hungry in milwaukee

On the way home from Pacific Produce, I often find myself driving through Jackson Park/Layton Park/Lincoln Village and looking longingly at the streets studded with taco trucks.  I’d look at Grace with a sense of longing.  “Can’t we just stop for a taco?” my eyes would say.  And with a quick and stern turn of the brow, “No” she’d say.  I know, I know, we’re going to be late, or the baby needs to eat.  Fine, I can wait.  Finally, I was overwhelmed with desire and we made a plan to specifically go taco truck hunting.

I’m not sure what it is about food trucks, but it’s hard to find something trendier these days (what am I if not trendy?).  Maybe it’s the honesty of the food or the pirate spirit of the trucks, but if the Great Food Truck Race is any indication, people really like eating food off of a truck .  I’m just glad Milwaukee has some street food lovin’ as opposed to some cities I know (I’m looking at you Chicago).

And while Food Truck Friday in East Town’s Cathedral Square makes it easier to hit up a bunch of trucks at once, there does seem to be a distinct lack of Mexican loncheras/taco truck (sure, you can get some Asian fusion taco from Tigerbite or haute taco from … well … Haute Taco, which may be good but not the same).

So on Sunday Grace and I (and the baby, though he did not eat) went out for a crawl.

Taqueria Arandas:

Grace and I (and the baby) started our journey where I knew we would find a truck.  Parked on 27th Street north of Oklahoma Avenue was the Taqueria Arandas truck.  The truck(s) have a few locations (as well as a restaurant at 1531 W. Lincoln Ave) and are run seasonally (I only eat from fresh local and seasonal ingredients taco trucks).  I had eaten from the truck parked near 37th Street and National Avenue before but thought it would be a good reference point to begin our journey.

The truck’s menu includes tacos, tortas, tostadas and burritos with a choice of meats (lengua/tongue, al pastor/pork, asada/steak, pollo/chicken, barbacoa/beef, tripa/chitterlings and cabeza/head).  The fillings are griddled in the truck to heat and crisp up the meats and warm the tortillas.

We ordered 2 tacos – lengua and cabeza. ($1.50 each)

The tacos came on double tortilla that had been nicely crisped on the griddle.  The lengua was pretty standard with small chunks of tongue meat.  The meat was good but not quite as tender as I like. I think that they may have misheard my order and gave me asada because the cabeza was not like what I had eaten at their other truck.   Cabeza usually includes servings from the muscles of the head, some lengua, cachete (cheeks),  trompa (lips); and, ojo (eye) and may be even some sesos (brains).  All these meats are stewed down into a semi-cohesive and infinitely soft and flavorful filling.  What I ate was crispy charred and meaty.  It was nevertheless delicious.

Taqueria El Charrito:

Traveling North on 27th and turning down Forrest Home we came across Taqueria El Charrito truck (#2) at the crossroads of Lincoln and Forrest Home.

Similar to the Arandas truck, the El Charrito menu offers a few additional items – quesadillas (and quesadilla gigantes!), and frijoles - but a similar selection of meats (al pastor, cabeza, lengua, pollo, chorizo, tripa and asada).

We ordered 3 tacos – lengua, al pastor and tripa. ($1.50 each)

The tacos were accompanied by a small helping of caramelized onions and roasted jalapeno.  The al pastor taco was nice with a good char.  The lengua was cut into long thin strips of soft meat and made for a delicious few bites. The tripa had a nice crispy crust and the flavor developed into a pleasing livery funk (which is good, though I am a fan of offal).

Nido de Aguilas:

Just up the street parked in front of a Clark gas station at Roger and Forrest Home was the Nido de Aguilas truck.  It’s a large truck that shines from far away, but get closer and this empty dark interior begs eerie questions of freshness.

The menu at Nido de Aguilas is in a way limited. While they offer tacos, burritos, tortas and tostadas like many of the other trucks, their meat selection only includes asada, pollo, al pastor, chorizo and lengua.  But on the day I visited they did not have any lengua. It could have just been that day, but it may also mean they just don’t sell enough.

We ordered 2 tacos – asada and al pastor. ($1.50 each)

It is hard to criticize small business owners, but this was definitely our least favorite.  The asada was dry and flavorless and the al pastor was a bright red color giving it almost a neon artificial appearance.  The taste of the al pastor was just as bizarre with a heavy sour hit of vinegar (?) and all spice (?).

Las Brazas:

Just a stones throw up the street in front of another gas station by 16th and Forrest Home is the Las Brazas truck.  It is not in fact a truck, but a small trailer tended by a man and his daughter.

Looking over the menu at Las Brazas I was excited because it had birria (goat), but it was unfortunately not available.  At first I was afraid we might have a repeat of Nido de Aguilas, but I was soon joined in line by another person and my fears subsided.

We got 3 tacos – cabeza, carnitas, and asada. ($1.55 each)

The tacos were all above average.  The cabeza was soft and succulent with a good bit of lip moistening collagen (who needs lip gloss when you have tacos?).  The carnitas were moist with a tender texture.  The asada was middle of the pack, but still good eats.

Taqueria La Mexicana:

Around the corner at 14th and Burham by the El Rey supermercado was the bright yellow heavy duty trailer of Taqueria La Mexicana.

The menu at Taqueria La Mexicana has all the standard fillings (cabeza, tripa, lengua, barbacoa, asada, al pastor, carnitas, pollo, molida/ground beef and chorizo) but also has something called alambre which is made of steak and sausage.

We ordered 3 tacos – alambre, barbacoa and lengua. ($5 includes – 3 tacos and a drink)

All three tacos were way above average and not just because they came with aguacate/avocado and radish. The lengua was soft and tender.   The barbacoa was soft and fatty and mixed together with a savory sauce. Perhaps the best taco of the day was the alambre.  It had nice charred pieces of steak mixed with juicy bites of sausage.

Summary:

5 Trucks, 13 tacos.

Highlights -
Alambre @ Taqueria La Mexicana
Asada @ Taqueria Arandas
Lengua @ Taqueria El Charrito

View Larger Map

After traveling just a few blocks it became clear it was going to be difficult eating at all of the taco trucks.  What would really be helpful would be if there was some sort of list with locations and ratings for all these trucks (heck, maybe even all the food trucks, not just taco trucks).  Something like the Great Taco Hunt, but for Milwaukee.  Any interested parties want to undertake this cataloging (with or without me)? Either way, I’ll keep eating.