With Seattle and Portland well into the food truck craze and the variety of cuisines and gourmet trucks filling empty parking lots and curbsides of streets otherwise devoid of any appeal, we explore a taco truck called 'el camión'. "The bus", as it is translated, is a reincarnation or refinement, if you will, of the original food trucks that started it all, which would be the taco truck.Only a decade ago or so in this city, we may recall seeing a dirty, white, broken-down school bus with flat tires suspiciously parked and hawking food out of a window to Mexicans eagerly waiting for a taste that reminded them of something south of the border. Everyone else walked briskly by wondering if it was a legal operation, let alone sanitary, armed with only knowledge of where you could sit down and have the best margarita and free basket of chips and salsa served to your booth. Fast forward to 2011, Taqueria El Asadero, that very same truck institutionalized on Rainier Ave next to a salvage yard that many held their suspicions is now a revelation and exemplifies a standard authenticity of tacos.
el camión, shines as an example of the transformation from the ordinary taco truck. The glossy back trailer with professional red lettering is nestled alongside the historic buildings of the SODO neighborhood close to the ballparks. Here a line awaits soft corn tortilla tacos coming fresh off the grill with a myriad of meat selections. The fish taco ($2.00) is a popular favorite with the first bite consisting of a slight crunch coming from the preliminary stage of a slight fry from the grill. The slaw incorporates well with the purple cabbage, onions, cilantro, and a douse of a thousand-island-like sauce on top of the tender tilapia that tastes slightly pan-fried with all the freshness of the fish. Some may argue the authenticity of the fish taco, but after having one as good as it was, if not one of the best I've ever had between Mexico and the U.S., who really cares?
The tacos, each with it's slightly crisp hot tortilla, comes with plenty of filling in the standard selections (asada, pollo, lengua, carnitas, cabezas, tripas...$1.45 each) with the asada being a standout without any dried out meat pieces you might get from the other stands. You can taste the marinated beef slightly in its own sauce and the salsas including additional salsa options to add on affirming what a great taco should taste like..There were some complaints like the cochinita pibil being a bit too wet for the taco and lacking in flavor intensity and the tamales having too much masa and not enough meat filling, however these are small things easily overlooked. The pork tamale ($2.50) comes with plenty of maize infused with a smokiness of chipotle and slow-roasted pork. The filling being extremely moist and flavorful from the pork fat and the steam bath.
If meat filling was lacking in the tamale, it made up for it in the Huevos con Chorizo ($6.85), a brick-heavy breakfast burrito with plenty of spicy chorizo, scrambled eggs, cheese, and pico de gallo. This messy but delicious package will make you nap instead of energize your day.So when the sun shines warmly in Seattle, you may want to consider a six pack of cerveza to accompany your el camión to-go platter over sitting down with a watered-down margarita and basket of chips. el camión is taco truck version 2.0. Newer, cleaner, brighter, tastier, with all the efficiencies in feeding the masses out their window in consideration of the long lines and popularity it has deservedly earned. The bus has three locations (SODO, North Seattle on Aurora, and Ballard). It re-establishes the relevancy of tacos as a strong option among the growing plethora of unique and niche street food choices in this city. Get on the bus! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
-JB
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