As evidence of our all - cover culinary rapture , San Diego is home to TONS of monument to get along and decency , also known as taco trucks . Purveying all that is righteous aboard some form of tortilla , it ’s hard to imagine a life barren of these trucks , literal vehicle of strange meats and the bounteousness of the ocean ( including coinage that were once illegal to eat ) . Alas , there can only be 10 top greaser trucks with perfect offering in town as make up one’s mind by us , so , in a in spades particular and subjective order , here they are .
10. Tacos Toro Bravo
TJ Tacos (1322 Third Ave)
You have n’t tasted Tijuana street - style taco until you ’ve savored the buttery barnyard bliss of tripa ( yes , that ’s grilled cow intestine ) . Parked by one of San Diego ’s great dives , Mr. D ’s Cocktails , this hand truck is all that remains of a nearby strip mall brick - and - mortar that shutter up a few eld back . Now , you may grab $ 1.95 taco with the definitive TJ fixin ’s of diced onion , cilantro , and the periodic dash of avocado pear sauce ( technically guacamole , but the word feels too lofty for this slender preparation ) on top of tender lengua ( glossa ) , cabeza ( head meats ) , asada , tripa , and adobada . A solid 10 to kick off our inclination .
9. Spicy Octopus Taco
Kiko’s Place (4404 Texas St)
If you ’re cool with the fact that Soylent Green is cephalopod , you ’ll sleep together Kiko ’s spicy octo taco . The eight - legged Einstein of the sea is basked in chile oil before being served on a corn tortilla with grilled onion and a mix of half - disappear white-hot and yellow-bellied cheese . Treat yourself to a spare loving cup of soup while you waitress , but resist the itch to pitch it back like a Jägerbomb and scorch your tongue in the process . OG fish tacos go for $ 1.75 all Clarence Day long .
8. Birria Taco
Mariscos Mi Gusto Es (1531 Broadway)
Ah , birria . The Destroyer of Hangovers . The Jaliscan admiration dish . The alchemic stew of tardily - cooked , coarsely chopped beef cattle , abodo spice , and toasted chiles . In its taco incarnation , birria comes on a tortilla that has been dunked in the red broth and lightly crisped on the plancha . Garnish to try with onion , cilantro , and slew of birdlime . While you ’re here , grab a taco cameron enchilado . The Sinaloan staple is backpack with grilled shrimp coated in garlic rock oil , melt white tall mallow , cabbage , tomatoes , onion , and avocado .
7. Aguachile
Oceanos (2985 C St)
There ’s nothing unspoiled for a hot summer bite than a heaping , rude home plate of aguachile . Sip on a costless consomé ( a small seafood vegetable soup ) and allow about 15 minutes for the lime juice to " fix " the natural shrimp into a lily-white , sticky appearance . Best described as a gamey ceviche , aguachile is stacked luxuriously on a tostada with cucumber , onion plant , cilantro , and avocado slices . While the name literally means " chile water , " do n’t pause to supply some marinated onions and habaneros to the mixture . If you ’re not perspire , you ’re not doing it in good order .
6. Baja Trio
Mariscos Nine Seas Seafood (3030 Grape St)
Who better to open up a mariscos hand truck than a local seafood distributor ? Nine Seas ’ mobile kitchen posts up in the Gala Foods – er , Target Express – parking lot and serves killer renditions of all the mariscos classics . try out the bedspread with a $ 7 Baja Trio of Ensenada - trend battered white-hot Pisces the Fishes ( with shredded cabbage , tomato , onion , and crema ) , fried shrimp , and smoky marlin with grill bells , tomato , celery , and melted cheese . withstand deplete the marlin – or as we like to call it , the Viscount St. Albans of the sea – until last , as the fish and half-pint breading will go soggy if go forth alone for long .
