Taco Teca on Wilshire: A very nice - if pricey - taco lunch on excellent, handpressed corn tortillas

Was getting a few errands done on the Eastern edge of SaMo when I noted that Taco Teca now does lunch, so in I went.

Had 2 excellent tacos that were a real mouth party, and one that could do with some improvement:
Barbacoa de Peurco - excellent - very smokey with salsa verde and yummy burnt tomatillos
Pollo - excellent - moist with rajas con crema and toasted pepitas
Carne Asada - so-so - very dry but with nice red bell pepper and chimichurri.

I guess 21.3 bucks is a lot for three tacos and a D.C., but the quality was evident.

The Goods

The Not So Good

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I always try to give this place some love, the tortillas are pretty great. Too bad the dry aged chorizo taco isn’t on the menu anymore!

Makes Taco Maria’s Tacos look like a real bargain!

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Never been to Taco Maria’s but if i’m going to spend 5$ for a taco I’d rather do it at Tacoteca than Gorilla taco’s. For me the difference in the quality of the tortilla is worth it. Just like a great sandwich deserves great bread and great sushi great rice for me its distracting to have great toppings on a okay tortilla.

I know this won’t be a popular stand. lol.

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I agree. I don’t understand how Guerilla Tacos doesn’t make their own tortillas. Maybe they will at the Brick and Mortar?

The only nice thing about the Guerilla Taco dinner at Taco Maria was having their tacos in extraordinary tortillas.

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Concur. Was there on Tuesday and I was kinda kicking myself for shelling out money that would have gotten me at least twice as much at a standard taqueria. But after a few bites, reason took over.

Jesus $5.50 for a taco? For an additional 75 cents you get this.

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Me too!! The ever elusive hunt for a good tortilla. Loqui has great flour tortillas.

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These guys are open for lunch now??? I’m so there!

In terms of tortillas, a quality one is certainly desirable and can elevate a good taco into a great one. But it’s ultimately a vehicle for the fillings. That’s why an al pastor taco at Leo’s is still one of the best in the city.

IMO, you can’t really compare the fillings at Guerilla to those at Taco Teca. Chef Wes is sourcing fresh, seasonal ingredients on a daily basis. Agree to disagree on taste, but the quality at Guerilla is on another level.

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except the fucking tortillas

Except the fucking tortillas. It is admittedly baffling they aren’t on par with the fillings.

agreed - good but not great

If Guerrilla had high quality handmade tortillas they’ve some of the best in the country. At this point, they already are, despite the factory made tortillas

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Right, but you gotta factor in the drive and inevitable parking ticket

I love taking friends to Tire Shop or Los Poblanos. Or both!!

“So that’s what homemade tortilla taste like. So that’s what a taco should taste like.”

“These are the best tacos ever.”

Maybe another food analogy is this. You can have the best piece of fish, a small dab of wasabi, and some shitty sushi rice. It will always be a medicore or below piece of nigiri. The rice is the most important element.

With tacos, it is the tortilla. I get it though. Guerilla is using high quality ingredients, if you put the same stuff Wes Avila puts in his tacos on top of a white square plate with some sauces going swirly this way and that way it be $20.

I actually enjoy the tostadas at Guerilla more. The tacos I had at Smorgs…the tortilla was bitter, gummy, and parts were dry and flakey. I can’t get past that.

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Yikes. Never experienced that at the truck. I can see how a bad tortilla would ruin a taco, but I still disagree it’s the “most important element.”

Tacos Puntas Cabras has some awesome corn tortillas made in-house. I’m gonna say that the quality of the tortilla can be the difference between a good and great taco. Nothing is worse than a dry, machine made tortilla. Vice Munchies had a good article on tortillas…

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Great article. Thanks.

Went for dinner last night and it was delicious but emptier than we expected. Strange considering the lack of competition in the area.

I guess they did not close…I read (I am fairly sure) that they closed or were closing…