By Chris Browne ’11
Reviewer

In 2008, the Los Angeles city council proposed a series of new regulations effectively banning taco trucks in East L.A. The move sparked a near-riot among vendors (loncheros) and street-food enthusiasts, inspiring the now famous rallying cry “Carne asada is NOT a crime!”

But why such uproar about the taco-truck crackdown? Well for one, the trucks symbolize street food at its most authentic: hot, fresh, spicy as hell. Street tacos and pupusas (the Salvadoran stuffed flatbread) have been elevated to an art form, not just in Latino epicenters such as East L.A., but in many of the smaller cities of the Central American diaspora. Truck-style specialties such as lengua (beef tongue), tacos al pastor (slow-cooked pork with pineapple), and corn tamales are a special kind of comfort food, a taste that reminds you of your abuela’s cooking (if you’re lucky enough to have a Mexican grandmother).

And as much as I despise the phrase ‘recession dining,’ this stuff is not just delicious, it’s also cheap. While some gringos are still buying Rick Bayless cookbooks and flipping out about table-side guacamole, many of us are starting to realize that this kind of food tastes best when it’s served out of the back of a truck or a shabby grocery.

Lucky for us, there are a couple of places here in Charlottesville that specialize in this style of Central American home cooking. There’s even a taco truck.

El Pollo Loco

1417 North Emmet St.

434-295-9671

Spanish for “The Pollo Loco,” this cafeteria-style pleasure dome should not be confused with the Southern California chicken franchise of the same name. Squeezed between the Asian Market and a Chinese restaurant that shall not be named, El Pollo Loco is an all-in-one Mexican super grocery selling everything from pastries to tamale cookers. Remember the scene in Leaving Las Vegas when an alcoholic Nicholas Cage prances around the liquor store? That’s what this place is like for Mexican- food aficionados.

But the real gem of El Pollo Loco is hidden in the back of the store. There, the lovely Doña Olga waits, flashing her gold-capped smile at anyone approaching her magical steam table. Sure, there are tacos. Glorious tacos, in fact, made from scratch with slow-cooked pork that has been marinating for days (order of three for $7.50). There are also delicious rotisserie chickens, broiled and juicy, served with fresh avocado, dirty rice, and frijoles charros. But if you only try El Pollo Loco one time (a terrible decision), try to ignore these tempting standards and order from Doña Olga’s menu of daily specials.

Mole poblano chicken (a Oaxacan specialty made from six kinds of chiles, herbs, and chocolate), menudo (savory tripe stew), even machaca (dried beef and scrambled eggs): Doña Olga cooks the very best of Mexican comfort food. Her beef and pork caldos (stews) are made with the freshest ingredients from the adjoining butcher, and everything tastes like slow-simmered perfection.

El Cazón Tropical

1871 Seminole Trail

434-293-1119

Nothing says home cooking like the sound of pupusas on a griddle. And nobody does pupusas like El Cazón (at least not around here). “Specializing in Salvadorian (sic), Dominican & Hondurian (sic) traditional food,” this little hole-in-the-wall does all three pretty well, but the young chef, Yesenia, is Salvadoran and so are her best dishes.

Light, fluffy, and stuffed with chicharrones (pork cracklings), these pupusas are the real deal. If you’re having lunch, try the pan relleno (Salvadoran spicy chicken sandwich with cabbage) or the tamales, which are fantastic. If you’re in the mood for something heavier, the mondongo, an absurdly hearty stew made of beef hoof and yucca, is out-of-this-world delicious—just make sure you have time for a postprandial nap.

La Michoacana Deli

1138 E. High St.

434-409-9941

No review of Charlottesville’s best Central American home cooking would be complete without this place, even if it was given some Law Weekly publicity last fall. Husband and wife duo José and Elsa run La Michoacana like a family kitchen. Known affectionately as “Project Taco,” La Michoacana is a low-inventory Mexican bodega with a small, built-in restaurant. Stoic and a little bit surly, José takes his craft seriously (don’t BYO and don’t order nachos).

Before opening their deli/grocery/$2 taco stand, the folks at La Michoacana ran an actual taco truck on the Downtown Mall, so expect Mexican street favorites like tripita (tripe tacos), carne asada, and the best torta (sweet bread Mexican sandwich) in C’ville.

Their $8 burritos are enormous and pretty popular, but the house specialty is the Taco Loco which stuffs beef, chicken, spicy chorizo and all the fixings into a homemade corn tortilla. This place is a bit low on ambience, so grab one of the side tables, a Jarritos soda, and watch Elsa throw down in the recently-expanded kitchen.

As for the taco truck, we hear it was briefly up for sale but is still available to cater your next function (call now!!!).

Like any medium-sized city with a vibrant Latino community, Charlottesville offers a pretty good range of Mexican restaurants. Some are suited to American, Tex-Mex­-style tastes while others, like El Cazón, El Pollo Loco, and La Michoacana cater to those looking for a taste of home. But even if tripe and beef tongue tacos aren’t your thing, go in and visit Doña Olga, Elsa, and Yesenia: It’s as close to the taco truck as you can get.