El Taco

(Pictured right: Various tacos in their aluminum foil wrapped state)

7665 Firestone Blvd, Downey, CA

(562) 806-0672 

Would you like a ‘sloppy joe’ with that?...

Traveling around the neighborhood, I noticed a couple of older looking spots that bill themselves as being the “original” taco stand in the area for decades. Simply titled ‘El Taco’, I wasn’t too swayed by their originality. What stood out more however was the constant lines of people no matter what time of day. On top of that, their menu proud lists the popular combo plates; one with a hard shell taco, which is their specialty, another with soft taco, and another with..a sloppy joe. I was sold by this point and had to try it. 

Meat

The meats were interesting and delicious! Their hard shell taco, which they call the original and what they bill themselves on, is filled with ground beef. This tasted what Taco Bell would like to think their ground beef to tastes. Not salty by any means, and the “grounds” were big enough to actually bite into, not get stuck in between your teeth. Heavy on the meat flavor light on the grease.

The carne asada was in thick chunks reminiscent of the asada I had at Mango Mango in Ensenada; nothing too special, but decent enough, and without any large chunks of fat sitting on the side.

Where it got interesting was the chicken and pork. The chicken is slow-stewed in a red tomato-based sauce, which gave it a great tangy flavor. The meat fell apart easily, even slightly gooey. I would’ve liked it to have been slightly firmer, but it wasn’t too bad. 

The pork meat was also stewed, but in a green sauce. Typically these sauces can be overpowering and spicy, but this was neither, with the green tomatillo-based sauce only complimenting the meat almost in an afterthought. Just enough spice to let you know its there, but not enough to take it over. This was a great taco meat, completely different from how pork is prepared for al pastor, but good enough to have been used in a warm stew for a cold winter night.

Ground Beef - 9/10

Asada - 8/10

Chicken - 9/10

Pork - 9/10

Score: 8.75/10, for being none too spectacular, but not overwhelming either, just ‘good’ but not great… 

Tortilla

First review where there was a hard shell taco! The ground beef taco, which is their go-to taco is prepared in a hard shell. Not salty at all, not the crispy type to cut up your tongue. It was heavily corn based which made it flavorful and not without its own charm.

The tortilla for the soft shell tacos was obviously store bought, but wherever they’re getting it from isn’t a large-scale production that sells to stores. The tortillas are are good and soft, but succumb to getting too soggy due to the sauces on the meat and the cheese on the tacos. It didn’t completely fall apart in my hands, but it came close.

Score: 8/10, for having a good hard shell, and the decent tortilla “soft shell”. 

Toppings

The toppings are the more ‘American’ version of taco toppings, with the ground beef, pork and chicken being topped with lettuce and cheese. The carne asada was the only one with lettuce and tomato. The toppings were just decent, nothing special about them. There can be a bit too much cheese on them though, which makes the overall presentation gooey and evokes memories of Taco Bell (not a compliment).

Score: 6/10, forgettable and nothing special ‘Americanized’ version of taco toppings... 

"After-effects" 

None in a bad way, in fact, they were very pleasing and comforting. More on this in the ‘bottom line’. 

Score: 10/10 for not giving me making my stomach turn (I’ve had it happen elsewhere)... 

Bottom line, these tacos were good, and I was more than satisfied with them. I even had to try the sloppy joe since they have it referenced to on all their menus, and it was pretty damn good. To be honest, it was a taco on a hamburger bun, since it was the same ingredient, but it was actually pretty good, just like the rest of the food. The tacos keep reminding me of what Taco Bell intends to be, but falls short at by having low quality ingredients. Save for the cheese, I didn’t feel guilty for eating here. Maybe poking some of the cheese out will make for even better tacos.

Bonus Points: (+1) For great prices!

Price: $1.75 / tacos, $2.89 for the hard shell ‘El Taco’ combo with a side of rice and a large drink

Wait time: 5-10 minutes

Distance (from downtown): 20-30 minutes outside of rush hour, 45mins during

Total Score: 33.75/40 , which seems just about right for a superior Taco Bell, which I’ve now visited more than a couple times in the past few weeks.

What I would order next time: ‘El Taco’ combo with a pork soft taco on the side…