I am thankful for Yelp. Not because of the reviews, most are worthless. Instead, I find it a great resource for simply searching “gas station taco” and seeing what results it returns. Most results are not gas stations with taco stands. A lot of results are people talking about a nearby gas station or sometimes comparing a gas station taco to whatever place they are reviewing.
From time-to-time I do find a gem on Yelp. Today was one of those times.
I was in Northern California spending the afternoon at Facebook’s new headquarters for a Mobile Gaming Summit. I’m very lucky to have a great job to be able to do such things. While my day would’ve been more than complete enjoying the summit and the free food after the summit, but I wanted to see what was around the local area and sure enough I found what I was looking for on Yelp.
Tacos El Grullense E&E #3 is only about 5 minutes north of the Facebook campus. There’s a great Hispanic area in Redwood City where there were a couple taquerias and Mexican markets by the Valero gas station I was seeking.
When I pulled up there was a small line and everyone was speaking Spanish. Here I was in a navy blue suit and Chrysler rental car. I ordered some carne asada, pastor and carnitas tacos with cilantro, onions and hot sauce. Another great sign happened during my order when the woman behind the counter asked if I “wanted everything” and everything didn’t include guacamole.
I finally found a California taco stand that doesn’t throw a bucket of guacamole on every taco.
My first bite was the carnitas taco. There was a lot of crunch from the chard ends of the pork butt and flavorful strands of pulled pork. The salsa roja also had some bite and while the tortillas were store bought, they didn’t take away from the carnitas flavor.
Next I continued with more pork and seeing how good the dark red pastor meat it looked to compliment an enjoyable carnitas I just finished. There definitely was a good blend of sweet and spice in the pastor marinade. The meat was mostly lean too; however, the pastor here is good, but I’ve had a lot better. That said, it was a respectable pastor and I wouldn’t hesitate to order one again but I definitely preferred the carnitas.
As much as I was enjoying the pork sampling, it was time to see how the carne asada was at Tacos El Grullense E&E #3. The small chunks of beef had some cumin and other spices to give it some life. The flavor was more intense than I was expecting, in a good way. Again the pieces were lean and went well with the lightly topped cilantro and onions and some squeezed lime.
A few spicy pickled carrots ended this great meal inside my rental car in the Valero parking space.
Tacos El Grullense E&E #3 also serves lengua, chicken and some other meat options. Plus there are options for burritos and a tortas stand next to the taqueria.
Perhaps someday Facebook will be a good resource for finding hidden gas station tacos. That day has yet to come but I’ll be more than happy to lead a Gas Station Taco Summit at Facebook when they’re ready. How about it Zuckerberg?
Gas Station: Valero
Address: 795 5th Ave (Spring Street) Redwood City, CA 94063
Rating (4 out of 5):
Gas Station Tacos 
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