Milwaukee's Taco Trucks

"This is all very cool. I feel like I'm part of something," wrote one Chicago Yelper who'd just paid $3.50 for a cupcake from a truck. She's not alone; lots of people seem to like eating food from trucks. In addition to those expensive cupcakes, Chicagoans line up to pay $7 for small, made-ahead sandwiches. And this is during the sober light of day, not at bar time when judgment is impaired.

I'm not sure how widely known it is but Milwaukee has had a significant taco truck presence for years. A few summers ago Pigmon and I spent an afternoon looking around and eating but we never got around to posting anything. On a recent trip to Milwaukee we noticed the trucks again, some in the same locations. So for whatever it's worth, here's a warmed-over report on a few of Milwaukee's taco trucks.

The Arandas truck parked near Greenwood Cemetery was our first stop, where we put in our standard order of two tacos—one carne asada, one al pastor. Like most (all?) of the trucks, they use a griddle to heat and crisp up the meats and warm the tortillas. I don't believe they cook from scratch in the trucks.





The tacos were on par with those from a middling Chicago taqueria. Steak wasn't awful but would have been so much better if cooked over a flame. Pastor had decent flavor but an unpleasant mushy texture. I doubt it ever came from a trompo.

Next up was Cielito Lindo, parked outside of Pete's Fruit Market.





Not a whole lot to distinguish the tacos from Arandas. Edible but not at all exciting.

Our third stop was Nido de Aguilas, parked on Forest Home, not far from European Homemade Sausage.





Yikes, were these tacos awful! Mushy meat, off flavors. It was one bite and pray not to get sick.

Finally we checked out the Taqueria Tepechy truck on National. These guys offer a wider menu than the others and seem to take more pride in their product.







These tacos weren't bad at all, especially given the limitations of cooking on a griddle in a truck. The carnitas taco was the star, probably the only taco of the day I would order again. If this truck pulled up near my workplace (or watering hole) I might be a regular customer. I doubt I'd travel too far to find this food, however.

From this small sampling I'd say the Milwaukee truck tacos span a wide range, from acceptable to disgusting. If Chicago ever gets its taco trucks, keep your fingers crossed they're better than Milwaukee's.

Here are some approximate addresses. Keep in mind this is old information, so it may not be accurate.

Arandas
27th near Dakota

Cielito Lindo
Greenfield near Chavez

Nido de Aguilas
Forest Home near Congo

Tepechy
National near Layton

I have been to a couple of these. I would somewhat disagree with your review of Arandas (though the truck I visit is at 13th, just south of Oklahoma near Bombay Sweets). I like their Pastor and their Asada. Also a big fan of the tripe. I find that Arandas has better tacos than most Mexican restaurants serve.

Grew up in Milwaukee and was never overly impressed with any of the taco truck options.

When I get back to town, my go-to for tacos is the counter inside El Rey Market.

El Rey Market & Taco Loco Restaurant
3524 W Burnham St
Milwaukee, WI‎ 53215
(414) 643-1616‎

I'm usually there for breakfast, so it's huevos con chorizo and a couple tacos of whatever looks particularly good that day...barbacoa is usually a good choice. The market itself is a great resource, as well...the spices and butcher counter in particular.

kl1191 wrote:Grew up in Milwaukee and was never overly impressed with any of the taco truck options.

When I get back to town, my go-to for tacos is the counter inside El Rey Market.

El Rey Market & Taco Loco Restaurant
3524 W Burnham St
Milwaukee, WI‎ 53215
(414) 643-1616‎

A friend's co-worker recommended El Rey, and so we tried it for lunch today.
Cecina taco was excellent. Barbacoa (weekends only) and pollo were good. Pastor and asada were meh.
Looking forward to trying some of the other meats, especially the lengua and carnitas.
The supermarket itself looked great. Very clean, and lots of interesting goods.

I shop El Rey about once every two weeks.
The new store is very nice and has an excellent selection of fresh produce, canned goods, sauces, cheeses and the take out counter can supply a nice foil wrapped selection to go.
The meats are good ranging from tripe of various types to interesting cuts of pork. Mexcican meats cuts differ from US and one of the pork cuts is a flat boneless piece suitable for cutlets.
Have not eaten at the counter because my go to place for lengua tacos is Jalisco just in the next block south.
http://www.yellowpages.com/milwaukee-wi ... d=12867256
During the day it's the lengua and at night coming home from some Milwaukee event, I get Pork Tortas to go from Jalisco.
As to Trucks, Bertas Tamales http://www.bertastamales.com parked usually just to the south of El Rey has ok Tamales. The Arandes truck https://www.facebook.com/ArandasTacoTruck has ok lengua but the portions are real small.