I dont think the lines were that bad (although I was a vendor) it felt more organized than last year and the lines felt more evenly distributed this year.
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@CiaoBob wasn’t a shitshow really. Better than last year. @Sgee, not “hours for a taco” more like 5 minutes for a taco, 10 minutes for another taco, grab a Jarritos or a beer, chat with some folks, 2 minutes for another taco, maybe 15 minutes for one of the ultra popular ones, etc.
I dunno, maybe I’m just inured to it, but the lines didn’t bother me that much. For every line that was too long, there was a shorter one. Prioritize, bite the bullet and line up for the places you don’t want to miss, and then just float around and see what the shorter lines have to offer. Guerrilla’s line was pretty wild, but even a place like La Guerrerense’s line wasn’t bad, and went down to a half dozen at times, up to 20-30 people, and back down, through the event.
Still posting pictures to my Instagram, here’s a few to start:
La Guerrerense’s seafood tostada:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGiDywzA-hN/
Galaxy Taco’s shrimp tostada:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGiJ6qHg-vX/
Burrito La Palma’s spicy stewed chicharron mini-burrito (burritito?)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGiM5EeA-mJ/
Breddos Tacos–all the way from England!–and their tostada w/bavette steak tartare, black pudding mole, pico de gallo, buckwheat. Really interesting, and more importantly, really good. Glad they brought something different and didn’t try to compete on something like carnitas.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGiTzRsg-ng/
Coni’seafood fried shrimp taco on jicama “tortillas”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGiX6k6A-il/
The Briks’ discada taco:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGid-B8A-h0/
More to come.
Edit:
Completely agree!
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Very happy to hear it!
Hardly a sshow. Were lines long? Yes, especially at places with a “name.” They moved quickly all things considered, more like 15-20 minutes for the lengthiest. It helped with pacing, which I appreciated compared to 2014, when it was shovel down and get another or get none. Some people just like to b* and whine.
Nice report and photos, theoffalo. The only downside is discovering what I missed out on. My strategizing went suprisingly well this time and, for the most part, I wound up hitting all the places I’d most hoped to.
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So jealous of you guys who got to eat at la guerrerense!!
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Just wanted to write some post review thoughts…
I enjoyed myself at this event quite a bit, but mainly because I got there fairly early @ 2:35 and had VIP tix. The VIP tix themselves were a reasonable value if you drank as you got 4 drink tickets each, so if you used them all up your net ticket cost was only ~$30.
The space itself is great - freaking huge, and they solved the bar/restroom issues that plagued some prior Tacolandias. That said, a huge space comes with certain ticket sale expectations. That is not a problem spread across 100 vendors, but let’s be real here - there’s 20-30 “top tier” vendors, a whole lot in the middle, and a few that aren’t really notable IMO. So what ends up happening is the top tier guys get mobbed.
so, for me getting there at 2:35, I got in the door around 3:10 before the lines got crazy. During that first hour I ate about a dozen tacos, with no line lasting for more than 5-7 minutes. After 4p, shit got real - the top tier vendors were 30-40 deep, and around 4:45 I started seeing guys run out o f food (e.g. Guerrenrense). When I got back to the VIP just before 5:00, most of the VIP tents were out of food too. LOTS of alcohol was available, and no lines to speak of, so I did as much damage as I could in the 15 minutes I had.
In terms of the food itself…there were a few standouts, but out of the 20+ tacos I had there were so many duds I could not believe it. Esp. the MX guys - I think there was only 1 or 2 that I really liked :(. I do note that the tortilla game was a lot better this year.
Taco Maria and Guerilla Tacos were definitely winners of the day for me.
Will I go again next year? Maybe…but if I do, I’m getting there at 2:15. .
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Nice pics and review.
Someone is overdue for a mani-pedi.
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Yeah, she mentioned that in the morning =X
Looks like it wasn’t too bad of an experience after all - so long as you get there early. Will put the event on the radar again for 2017.
yup; like I said my friend tried to get into the area around 3p, saw the line and left. get there early or don’t bother.
Pro-tip: start in an area fartherest away from the entrances and work your way back.
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That’s how I missed 3 out of 4 vendors @ the VIP area - I should’ve just grabbed that shit real quick as I was heading into the main area. I think the better strategy is to go with friends, line up at whatever you really want while your friends hit up everything with a short line and come back.
Ex) while I was waiting for Guerilla Tacos the wife was able to get 3-4 tacos from other vendors with much shorter lines.
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Nice report @Ns1. I appreciate the clarity.
If Taco Maria and Guerilla were your winners at the event… they’re already in So Cal and accessible to us on any given day. 
Why stand in line for that?
It’s also sad that so many were duds as you mentioned. Surprising.
I’ve yet to go to ether GT or TM, so it worked out for me.
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Thanks for the report and the pics. Much appreciated. I went last year and decided against it this year. Your and others reports reinforced my opinion that this event is too much of a PITA and not good ROI for time and money expended.
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I do think the event could use a culling. Bill Esparza’s just too nice of a guy and wants to include everyone and as a vendor I think this year went better than last year but its def not as fun as the first two years. Though I doubt we will ever return to the size of the first iteration I do feel bad for people that come to the event and don’t get a chance to hit any of the standout tacos and fill up on the mediocre stuff which there was a lot of, no offense to any of the vendors but when there is so much its hard for some guys to standout.
The event is definitely getting a bit big but I have no solutions to offer. If you guys definitely think you have good ideas for next year please send emails to the LA Weekly team and give your feedback, they will honestly take them into consideration.
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I actually like the fact that Bill has so many vendors, as it somewhat spreads the lines out a bit. “Somewhat”, becuase with a generally knowledgeable crowd, they still swarm to Guerilla and some of the other “name” places, as well as whatever is up front 
Thanks for the photos, Ns1.
My suggestions would be to cordon off/organize lines to individual vendors, place the easel/blackboard of what they’re offering at the entry to that line, more seating and some non-alcoholic liquids for under $4-$5 a pop, but otherwise agree with JLee that it was far smoother, better organized and had a much better layout than when I went in 2014.
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I’m still working on a little more detailed of a “post mortem” but I will agree and reiterate that it was better than last year and I think even the year before. I definitely think the variety helps cater to the varied tastes of people. The Tacos Tamix line was almost as long as Guerrilla’s, and while I have nothing against Tamix, it was not a priority for me, so I was glad that it was picking up some of the slack.
More from me later–am on the road right now. In the meantime here’s my top 10 picks from the event: http://www.lataco.com/offalos-top-10-tacos-tacolandia-2016/
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