El Pique Taco Truck - Video

The Chef is a trickster -- about to scare you up a frightening tasty taco review on this Halloween day - made with shocking and chilling cuts of meat! My final video on moveable feasts for the month of October features a taco truck from the "old school".

Pile on the salsa roja on tacos served at Highland Park's El Pique Taco Truck -- their fiendishly fiery salsa can raise the dead! Let your little ghouls and goblins have their bag of candy; this Chef prefers to feast on a platter of Tacos de Cabeza (head), Tacos de Lengua (tongue), and let's not forget the slow cooked Tacos de Buche (intestines)! The chunks of lengua are a little chewy, the buche is light and delicate and the cabeza meat is fall-off-the-forehead tender.

Walking down York Boulevard on Halloween Day in this East L.A. community, I walk past a sidewalk Day of the Dead altar loaded down with skull candles, fruit, flowers, plates of food and airline bottles of tequila. But the altar of epicurean delights known as El Pique Taco Truck is a block away, at the corner of Avenue 53 next to a car wash, and The 99 Cent Chef genuflects at the ordering window.

Have you ever tried tongue or head? Don't be a scared-y cat! Cabeza is surprisingly tender -- meat scraped from a cow's skull, and lengua is gamy but tasty. Of the two, tongue takes some getting used to. I still recoil from the first spongy bite, but quickly settle in and enjoy -- one must face their dining demons head-on!

The Chef first heard about El Pique Taco Truck from reading Jonathan Gold's column in The LA Weekly and decided to finally try it. This Chef has been around the block a few times taco truck dining, so, while not disappointed, I have had as good. The carnitas & carne asada are fine, while the al pastor (bbq pork) takes getting used to. I like the pork charred and crunchy; here it is damp and saucy -- different for sure, but an interesting variation. I prefer mine shaved off a fiery spit and crispy. The buche (intestine) is not deep-fried like I am used to; again, I miss the chewiness. Sorry Jonathan, your praise is misdirected -- as right down the street, on Eagle Rock Boulevard, is Rambo Taco Truck, which prepares al pastor and buche my favorite way (see my short video for info by clicking here) -- to each his own.

El Pique Taco Truck - Video

Play it here. The video runs 2 minutes.

The locals are lucky to have El Pique. The tacos are tasty, and garnished with slices of radish and wedges of lime. I would stop there any time I was in the hood.

Click here for a map. Hours are all day and late into the evening.
The address is 5300 York Boulevard in Highland Park, CA 90042.
Tacos are $1.25 including tax. You can ask for salsa toppings mild or hot.

Click here to embed or view video on youtube.