Irvine: Taco Maria

My sister Becky is my guest blogger, offering her report on food trucks from the Teller & Michelson lunch lot in Irvine, CA

 



The aracherra (beef) taco




mole de pollo (chicken) taco



I don’t normally get very excited about tacos. Don’t get me wrong, I do like tacos, but I can’t say my heart would race upon thinking of eating one. That is, until I had a Taco Maria taco.

The aracherra taco included generous cubes of grilled marinated hangar steak with caramelized onion, bacon and charred shishito pepper on top. Before you even take a bite, you had to stop and admire it like a work of art.  The hangar steak was so tender and juicy, it took no effort at all to eat. The shishito peppers brought just the right amount of spiciness. I have no idea what went in to creating such an addicting sauce. Whatever it was, I wanted more.

In addition, I ordered the mole de pollo taco, a chicken thigh taco stewed with chocolate, chile and figs and topped with toasted almonds, a little cheese and onions. I normally pass on chicken tacos (pork and beef always take preference), but this one certainly held my attention. I liked how the toasted almonds brought a little crunch factor to each bite.

Similar to the arancherra taco, the mole de pollo taco also had so many interesting flavors with each bite. There was a sweetness to the sauce from the chocolate that was just enough to detect, but not too much to think it should be a dessert. The chicken was moist and tender, making it way too easy to eat. Before I knew it, my food was gone. I wanted more.

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