5. Carnitas Huarache
La Fachada (20 25th St)
More rightly called a wetback trailer than a hand truck , La Fachada might be the respectable spot in township for authentic TJ greaser and masa - based rarity such as huaraches , gorditas , mulitas , and sopes . Nothing is taboo on this menu loaded with offal oddities including buches ( pork barrel stomach ) , cabeza , and tripa . Named after a Mexican sandal , the huarache ( $ 4.50 ) is an oval of pan - fried hominy dough piled with lettuce , cotija cheese , crema , and for our intention , carnitas , or marinated and lard braise Michoacán - stylus shredded pork barrel . Think of it as a Mexican pizza . Or do n’t . Either way , be sure to wring plenty of lime on there to snub the fatty copper meats .
4. Taco Gobernador
Tijuana JR (625 H St)
Behold , the taco gobernador , the miracle of Mazatlán . It was in this coastal Sinaloan urban center that , as legend has it , Los Arcos eating place first had the January 6 of combining shrimp and melted cheese on a greaser to accommodate a visiting governor . These days , any mariscos joint deserving its system of weights in huitre shells will declare oneself this seaside standard , and Tijuana JR makes ‘ em as sound as any . The brined seabugs are topped with gently grilled red onion plant , tomato , buzzer , and a few slices of avocado . Graeco-Roman Pisces tacos go for a buck on Tuesdays . This popular finish in settle in the parking lot of Fiesta Hall , which has an unfortunate tendency to blast wacky rave tunes and reggaeton all mean solar day . You have been warn .
3. Chicken Al Pastor Taco
Salt + Lime (Quartyard Downtown)
well the most mobile kitchen on our tilt , Salt + Lime is a fairly new endeavor of Chef Julio Rodriguez , a graduate of Tijuana ’s renowned Culinary Art School . Rodriguez puts a modern twist on Mexican standard by , for example , using adobo seasoned chicken instead of porc for his al subgenus Pastor and wrapping it in chicharrón de queso ( an imaginative style of saying crispy griddled Malva sylvestris ) , pineapple habanero sauce , pickled Allium cepa , and guacamole . Checkits calendarto chance out where the motortruck is post up today , or find it reliably every Tuesday at Quartyard Downtown . The chicken al pastor won Salt + Lime the Best Traditional Taco appointment at The Reader ’s 2016 Tacotopia fete , and truth be tell , this is one unorthodox delight .
2. Tostada Loca
Mariscos German Beyer (3269 Beyer Boulevard)
With the correct set of eye , the Tostada Loca calculate like a gruesome communion table fashioned to spite Poseidon by sacrifice one of nearly every creature in his knowledge domain . This $ 12 monolith to the cryptic includes octopus , grilled runt , ceviched Pisces and runt , scallops , and sea snail enshroud in avocado , diced cucumber , tomato , Allium cepa , and cilantro . The tostada is served with a diced mussel and cucumber salad on the half shell , a raw huitre , and two patas de mula ( formerly illegalize parentage clams prized for their aphrodisiac property ) . Top it all with German ’s awarding - deliver the goods 7 Chiles salsa , a creamy sauce of four novel and three dry chiles .
1. Taco Arrachera Con Cameron
Jolla Shark (2150 Imperial Ave)
Now here ’s a goody . It ’s everything we know and love about the surf & turf burrito but in the guise of a giant greaser . Take a moment to revalue just how beautiful this matter is . You ’ve get juicy , marinated flank steak . You ’ve got plump , grill insects of the ocean hiding flirtatiously beneath chopped cilantro , tomato , onion , and avocado . You ’ve got impertinent corn tortilla oozing with mellow cheese and a curlicue of cream sauce . What else do you take ? WHAT ELSE COULD YOU POSSIBLY NEED?!Sign up herefor our daily San Diego e-mail and be the first to get all the nutrient / swallow / fun in town .
TJ Tacos|Chad Deal/Thrillist
Birria Taco|Chad Deal/Thrillist
aguachile|chad deal/thrillist
baja trio|Chad Deal/Thrillist
Carnitas Huarache|Chad Deal/Thrillist
Taco Gobernador|chad deal/thrillist
Tostada Loca|Chad Deal/Thrillist
