I will be heading there soon.
I think of it as the difference between a red sauce italian place like Raoās and a place like Angelini Osteria not saying one is better than the other just slightly different focus.
1 Like
i politely and respectfully disagree with your analogy, but no big whup.
Yah, as @Ns1 and a few other FTCāers have pointed out, if you donāt see the Trompo out at any of your favorite Al Pastor stands, then just keep driving. 
I drove by Leoās Tacos once and they didnāt have the Trompo out. And hearing you and another person mention La Guera when they didnāt have the Trompo out (or not cooking on high heat), you might as well skip it for the night.
Thinking back on when we saw the Trompo at La Guera? One was on a Tues night around 9 p.m. Another was Thurs night. And multiple visits on the weekends around 10 p.m.+ Always had the Trompo out cooking on high heat with lots of people.
Iāll be back to the MLK Tacos Estilo D.F. and hopefully see their Trompo on high heat. We liked their Volcanes a lot. 
Thanks again!
2 Likes
Noooo! 
Iāll leave that reporting up to you and the other veteran FTCāers. I think we would die trying to do a round up on those food groups.
Why are trompos ever not out? Because they are illegal?
in my effort to remain the biggest jackass extant, i ask:
given that a lot of trompos i see in person and in pictures around these parts use
some sort of weird electric heating element to cook the spinning cone of love, has anyone
ever done a blind tasting of al pastor made this way and al pastor fried on a flat top?
just curious, he brayed.
1 Like
Hi @Aesthete,
No, I think it might be when itās low volume. The amount of Pork on that spit is a hefty portion. If they know itās a slow time of day, and they wonāt be able to sell most of the Al Pastor on that Trompo within a reasonable time, then the rest of it would spoil / go to waste.
Just my guess. So they just have some pre-seasoned Pork that the cook on the the flat top instead (or pre-cooked (Iāve seen in some places)).
1 Like
If thatās the case, it represents a real issue huh? If everyone passed by and didnāt go unless the trompo was up, the trompo would never go out haha
Good to know though. Thanks.
Hi @linus,
Itās a fair question. I donāt know any friends whoāve tried a blind tasting.
To be fair, the heating element on the Trompo isnāt just electric heating coils or something, thereās real open flames (the pics Iāve taken might notāve caught the flames properly at that moment).
But I donāt think I let that color my impression. If something is delicious itās delicious (of course thatās all subjective, LOL. ;)). Like, when Chef Avner at Cento Pasta told me the pasta they had that day were all dry, pre-packaged pasta (no fresh, handmade pasta), I was still blown away by their Bolognese Pasta (it was really delicious), even if they used mass-produced pasta.
On this latest trip, we had La Guera and Tacos Estilo D.F. back-to-back, within maybe 15 minutes of each other? So the taste was fresh in our minds. I asked each of my friends who went with us what they thought of the two Al Pastor places, and every one of them chose La Guera over Tacos Estilo D.F.
But yah, perhaps it might have the same flavors? Let me know if you try the taste test.
you are right and i am (sometimes) wrong about the heat source of the trompo.
i guess ive seen both. makes sense a flame would add something, even if it was a gas flame.
Trompos are basically vertical broilers so if theyāre gas powdered then there will be flames.
1 Like
I used to be surprised by this, too. Thereās a common misconception that dry pasta from a package is inherently inferior to pasta made fresh in the kitchen. But some dishes (e.g., spaghetti carbonara) just work better with dry pasta imo. And because production of dry pasta is pretty tightly regulated, at least in Italy, you can generally be confident of quality and consistency.
5 Likes
yup, i get it.
as usual, great review and pics. having said that, i get a little jaded when things like tacos are too pretty, etc.; personally iām not a huge fan of what iād call theā¦ bourgeois assimilation of humble dishes of the common people. and with the possible exception of fish/shrimp tacos in baja, i see tacos as being about using cheap/common cuts of meat and stretching them. the skill is in making those cuts palatable if not delicious with appearance being secondary. but that comes from asian cultural background iām sure.
i must have missed the food section of das kapital.
5 Likes
you have your preferences. i have mine. more significantly, you donāt seem to have any bashfulness about expressing your opinions. so itās not like you have any moral position to speak from.
tell me more about the morality of tacos,please.
1 Like