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The Taco Project

LOS JARRITOS
Keyes Rd. (at 11th St.), San Jose, next to 7-11

I started The Taco Project with the express purpose of bringing greater attention to Silicon Valley’s taco riches. Today, I hit the jackpot with Los Jarritos.

It was the words “handmade tortillas” and “chavindecas” that caught my eye on this taco truck.

The shade from the roof makes this taco truck an appealing place to eat.

I was driving down Keyes Road in San Jose researching Vietnamese restaurants when I saw a lonely taco truck parked in an empty lot that could have once been a gas station. The dusty lot was surrounded by a chain link fence but there was an opening for cars to drive through. My heart racing and stomach cheering, I drove in.

A few plastic chairs and tables had been set up under the shade of a free standing roof. Across the lot in what was maybe the gas station’s office was a makeshift kitchen where I could hear the chop-chop of knives on cutting boards. On either side of it were two other spaces that were either under construction or undergoing demolition. I couldn’t tell which. The confusing state of affairs and disrepair was pure Mexico. I knew I was in for something special. The other good omens were the words “tortillas hechas a mano” and “chavindecas” emblazoned on the white taco truck. The first meant handmade tortillas but I had no idea what a chavindeca was. Turns out it’s a kind of fried quesadilla filled with meat that’s a specialty in Michoacan. Interesting, but I was here to sample the tacos.

I ordered my usual al pastor and carne asada ($2 each) and the nice taquera inside the taco truck got to work. Reaching into a plastic bag she pulled out a golf ball-sized hunk of masa, patted it into a thick disc, laid it into a worn tortilla press, and threw the raw tortilla onto the griddle.

The tacos are served totally plain, no onions, no cilantro, just meat. And because these handmade tortillas are thicker than your typical industrial tortilla, the tacos are served with just one instead of the regular two-ply style at most taquerias. The tortillas are delicious–soft, chewy and slightly sweet.

I reached a higher plane of taco nirvana when I saw the trio of salsas that awaited me: roasted chile rojo, tomatillo and roasted chile and a chile-spiked avocado salsa. The salsas were thick and flavorful and served in big molcajetes. I’d buy the stuff by the jar if available. Chopped onions, chopped cilantro and lemon wedge are also set out on the condiment table as well as something I’d never seen at a taqueria before–a cardboard box filled with roasted pearl onions.

That box in the back is filled with roasted pearl onion. And check out those great looking salsas.

Clearly, this was no ordinary taco truck.

The carne asada was good, lean but juicy. It really came to life when doused with the red salsa and squirt of lemon juice. But the real star here is the al pastor.

It’s a bit hard to see hear but note how chunky the pork is in the al pastor taco.

I’m guessing the pork wasn’t cooked in a vertical roaster as is the norm but rather slow roasted in an oven. The meat came in big, juicy hunks (pork shoulder?) rather than the little bits that characterize most al pastor tacos. The orange-tinted meat was tender and devoid of fat or gristle that sometimes mars puerco al pastor. While rich and intensely flavorful, the meat was somehow lighter and less greasy that other versions I’ve had. The pork was also cooked without pineapple, a difference that further distinguished it from the norm.

My taco was so delicious it made the addition of salsa superfluous although a sprinkling of onions and cilantro really set it off. I asked the woman who made my taco if it the recipe came from a particular part of Mexico (Michoacan?) but she didn’t know. All I know is it was the best al pastor taco I’ve ever had.

Taco Tally

1. Los Jarritos

2. Tacos Eva

3. Tacos El Ranchito No. 2

4. