One evening I followed a co-worker who wanted to show me her route from work to home so I could avoid the freeways.  I am always looking at my surroundings and always checking out every gas station I pass to see if they sell tacos. I couldn’t believe my luck that evening.  I learned a new route home with no traffic and of even more importance, I found a new taqueria at a local Shell gas station that had just opened.

The new taqueria, currently nameless, is open from 10am to 6pm.  There’s a fairly broad menu consisting mostly of combination plates and dishes with beans and rice.  Items can be ordered separately and that’s what I did when I finally stopped one afternoon for lunch.

When I was there around 11:30am on a Tuesday there were no other customers. The place had only been open a few weeks, but with several local taco trucks and stands in the area this place is going to have some difficulty building a loyal following. Before getting too ahead of myself, I still had yet to try anything. I ordered a couple carne asada and carnitas tacos.  The only other option that day was chicken.

Preparation was a combination of griddle and microwave oven. The microwave was used to reheat the meat which seemed odd with a giant griddle that was only being used to heat four small corn tortillas. Hearing the microwave oven *ding* also didn’t build much confidence as I waited.

There is a small condiments area that has a few salsas. I also asked only for onions and cilantro.  Not sure if there is guacamole, but I’m sure it’s there if that’s your desire. I’m not a fan of guacamole on tacos, so I specifically ask only for onions and cilantro.

Starting on the carne asada tacos, the flavor was good and even though they were nuked in a microwave were surprisingly not dry. They were also fairly lean and the taco was better than most.  I tried each taco with a different salsa and definitely preferred the red salsa with its pungent kick.

Next the carnitas.

I couldn’t believe what I was tasting. A pretty amazing carnitas that had a good crispy crust and though a tad on the dry side, still full of flavor.  It was better than a couple of the local taco trucks I had tried over the past month now that I take this commute regularly.  They are easily one of the better carnitas tacos in the area.

There is a lot of promise at this unnamed taqueria, but a few things are needed. First of all, a name would be nice so it can have more charm than just “The Shell station.”  Second, ditch the microwave. Microwaves bring no confidence to food, especially when all of the cooking is done right in front of the person waiting for their order.  These are minor tweaks to what is a pretty good gas station taco stand.

Let’s hope the word gets out more and they find a place in the crowded taco truck, taco stand market.

Gas Station: Shell

Address: 4590 Huntington Drive, El Sereno (Los Angeles), CA 90032

Rating (4 out of 5):

A quick U-Turn and a stop for a couple “appetizer tacos” before lunch at Stone Brewery sounded like a brilliant idea.

Jilberto’s has a counter inside the station complete with three types of salsas and some of the best hot pickled carrots and jalapenos I’ve seen at a gas station. They also have a convenient drive-thru for those on the go who don’t need to stop to refuel.

Tacos here are a bit pricey. The pricing is a bit odd too. Al pastor, cabeza, and lengua tacos run $2 while more basic beef and chicken are $2.50.  For $2.99 you can order carnitas, carne asada or pollo asada.  Honestly some of the strangest taco pricing I’ve seen and I’ve reviewed over 40 places.

I went with two tacos so I could see what Jilberto’s is made of. I went with an inexpensive al pastor and a premium priced carnitas both on corn tortillas.   The tacos come with cilantro and chopped onions.

They also come with guacamole.  I sometimes forget Californians can’t help themselves with dumping guacamole on every taco in the state.  Fortunately, this guacamole was pretty good and didn’t takeover the taste of the rest of the ingredients.

The al pastor was a bit dry but still had good flavor.  The corn tortillas are store-bought so they are not anything special and they were served dry right out of the bag.  If I had only the al pastor, I would’ve been a bit disappointed with Jilberto’s.

Fortunately, the carnitas was a whole different story. Wow! The carnitas here is amazing. Perfect pieces of slow cooked pork crust with the meat still juicy and tender. It is seriously one of the best, if not THE best, carnitas taco I’ve had.

