Interesting development.
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I am neither a UCLA student nor an office workerâŚ
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Thanks for the info @Gr8pimpin. If it turns out to be like their current Downtown (1st) brick and mortar when trompo master / taquero Jorge âJoyâ Alvarez-Tostado is not in the house, then sadly this will be just a mediocre spot cashing in on the name only (mediocre Adobada, dry rubbery Hongos (Mushrooms)).
Fingers crossed they train their staff well at this new location, unless Jorge is there permanently.
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Wondering why the tacos arenât as good when Jorge isnât on the trompo? Isnât much of the work for the pastor, adobada and asada really done with the marinade. Are the other cooks that bad that they cannot cook meat properly? Seems like in this case Sergio not being in the house would be less of an issue compared to other restaurants.
Me neither but I go to UCLA medical center all the time. I guess I now have another option besides KazuNori.
Hi @js76wisco,
Yah perhaps itâs because they slack off when Sergio isnât in the house? Or they decide to make larger batches and keep it reheated too long? All I know is, weâve had their tacos 3 times when he wasnât in, and all 3 times they were a shadow of when he (and his business partner) were on the streets in K-Town.
And even back then, it was like @TheCookie and others pointed out: Only the Adobada and Hongos were worth ordering. The Asada was a total salt bomb (always has been), not even close to Tire Shop Taqueria or Los Poblanos or La Carreta.
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Right, thereâs such an abundance of Mexican places in Westwood. Itâs gonna be a tough call between this new place, and Americaâs favorite Mexican restaurant, Taco Bell. 
Baja California Tacos , The place on Venice Boulevard, opened another location in Westwood but my understanding from friends is itâs not nearly as good, which isnât saying much to begin with.
So there are limited taco choices around there unless youâre willing to sprint to Tacos Tu Madre all the way on the other side of Wilshire.
I remember reading posts about the over salted carne asada. Itâs too bad that quality goes down that much without Jorge manning the grill and trompo.
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There is a lot of skill involved in both building the trompo and cooking/slicing. Itâs not something just anyone can do well
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i associate the trompo primarily with al pastor, and yes, al pastor specialists charge more for their expertise vs. workers who prepare other meatsâŚ
i wonder if theyâre all part lebanese (thatâs where the al pastor tradition comes from ethnically).
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Iâm at UCLA at least once a month and usually for a meeting that runs decently late into the night (so always wondering WTH to eat since I go from work straight to the meeting).
Never been to the stand and looking forward to trying this. Thanks for the FYI!
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Iâm a supporter of 1986 since the beginning, but had some adobada tacos from them last night (no Jorge) and they were not greatâŚItâs feeling very hit or miss these days if thereâs no Joy in the house unfortunatelyâŚTire Shop was closing already when I showed up so went to 1986 as back up.
Also, can anyone give me some info on La CarretaâŚis the one in Compton right? Does anyone have the hours? Been wanting to try their carne asada
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Hi @skramzlife,
Thanks for the report back. Unfortunate (but good to know) that we werenât the only ones that had that same mediocre Joy-less experience. 
Our friends who went with us back when they were on the K-Town streets were stunned as well.
Tacos La Carreta is currently doing catering-only. They are looking for a new spot to setup. When we talked to them on our last visit, they confirmed that everyone in their family actually has full-time jobs. They did this on the weekends for fun and to give back to the community, but itâs become very tiring (so they scaled back to Sundays Only, and now just catering). But they said they want to find a new spot to set up. Bummer for all of us, they truly had one of the best Carne Asada Tacos and their Chorreados were fantastic.
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thatâs a bummer re: Carreta
And ya the K-town 1986 days were gloriousâŚI remember one time in the early days I spent $30 dollars on tacos for myself, I just kept ordering more and moreâŚit was honestly too good.
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Salt, salt and I have mentioned salt? The meat is nicely marinated, but then they blast it with a mountain of metallic tasting table salt while grilling. My husband watched this goofy kid carelessly do it because his main focus was trying to flirt with the young ladies waiting in line.
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Theyâre too busy expanding.
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Priorities
Girls > Asada
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Exactly. 
That boy had his nose wide open for the cute L.A. girls. Meanwhile TheCookie is hating them all over FTC. The thing about my annoyance is I love their menu and those are my kinda tacos. If it wasnât my thing I wouldnât care how bad they are. My annoyance is really disappointment.
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Selling street tacos gets you girls? Iâve been doing it wrong then
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You saw I wrote âtrying to flirt with the young ladiesâ.
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