano and her flirtatious crew from the “hotlands” of Michoacán run this extremely popular taco trailer in the Montrose. What to get: barbacoa tacos with onions and cilantro. Ask Maria for the “salsita,” and she’ll hand you a squirt bottle full of her creamy green “hotlands hot sauce.”

#6 Sabor Venezolano
Southwest corner of Westheimer and Fondren
For a change of pace, try this Venezuelan-owned taco truck on the West side. The truck opens for business at 7 a.m. with 99-cent breakfast tacos. There’s also a Mexican taco menu if you aren’t interested in trying el sabor venezolano. What to get: The patacón looks like a sandwich, but instead of two slices of bread, there are green plantain slices that have been fried together into crispy rounds. A pile of shredded beef, a slice of ham, some cheese, and lettuce, tomato and mayo are layered between two of the plantain crusts. It tastes spectacular, and it’s also very filling. A sauce made of cream with a little feta and basil is served on the side. Chile-heads might consider taking their patacones home and doctoring them up with a little hot sauce. The corn cakes called arepas are split, gordita-style, and stuffed with your choice of meats.

#7 El Mapache III
Northwest corner of Renwick and Gulfton
The parking lot of the Bestop convenience store is attractively decorated with potted palms, giving the El Mapache III dining area a festive ambiance. El Mapache means “the raccoon.” It’s also a nickname for a bandit. What to get: The barbacoa taco features a huge mound of hot cheek meat, nicely shredded and very moist, on your choice of flour or corn tortillas. The salsa is a thick and creamy green concoction. The truck also sells roast chickens, and the beans are free on weekends.

#8 Taqueria Torres
4400 block of Caroline Street
The Mexican Consulate is on San Jacinto. Behind it on Caroline Street, there are two competing taco trucks, Taqueria Torres and Jesse’s Taqueria. Torres has the edge for tangy al pastor, best enjoyed with lots of gooey cheese on a quesadilla. But Jesse’s has a decent chicken taco. And they have a copy machine, too. What to get: quesadilla al pastor, Mexican Cokes.

#9 Tacos El Amigo
Northwest corner of Renwick and Dashwood
What to get: “torta cubana,” a Mexican twist on the Cuban sandwich made with fajita meat, ham, a hot dog cut into lengthwise sections, cheese, lettuce, tomato and lots of guacamole, with hot sauce on the side. Doña Maria is the head chef, and her food is “todo estilo México,” according to her card. The tacos are plain. The gordita is a bad joke. But Doña Maria’s Mexican Cuban sandwich is outrageous.

Photo by Robb Walsh

# 10 Taqueria Hecho en Mexico 2
Kempwood and Blalock
The taco truck with the carhops was formerly located at Blalock and Campbell. The tiny 99 cent taquitos are righteous, but it’s the plentiful condiments that really impress. Each order comes with radishes, roasted jalapeños and a host of other goodies. Aguas frescas are excellent.