Even with the subpar tortillas and the addition of the unnecessary guacamole, the carnitas taco stood out and was well worth the $2.99.

I left to go to lunch at Stone Brewery down the street and had an excellent chicken schnitzel with mashed potatoes and carrots and of course a Pale Ale beer to wash it all down.  It was a great meal, but if I’m being totally honest I would of rather had a plate of carnitas tacos from Jilberto’s.

Gas Station: ARCO

Address:  538 Nordahl Rd, Escondido, CA 92029

Rating (4 out of 5):

With the popularity of Food Trucks taking over just about every major city, try this to find out the name of your imaginary food truck business.

My first stop in this land of fuel and tortillas was a good one. Correction. A great one.

Inside a new Chevron gas station is a local chain Mexican restaurant called Arsenio’s. They have several locations around Fresno and Clovis plus a couple other close by towns. The menu is quite extensive with plenty of options including tostadas, burritos, tortas, tacos, nachos, and even enchiladas. The tacos come in a variety of ways including corn, flour, and rolled up deep fried. Meat choices are beef, chicken, ground beef, lengua, al pastor, and fish. Prices range from 99 cents for the beef taco to $2.30-$2.75 for everything else.

Fortunately the three tacos I ordered, priced at a steep $2.75 each, were huge. These are not your taco stand tacos on small corn tortillas.  They are large almost equivalent to 3 street tacos which now causes me to reflect how I basically ate 9 tacos with 5 hours left to drive.  My poor family.

Like everywhere in California I did have to specify no pico de gallo and no guacamole. I just wanted the tacos with chopped onions and cilantro. It also came with some green and red hot sauce and a couple limes. Perfect.

The asada I tried first was lean and perfectly cooked. It had good flavor and was not chewy or overdone.  It was a pleasant surprise and I couldn’t wait to see how the next two tacos would compare.

Amazing. The carnitas was simply amazing. This is what I love about gas station tacos. People expect nothing from gas station food, because most gas station food is microwavable breakfast sandwiches, cardboard pizza, or those things they call hotdogs. Yet, here I am in the middle of nowhere in central California eating a cartinas taco that will beat most high-end Mexican restaurants. The pork is not dry yet it still has chunks of outer crust and just a bit of fat to make the world perfect for just a couple minutes as I pour on some more salsa verde and squeeze a bit more lime juice to finish a great carnitas taco.

I often save the al pastor for last, because it’s usually my favorite but with the carnitas being so good I was ready for a little disappointment.  Thankfully the al pastor was solid. It wasn’t over sauced, it had a good sweet and slightly spicy flavor I have come to love about al pastor. It wasn’t the best al pastor I’ve had; however, it was definitely in the top 10.

Let me apologize right now for this. Arsenio’s in Tulare, California deserves an Arsenio Hall Fist Pump.

Gas Station: Chevron

Address: 2959 N. M Street, Tulare, CA 93724

Rating (5 out of 5):

Coming back from a long weekend in northern California our family decided to take a more scenic route back to Los Angeles.  The Pacific Coast Highway, aka PCH, is a beautiful drive consisting of Monterey, Carmel, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara. Around dinner time we made a stop for gas at a Shell station in San Luis Obispo and to my surprise there was a taqueria in the strip mall sharing the driveway of the Shell station.

Pancho Villa’s is listed as a seafood restaurant on Foursquare and while it does offer several seafood options, it is a taqueria with tacos and burritos as the primary options.

There are 14 choices for your taco here – everything from the traditional carne asada, carnitas, and chicken to a few vegetarian choices including avocado, grilled vegetables, or their “Famous Vegetarian.”   There are also chile relleno and seafood tacos.

I went with the Famous Vegetarian, which consisted of white rice and mixture of beans with a strip of lettuce, some pico de gallo, sour cream, and a massive amount of guacamole. The taco basically tasted like scooping out copious amounts of guacamole into a tortilla and that’s after scraping some of the guacamole off the top.  The filling wasn’t too great either with the rice and bean mixture lacking any flavor.  I’m not sure what this taco is famous for, but it’s definitely not taste.

