Hey all -

A couple of local food bloggers pulled together some research on Columbus area taco trucks, and have posted the delicious results online in the form of a blog and a google map showing the locations. You can see the blog posts for all 18 (and counting) trucks here:

http://tacotruckscolumbus.com/

...and the map can be found here:

http://tacotruckscolumbus.com/map/

I had no idea there were so many of these around town! It looks like I have some exploring to do...

I always go to the one on Morse (according to this blog, the name is Taquikin) and holy crap it's the best al pastor I've ever had! Actually I think I've eaten there twice in the last week Highly recommended!

Any other trucks that should be on my short list to try?

Really, none of us had any idea of how many trucks there were until we started researching it. We expect to add quite a few more as the weather gets warmer (we saw a *lot* of dormant trucks...)

My picks for best trucks would be:

Los Potosinos: http://tacotruckscolumbus.com/2009/03/18/los-potosinos/

La Guaguita: http://tacotruckscolumbus.com/2009/03/18/la-guaguita/

Taqueria Jalisco: http://tacotruckscolumbus.com/2009/03/0 ... a-jalisco/

Los Potosinos does a fantastic pollo al carbon (grilled chicken) on the weekends, and La Guaguita's owners are from the Dominican Republic and carry a lot of ridiculously good caribbean specialties.

You can read more about Los Potosinos here:

http://cmhgourmand.com/2009/03/19/los-p ... uck-block/

...the family that runs it is having a tough time of it right now, and since their food is so good we've been trying to steer people their way to help them out. They do great stuff, you wouldn't regret it!

I think you've convinced me to try both Los Potosinos and Taqueria Jalisco this weekend! I can't believe I haven't tried the latter since I pass it on the way home from Taquikin and have always wondered if it was any good. Los Potosinos is a little out of the way for me, but supporting a good taco truck is a cause I can get behind!

Have you tried any of the meat free options? If so, any truck or dish you recommend?

The vegetarian question was asked on another forum, here's what my partner wrote in response:

"Offerings for vegetarians are variable- definitely some veggie burritos, cheese tortas (sandwiches), cheese tostadas, sopes or quesadillas. Some have rice/beans and salad and some have egg as taco choice. Definitely the focus is on meat though. If you find somewhere with Asadero (like a cross between string cheese and mozzarella it is really good)- Taco Nazo and Super Torta come to mind.
Super Torta has a corn and cheese soup (esquites) that is good and there is usually horchata to drink!

We tried to photograph all the menus so you can look at each truck and get an idea of what they have."

Also..

"Most of them serve quesadillas, which either are veg or could be made so. At La Guaguita the beans and rice were good as were the tostones (fried plantains dusted with cheese), and the conch salad would work for a pescatarian..."

OK, update: I tried the Taqueria Jalisco tonight. I had the marinated pork tacos figuring that would be close to the al pastor and I was right, pretty close. They were fast and friendly. I think I may still give Taquikin the slight advantage, at least with the pork tacos. I plan on trying both again soon and trying something else comparable to compare the two. But my plan is to hit Los Potosinos next so that challenge will need to wait.

As for veggie dishes, these places do seem really light on those options. But that's pretty authentic. When I was in Mexico my wife was vegetarian and I was mostly except for the very occasional fish and vegetarian seemed like a foreign concept. But I did notice on the Taquikin sign that it had sincronizada, which I believe is usually vegetarian? I do love that stuff so I may try that too...

Enjoy Los Potosinos. If you make it back to Jalisco, I'd recommend trying the lengua tacos. May sound kind of odd, but delicious stuff.

Sincronizada would be easy to make vegetarian, but it seems to traditionally have ham in it. Without ham, it'd be pretty close to a quesadilla.

I traveled through Mexico for a few weeks and didn't have much trouble finding vegetarian (and even mostly vegan) food. I don't remember exactly what I ate, but I know that I had an easy time throughout the Yucatan and that Mexico City had loads of vegetarian options (Mexico City is awesome--one of my favorite cities in the world). I do remember having some trouble finding much to eat on long bus trips through the middle of nowhere. Still, it wasn't that foreign of a concept to them in my experience.

As we continue to visit new trucks (many of them open when the weather is better) we'll make a point of asking about vegetarian options.

This is fantastic! Great work guys. Over the last few years, the addition of the taco buggy to the Columbus culinary landscape has greatly increased my quality of life. I have been grabbing lunch at
Super Torta II for years and it has been consistently excellent. Taco Nita's has saved me on so many late nights on my way home from band practice and soccer games. I can't wait to try a few of the others I was not aware of. Thanks!

Bribery, Threats, Broken-Down Vehicles, Lawsuits, Pioneers, Good Food: Tales From OC's Taco Trucks
http://www.ocweekly.com/2009-07-23/food/taco-trucks/