Humble setting in parking lot belies taco truck’s delicious Mexican fare

A couple of weeks ago, I dined with some friends in what used to be the Youth Outreach Center parking lot on Union Boulevard. The occasion: to try out the lonchera — a taco truck that sets up shop there.

My friends — 90-something Lois Hayna and her 50-something daughter, Linda Henderson — and I have been having lunch together the first Friday of the month for at least six years. Foodies all three, we are always looking for a new culinary adventure for our monthly gatherings.

It was Henderson’s turn to pick the spot, and she suggested the lonchera, La Flor de Jalisco. Loncheras get a bad rap because there’s a perception that the food is prepared in unsanitary conditions. But we found the food preparation to be to our standards — and the food quite delicious.

Sure, we were an odd-looking group of diners compared with the rest of the customers — mostly blue-collar, Hispanic men sitting on truck tailgates or standing at the counter attached to the side of the taco truck. Henderson had come prepared for asphalt dining with folding lawn chairs and a small folding table so we could eat in style.

In Mexico, tacos (light snacks) are street food, served in the morning or late at night. The type of tacos you’ll find for sale depends on where you are in Mexico. If you are in Jalisco or Michoacan, the taquero — taco maker — will prepare carnitas (chopped pork sauteed in orange rind and lard). A taquero in Baja will have fish as the main ingredient. Sonoran specialties would be tacos de carne asada (marinated and grilled beef) or de cabeza (head cheese).

The taquero at La Flor de Jalisco has a bit more of an expanded menu, offering pollo (chicken), carnitas, birria (lamb or goat in a spicy stew), carne asada, chicharron (fried pork skin), mariscos (seafood) and lengua (beef tongue). Any of these meat selections can be made as tacos, tortas, burritos, tostados or quesadillas.

It’s my lunch group’s custom to order different things and share. I went for the lengua burrito ($4.50), a huge flour tortilla filled with rice, pinto beans, sour cream and a good portion of seasoned stewed tongue cubes. We all loved it.

The flavor reminded me of a lunch meat we used to make when I was a young girl. Beef tongue was cooked in the pressure cooker until very tender. The outer tough skin was removed. Then about a cup of whole cloves was stuck into the tongue before it was placed in a sweet and sour pickling liquid for about four days.

But I digress. Back to the parking lot. Hayna ordered the quesadillas ($4.50), two giant flour tortillas with tasty white Mexican cheese in between. It’s grilled until the cheese turns creamy and the tortillas are lightly browned. The slices were dripping with the hot cheese and were fabulous. We decided this would make a perfectly filling lunch by itself.

Our favorite was the spicy and salty carnitas taco ($1.25), which Henderson ordered. The meat is piled on two flat, steamed corn tortillas and garnished with minced cilantro and onion and a wedge of lime.

As long as the weather is inviting, we’ll be making more stops there to check out meats we didn’t try. Heavens knows the price is right for adventurous diners.

By the way, just to be on the for-sure side, I called the El Paso County Health Department to find out whether these mobile eateries are regularly inspected. I was assured by Rick Miklich, division director for environmental health for El Paso County, that the trucks must work with a permit, and they’re inspected twice a year. Visit www.elpasocountyhealth.org to search for a restaurant’s inspection reports.

Teresa J. Farney’s column appears Wednesdays. Reach her at 636-0271.