Next I tried the birria de chivo (goat) taco.  I’ve only had a couple goat tacos and I have to say this made up for the disappointment of the veggie taco.  The goat was nicely prepared. It was mostly lean too and I had it ordered only with cilantro and onions. The hot red sauce they had at their salsa bar also added some welcomed flavor to round out one the best goat tacos I’ve had.

With 12 other choices to try, I’m sure there are some other winners and losers on the menu.  Perhaps some other drive along the coast will present itself so I can have a go at their chile relleno taco and maybe a shrimp taco too. I’m hoping the shrimp taco is a winner as I’d hate to have that sitting with me on a three-hour drive back home.

Gas Station: Shell

Address: 11 Santa Rosa St (Foothill Blvd), San Luis Obispo, CA

Rating (3 out of 5):

Fortunately, I came across a place in Pasadena with a few outdoor tables, chairs and antique gas pumps.  The pumps no longer served fuel they now just stood there for aesthetic benefit. Perhaps someday when we are all driving cars that we plug-in at home and drive 5,000 miles on a single charge, gas stations will be obsolete and places like Norma’s Tacos will serve the needs of nostalgic gas station taco fans.

If this is my future, I’m smiling.

This was the first time I’ve seen a Cochinita pibil taco choice. I ordered one; though, I should’ve ordered several more.  It comes with pickled red onions.  I added beef and barbacoa tacos asking only for chopped onions and cilantro.  Like many places they will serve the tacos with a guacamole sauce and shredded cheese.

The pibil taco looked amazing when it arrived.  One bite in and I was in heaven. Wow! This was simply one of the best tacos I’ve experienced. The meat was tender, flavorful and the pickled red onions made every bite extra special.

I was about to be disappointed, as I usually am, when I tried the barbacoa taco next.  It too did not disappoint.  While not a traditional barbacoa made from slowly cooked cow’s head, Norma’s Tacos makes a slow cooked shredded beef barbacoa that is lean and spiced perfectly.  However it was a bit messy as the red juices kept falling from the taco to the plate with a few drops landing on my shirt.

Their beef taco was also lean and flavorful.  All tacos were complimented with two homemade corn tortillas.  The beef and barbacoa tacos were served with a perfect amount of onions, cilantro and meat.  They do not over stuff the tacos here, nor do they skimp.  The only negative is a weak, watery green salsa.  Good thing they have a great tasting red hot sauce that is also available.

There is a cooler with several Jarritos plus some Mexican Coke though I went with the Sangria cola.

Sadly this perfect oasis in Pasadena is closing down this weekend.  They are relocating and reopening in two weeks to a rather drab looking strip mall looking storefront where they will blend in with dry cleaners, salons, and a Subway. It’s unclear what will happen to the antique gas pumps. Perhaps they’ll sit oddly in some corner of the new indoor location instead of outside glistening in the California sunshine.

Gas Station: None (Former).

Location: 1265 E. Green Street, Pasadena, CA 91106
(moving to new location at: 950 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91106)

Rating (5 out of 5):

The sparse finds are causing me to be a bit more loose with the definition of gas station taqueria. For instance, on our way to the Eagle Rock Farmers’ Market I drove past a Union 76 gas station with a blue and silver taco truck parked to the side of the pumps.

Tacos La Estrella does park here regularly and is essentially a fixture of the gas station; though, as with anything with wheels it can simply decide to go elsewhere never to return again.  For now though, this taco truck spends a lot of time meeting the culinary needs of this gas station’s patrons and others who know of the truck’s taco superiority.

I order a carne asada, carnitas, and al pastor all on corn tortillas with just onions and cilantro and salsa roja.  The plate comes with California garnish of radishes and limes. When the tacos are served I can tell this was well worth the stop making up for the lackluster Eagle Rock Farmers’ Market which ended up being one of the most disappointing Farmers’ Market I’ve been to.

