They are EVERYWHERE!
At all hours of the day, and night, and not just in East LA, and other familiar places.
In recent years Orange County has seen a rise in them, and the acknowledged hub of activity is the most Hispanic city in the county, the county seat, Santa Ana.
Taco Trucks!
They ain't yer Pappys Roach Coaches, though, these days.
Well, most of them aren't anyway. ;-D
I've made purchases from a few, late at night, on the way home from work, and lived to tell tale. ;-D
Gustavo Arellano, of the OC Weekly, is known by many for his Ask a Mexican Column, and his journalism in general, but he is also well known as the Foodie responsible for the Hole in the Wall Column, as well.
All three sides of his work are featured in a new story that shares "Tales From the Taco Trucks --
Bribery, threats, broken-down vehicles, lawsuits, pioneers and good food: the lives of Orange County’s loncheros"
He writes:
The roach coach. Botulism on wheels. Mobile Montezuma’s revenge. The humble taco truck, known universally in Latino OC as loncheras, its workers as loncheros, has finally left its mooring as the feedbag for immigrants, construction workers and prescient foodies and become mainstream, even hip. Young chefs across the country are increasingly using them to sell innovative gourmet street food, none more acclaimed than Kogi BBQ, a Los Angeles-based company that occasionally visits Orange County; its fusion of Korean and Mexican food, combined with a mastery of Internet and social-networking skills, has earned it a cultish following and national media coverage.
But these stars, well-funded and well-versed in the ways of Twitter and Facebook, are the new wave of loncheras. Loncheras have become largely acceptable only because of the battles—some with blood, some in the courtroom—fought by immigrant men and women, most of whom still toil in obscurity, all looking to change the ways of the past to improve the future for all loncheros.
You can read the whole long, fascinating, piece, here.
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