Mexicali Taco & Co - Carne Asada in DTLA

Recently I was speaking with Bill Esparza of StreetGourmetLA and he was raving about a carne asada specialist in DTLA and I was intrigued. I went to the corner of First & Beaudry two times before I figured out that Mexicali Taco & Co is on twitter and is only open Wednesday - Saturday from 8 - 11 pm, although check twitter because they are not yet consistent in the days they are there.

The third time was the charm and I got to Mexicali as they were finishing setting up. They operate in a tent in a parking lot on the corner. I was the first customer but by the time that they were ready to begin serving, there was a line. Based on their twitter feed they sell out every night they are open, so come early or go home hungry.

The tacos are $2 a pop, and they are worth the premium above the $1.25 standard. They offer both corn and flour tortillas and they are handmade. I got two carne asada tacos, one each with corn and flour. Several different salsas were available as well as pickled radishes. The tacos were delicious and had a real beefy flavor.

The tacos are served on real plates covered in a plastic wrap. All in all it was a pleasant quality experience and I will go back for sure.  Bill has some more details and photos on his writeup here.

Mexicali Taco & Co is located on 1st & Beaudry in a tent on Wednesday - Saturday.  It is open from 8 - 11 pm (technically til midnight but based on their twitter feed they sell out by 11 every night).  They have developed quite a following as all the customers who were there when I checked it out had driven to their location specifically to get the tacos.