All of the meats are cooked to perfection. Nothing is dry, overcooked or flavorless. Instead each bite is followed by an “yeah.” “mmmm.” “damn.”  So I’ll never be doing food reviews for the New York Times, but who cares. I was loving these tacos.

I polished them off in the car in about 2 minutes.  My wife who rarely tries the tacos I eat from gas stations tried a bite of the carnitas and even she was impressed.  The carnitas was really impressive, but that’s just because so many fail at overcooking carnitas making it tough and dry. Not here.

After finishing my diner, it was time to take the family out to eat. Sadly no one else wanted tacos so we ended up at California Pizza Kitchen. I ordered a beer and a salad while everyone else ordered their meals. I surveyed the restaurant thinking about the amazing tacos I just enjoyed a few miles west wishing I had a few more to go with the beer.

Gas Station: Union 76

Address: 1871 Colorado Blvd (Highland View Ave), Los Angeles, California 90041

Rating (5 out of 5):

Potential is far better than disappointment.

Sadly my first gas station taco in Los Angeles was a disappointment causing me to wait a good month before I finally got around to writing this review.

I relocated to Los Angeles from Dallas last month and wondered what would become of my Gas Station Taco Blog. Would I find any gas station tacos in LA? Sure I’d find tons of excellent tacos. My love of street tacos began here in the late 1980s when I used to go to the taco trucks long before “food trucks” were plastered with Twitter accounts and Facebook URLs.  In fact, my absolute favorite taco blog is The Great Taco Hunt based here in LA, but would I find gas station taquerias?

I only knew of one: Taco Express. I had passed it several times coming into and out of LA on travel as the rental car shuttles passed it. I had stopped in to try it a couple times, but the place was closed.

So it had potential.

The best option at Taco Express

Taco Express is inside an Arco station with a full kitchen in back advertising only beef and chicken tacos plus a variety of other typical Mexican options.  I ordered two of each taco choice on corn tortillas with only onion and cilantro.  I also asked for a side of hot sauce.  They serve a mild pico de gallo sauce too.

My first bite into the chicken taco wasn’t good. The meat was rubbery and flavorless. I tried two more bites then decided to pass on the rest of the chicken tacos I had ordered.

The beef taco was slightly better. At least the meat is lean, but like the chicken there just isn’t much flavor.  I added some more of the hot sauce which has a rich red color and some decent heat. Overall the beef taco is an okay choice if you really want a taco before leaving or arriving at LA Airport, but with so many better taco trucks around town I’d personally wait for a better option.

Gas Station: Arco

Address: 9200 Aviation Boulevard  Los Angeles, CA 90045

Rating (2 out of 5):

———— Another Perspective from Guest Blogger: Stephanie White ——–

Before I had an opportunity to try Taco Express a friend of mine here in LA, Stephanie White, made a visit. Here are her and her friend’s thoughts.

Thank you Stephanie.

More On Taco Express. 

I live in Los Angeles, and the only gas station tacos I’d ever seen were in a glass case in an AM/PM or in a Taco Bell attached to the mini-mart.  Maybe they’re like Frito-pie stands in New Mexico? I asked, but no.

As Chris did his best to explain this gas station taco phenomenon, I was sure I’d never seen (nor smelled!) one, even on road trips to other states.  Then one day, feeling a bit sheepish that I hadn’t really looked for one, I found what must be the only LA-area gas station taco, Taco Express.  Minutes later, I got a tweet with the same find — I knew I had to go check it out.  Of course, there was one caveat– not only would it be my first gas station taco, it was going to have to be vegetarian.  But don’t worry — I had a friend try some of the meat tacos, so I could report back.

Armed with memories of the most recent GasStationTacos.com posts and a few Yelp reviews (the comments are a testament to this oddity in LA) — I drove toward LAX, found the ARCO station and the sign I’d been looking for: The Taco Express!  I was even more excited when I saw the colorful sign (with pictures of plated food) outside on the mini-mart wall proclaiming the vegetarian burritos!  I could smell the food the minute I got out of my car.  My friend, Steve, laughed at the idea of gas station tacos, but he trusted me on this one, and decided to give it a try.

