Tacos El Primo - Cheap$kate Dining Video Review

There is nothing better than a neighborhood Latin taqueria.
I have an excellent one nearby. Last month I reviewed Leo's Taco Truck that rated a perfect 9 on my Cheap$kate Dining scale for their perfectly done Al Pastor Tacos. This month I'll turn you on to a local outdoor taqueria that makes a top notch Buche and Tripas Taco, for only a buck apiece. I'm fortunate to live near Tacos El Primo.

This nocturnal noshing oasis is a dining jewel located in an alleyway. Open from about 6pm to midnight, you park on the street and walk up to an outdoor grill with a delicious selection of slow simmering cuts of beef and pork. Under wraps in metal heating trays are Lengua (tongue,) Chicken, Cabaza (skull meat,) and Carne Asada (beef steak).

Anchoring the flattop cooking range on one side is a flaming trompo stacked with marinating Al Pastor pork, and on the other side is a bubbling cauldron laden with Chorizo (sausage,) Carne Asada (steak,) Buche (pork stomach,) and Tripas (beef intestine.)

I've been going for the Buche and Tripas $1 Tacos lately, and that's what on my Cheap$kate Dining Video at the end of this post. I've had plenty of conventional Carne Asada (beef steak) and Carnitas (pork) Tacos, so it was only a matter of time until I began going to the offal side: Lengua (tongue,) Buche (stomach,) and Tripas (intestine.) Tongue, or Lengua, has the strongest organ meat flavor, but Buche and Tripas are surprisingly mild in comparison -- there is just a slight liver-like flavor to contend with.

When I ordered my Tripas Taco, Oscar, who took my dollar, asked "crispy?" I didn't know you could request crispy Tripas. Well, it's a delicious combination to have crunchy, intensely flavored bits, that are studded on tender cylinders of pliant protein.

Like al dente macaroni, Tripas are thin, short tubes with a slight chew. (If you are easily queasy, the Tripas texture could throw you off, but once you get used to it, you may start to order one often.)

I also got a Buche Taco. Buche is also chopped, and similar in texture to Thai flat noodles -- very tender and delicate. (It takes hours of cooking to get them pliable enough to eat.) The flavor is very similar to Tripas, with just less chew and crunch.

Both tacos by El Primo are deliciously done and score high marks from this Frugal Forager. So, to see the Cheap$kate Dining rating of 1 to 9, 9 being best, just watch the video below for an "offally" tasty review.

If you are stuck on the 10 freeway between 6pm and midnight, just exit South on La Brea Avenue, turn on the next street, Adams Boulevard, travel West a couple of blocks to Redondo Blouvard, look North and there you will see a taqueria that does street tacos right. And tell them The 99 Cent Chef sent you.

Tacos El Primo - VIDEO

Play it here, video runs 3 minutes, 32 seconds.

99 thanks to Bob McGuinness for his camerawork.

To view or embed from YouTube, click here.

Tacos El Primo

In Los Angeles (Mid-City neighborhood,) they are near the intersection of Redondo Boulevard and Adams Boulevard, depending on construction in the neighborhood. 

Hours: about 6pm to 11pm, Sunday to Thursday; and 6pm to Midnight, Friday and Saturday.

Street parking on Adams or Redondo Blvds.

Map link here.

99 thanks to the cooks at Tacos El Primo: Luis, Hector, Oscar & Juan