I believe that Saturday marked the sixth of our taco truckin’ excursions and it was one of the most intriguing. Having launched the taco truck blog we were following up on some of the new suggestions that had been posted. You can read more about our adventures here. As well as finding some new taco trucks we also had a number of other taco and non taco related discoveries.
A truck we had visited before was Tacorriendo but we had neglected to try the ceviche tostada. Based on a recommendation we went back to try it and I am glad we did. Light, crispy and refreshing – a good contrast to the hot meat filled tacos.
Saturday felt a little like a Guinness Record Book attempt, not just due to the quantity of food we consumed but also because the trucks seemed to fall into record breaking categories: the largest, the oldest and the most unusual.
The largest truck of them all is Super Torta II a huge RV like taco truck which has an intercom set up and returnable plastic plates for those who ‘eat-in’.
The oldest truck was Little Mexico, which was the first taco truck in Columbus and we noticed is so established in its location that it has an electric meter and a satellite dish on the nearest phone pole.
One of the most unusual trucks that we found and by luck happened upon was La Guaguita, a Dominican owned operation where the owners offered us samples of their delicious food. Highlights were the Conch salad, carne guisada and the mofongo.
Two other trucks of note were Las Brazas where the tacos were accompanied by french fries and Los Potosinos which was one of the most friendly taco trucks. I highly recommend their grilled chicken (Pollo al Carbon) as well as the tacos and you can hear more about them from CMH Gourmand.
In the non-taco realm we happened upon Smokey Joes, a barbecue stand that sets up Friday- Sunday on Hamilton Road. CMH Gourmand, a Kansas City BBQ judge, could not pass by without sampling the wares and we added rib tips and brisket to our calorific intake.
Sullivant Avenue has a wealth of interesting ethnic food establishments. Relevant to our trucking mission was Koki’s a tortilleria that makes most of the tortillas that we sampled at the various taco trucks. They make white corn, yellow corn and flour tortillas and the corn tortillas are amazingly cheap. They also have a small selection of Mexican convenience items.
My favorite find was Otro Rollo, a Mexican bakery with an astounding array of cakes and pastries that line three walls of their shop. Delicious, beautiful and best of all a bargain. We bought 8 cakes for just over $7.
My favorites were the beautiful shell cakes which are similar to panettone and came with a variety of patterns. The rumor of pumpkin empanadas is enough to make me return soon.
Another discovery was a small restaurant Cenduria Karla (3528 Sullivant Avenue). Which serves special soups such as pozole, menudo or caldo de pollo at weekends. I had not tried pozole before but am now a huge fan. Great food, but not somewhere to dine for the atmosphere.
I have discovered so many areas of the city that I never knew existed. It is amazing how much there is to discover once you get off the ‘beaten-path’. Stay home and go travelling!