Inside the Arco station

The shiny red-tile counter sits under the same ’80s-era logo, a faded paper menu stands at the counter top, and a sign sits in the window that reminds you: This is not Fast Food, it’s quality food served FAST!  Surrounding the counter and the drink dispenser to the side are more bagged tortilla chips than you could ever hope to use at a Cinco de Mayo party.  The bright menu board lists a few breakfast options (tacos and burritos with eggs & chorizo if you get there before 10am), but none could be made vegetarian, so my first breakfast taco experience would have to wait.  Thankfully, the menu provides detailed descriptions (and photos!) so you know exactly what you’re getting with your order: tacos (steak or chicken), burritos (vegetarian, chicken, or steak), tortas, quesadillas, nachos, and salad — this is LA after all.  While I waited to let a few others order (I was curious to see what they got), I snapped a few photos as tortillas were filled with hot and cold ingredients behind the glass.  The other patrons said the burritos are best, but each ordered tacos as well.  While the tacos are $1.25, everything else on the menu is $3 – $5.

I’m sure they didn’t understood why I was so happy to be there, but they helped me decide on a veggie taco (secret menu!) and a veggie burrito.  The LA-version of the gas station taco only has two meat options, chicken and steak, unlike some of the delicacies offered in Texas.

The tacos are on two stacked (moist!) corn tortillas, and my veggie came with rice, flavorful refried beans, cheese, fresh onions & cilantro.  I’m not a fan of raw tomatoes, so I skipped those, and opted for the hot salsa instead of the mild, which is a saucy pico de gallo.  I asked for limes, and she asked if I also wanted radishes and a roasted jalapeno — of course! — so she wrapped them up in aluminum foil which kept them nice and chilled.  Steve ordered a steak taco and a chicken taco.  He had his made with onions and cilantro, then he added lime and mild salsa (much preferred to the hot, he said).

Burritos and tacos

My vegetarian burrito was big and heavy.  They fill the flour tortilla with rice, beans, cheese, onion, cilantro, guacamole, lettuce, tomato — I love lettuce, but not in my burritos, so I skipped that and the tomato again, and chose hot salsa. She looked a little worried and offered to put it on the side, but I promised I’d be ok.

I happily took the paper bag with the tortilla rounds, my foil-wrapped taco, burrito, and veggies, and headed to the car.  I devoured the taco in about 10 small bites — the flavors mixed well, the lime was juicy, and the salsa was indeed nice and warm, with a dominant flavor of red chilies.  Sadly, Steve was not impressed with the quality of the meat in his tacos, and found the meat tough and gristly.

It was time to try the burrito.  The flour tortilla was nicely balanced with the filling.  Their “delicious beans”, rice, cheese, and onions melted into one another, while every few bites brought the coolness of cilantro and guacamole. I ate half of the burrito, went back in for a side of their hot salsa, and then took the rest of the food home.  I was really impressed with how well the burrito held its shape (and its warmth).  I finished it about 30 minutes later, with more lime and salsa, and polished off the mild salsa with the chips.

Overall, the food tasted like authentic Mexican food (minus the lard and associated heaviness), and I was sorry I hadn’t discovered this place sooner.  I appreciated the fresh vegetable condiments, and the facts that they used foil and paper, instead of Styrofoam or plastic.  It’s likely that I will go back and try some other items from the menu, along with more of those veggie tacos.  Steve said he’d give the meat tacos another try, but otherwise, he’d be back for the vegetarian food at The Taco Express.

So this La Fonda isn’t “THE best thing that has ever happened to me.” It is however the best of three Southern California gas station taco places I’ve been to. I’m behind two reviews so expect those to come soon.

