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Profile: El Pecas #2 Taco Truck

By - Thursday January 19th 2006

El Pecas truck
Shortly after moving to the Mid-Wilshire neighborhood of Longwood Highlands (“A Neighborhood Of Pride”) in September, I expressed sorrow over the lack of efficient, inexpensive taco stands dispensing Mexican food within walking distance of my apartment. Most of my friends saw that I was feeling down, and would often attempt to console me, but I usually just pushed them away. It was having a real impact on my relationships with loved ones and casual acquaintances. So you can imagine my relief when, on a brisk November night, I drove past a new taco truck setting up shop on the corner of Olympic and La Brea. But after a brief delicious fling with the place, it vanished. Read about that sad tale here.

El Pecas pork spitThe taco truck did return to its spot in a car repair shop parking lot (FYI: Microsoft Word spell check thinks “car repair shop parking lot” is too many nouns in a row, but I’m gonna stick with it), and I’ve eaten there many times over the past few months. The truck is called El Pecas #2. It is owned and operated by Gerardo Navarro and Amado Giron. Navarro and Giron serve tacos and burritos cooked in the Jalisco style.

Saunter (or mosey) up to the window of the truck on any given night and you’ll see pork roasting on a spit and both Giron and Navarro dishing out buche (yes kids, that’s pig stomach!) tacos or a lengua burrito. The excellent salsas are based on Navarro-family recipes, which go back generations to the city of Arandas, Mexico, where some of the Navarro family still lives. The green and red salsas are some of the best I’ve ever tasted — both incredibly complex and challenging (as in they challenge me to be a better man, or think about world peace). I bet you don’t care to know what I order at El Pecas #2. Well, at first I was an al pastor man, but now I think that the carne asada is the meat-de-resistance at El Pecas #2. Try a few tacos, or order a burrito, I think you’ll be impressed. This is one of the best spots in town for quick, tasty Mexican food.

El Pecas plate El Pecas #2 can be found at the southwest corner of Olympic and La Brea 7 days a week from 6 p.m. until about midnight. Tacos, $1; burritos, $3. Giron said that El Pecas #2 is available for catering. He can be reached at 323-353-0874. I think they are going to cater my cousin’s Bar Mitzvah. Who wants buche? Next week, I’m going to try to figure out what the deal is with El Pecas #1.




What now?

13 Responses to “Profile: El Pecas #2 Taco Truck”

  1. Posted by Pete 1/20/06 at 12:54 am #

    Oh man. So great. If I ever move into an actual house (or even a duplex) I’m definitely having these guys cater the housewarming party.

  2. Posted by Gridskipper 1/20/06 at 8:17 am #

    Gridskipper Interview:Losanjealous

    Here begins a potentially very short-lived series of voluntary interviews with those people and creatures who won in various categories on the Urbs: 2005 Urban Blogging Awards. In this installment, we elevate the tone with Losanjealous, winner of Best …

  3. Posted by Ryan 1/20/06 at 9:04 am #

    awesome.

  4. Posted by Lain 1/27/06 at 11:25 am #

    WOW! I just scrolled down, saw the pictures and my mouth got watery! (as in: I want some tacos now!)

  5. Posted by johnnyhongkong says… » punk rock valentine! 2/16/06 at 2:15 pm #

    [...] Appropriate background: early in our courtship, we would go get takeout and eat it on the roof of my old building in Koreatown. It’s very romantic up there because you can see the skyline all around. One of our favorite places to order from was the Catalinas Burrito Truck that is usually on the corner of 8th and Hobart. Their chicken burrito “suprim” loaded with cheese, sour cream, fresh avocado, and chicken that has been stewed in crack makes it, in our opinion, the best burrito north of Mexico . Suffice to say that while losanjealous recommends El Pecas #2 Taco Truck, we remain unconvinced and advocate a Taco Truck smackdown. In any event, it’s been 7 months since we had the Catalinas Chicken Burrito Suprim, so my plan was that we get burritos, a bottle of wine and sneak into my old apartment buildin and eat on thee roof. [...]

  6. Posted by The Mid-City Taco Triumvirate 4/24/06 at 11:07 am #

    [...] Yes, I’ve been gone for a bit. I went away to blogging school, did a few extension classes when money got tight, but passed the finals and got my degree. Since graduating, I’ve started my own blog, L.A. Smog Blog. There you will find my review of El Burrito Jr., which completes my reviewing of the Mid-City taco triumvirate, which began on this site with reviews of El Pecas #2 and Lucy’s. If you wanted to, you could easily walk to all three of these La Brea Ave. establishments for a full day of taco fun. I do it every other Sunday with a group of friends. Try it. Also, here’s a visual aid if you do decide to take the Mid-City taco walking tour. Print this map out and you are set: [...]

  7. Posted by Metroblogging Los Angeles 11/28/06 at 6:03 pm #

    L.A.’s Third Gift to the World: Food, Glorious Food (that makes you think of home)

    Yes, yes. Except for some famine/pestilence-ridden places in the world, food is everywhere people live. But L.A.’s third gift to the world is two-fold: food that’s fresh and food that makes you think of home… where ever home may be….

  8. Posted by El Chato, Son of El Pecas #2 3/5/07 at 6:45 pm #

    [...] had a long, rich history with El Pecas #2. My roommates and I hired the guys from the El Pecas truck to cater a summer block party we threw [...]

  9. Posted by Brian 4/16/07 at 12:35 pm #

    i love jaliscan styly tacos!…

  10. Posted by Ryan 7/3/07 at 1:55 pm #

    Agreed. I’ve printed it out and hope to finish reading it before Labor Day.

  11. Posted by Jenn 7/3/07 at 2:29 pm #

    So much for that. I had my bets on Renee.

  12. Posted by Dougie 11/28/08 at 12:12 am #

    Great tacos! Always quality never a disappointment.


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