I must possess gas station taco radar as I found Tacos La Fonda by accident after taking the wrong exit off the 2 Freeway in LA when out of the corner of my eye I noticed a Mexican restaurant in the storefronts of a SC Fuel Stop.

There are about eight tables inside and a fairly extensive menu, all of it in Spanish. So I simply asked what meats were available and was told beef, chicken, tongue, barbacoa, and pork carnitas. I ordered 3 tacos: a beef fajita, chicken and barbacoa. As part of the order, I asked for only cilantro and onions. The woman behind the counter says in a surprised voice, “Really?” Yep, really.

Since it was a fairly lazy Saturday I decided to dine-in and my tacos arrived with a generous amount of meat on each corn tortilla and plated with sliced carrots and radishes.

What also showed up was a lengua taco instead of the beef fajita I ordered. I decided to go with it and have at the lengua. It was the least favorite of the three as the tongue’s papillae were quite large and almost hairy on several of the pieces. The tongue also wasn’t particularly juicy like a delicious slow cooked pot roast like some lengua I’ve had.

Moving on.

The chicken was okay. Since there was a huge pile of chicken on the taco, I simply pushed aside some of the more gristly pieces and enjoyed a flavorful chicken taco.

Finally the one that saved the day… the best gas station barbacoa taco I’ve ever had. The barbacoa here is excellent. It had a sweet but spicy flavor with a deep, deep reddish brown color.  Every bite was better than the next, leaving my time at Tacos La Fonda a positive memory.

The tortillas are not fresh, they’re packaged while the salsa roja has a good flavor, but isn’t standout like some places I’ve been.

One quick tip: Tacos La Fonda serves their tacos with lettuce and pico de gallo, so be sure to ask only for cilantro and onions like I did; though, expect a bit off-putting surprise tone from the person taking your order.

Gas Station: SC Fuel Stop

Address: 2135 N San Fernando Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90065

Rating (4 out of 5):

Not every gas station taqueria is inside the mini mart. Sometimes the taqueria sits next to the gas station and in this case they do not share buildings, they share cement steps.  If I can get some gas and order some tacos while the tank is refueling, then it’s a gas station taco stand to me.

This brings me to the latest find Taqueria El Infiernito that shares a lot with a Shell station.

The bright red building with a an awning over several outside stools and a eating counter provides a good place to eat if you are not in a hurry after fueling up. The tacos are excellent provided you are a fan of a greasier taco shell wrapping around your favorite menu choice which can include beef fajita, pastor, chorizo, carnitas, chicken, lengua, or barbacoa.

I went with the beef fajita, pastor, chorizo and carnitas tacos all on corn tortillas with chopped cilantro and onions.  A charred jalapeno, grilled onions, a couple lemon wedges, and three different salsas were included with my order.

The tortillas are a dark corn that taste like they have been soaked in oil all morning, a good thing in this case. They remind me of another personal favorite La Paisanita Taqueria Deli. The carnitas tasted amazing when combined with the double-ply corn tortillas and a few drops of the salsa roja. The pork is lean and moist they way you want pulled pork to taste like it fell clean from the bone with no effort by human hands.

There was plenty of crumbled chorizo to be had in the next taco as I worked my way down a line of fillings and small puddles of grease dripped as each taco was raised from container to mouth. The chorizo was flavorful and tasted great when dipped into the creamy salsa verde with its avocado base.

Small chops of beef filled the fajita taco. The meat is lean at Taqueria El Infiernito whether it was beef or pork.  Flavor was a bit bland since the fajita meat is simply chopped beef without any charring and little seasoning.

Finally the pastor, which looked rich in color, was sadly disappointing. The spices are just a bit off with too much adobo sauce and a bit of a paste texture. Perhaps it was an off day as everything else tasted great and was one of the better all around gas station taco experiences.

The Webb-Chapel area is proving to be a great find for amazing street food for when you need to refuel before you hit the street.

Gas Station: Shell

Address: 9763-A Webb Chapel Rd., Dallas, TX 75220

Rating (4 out of 5):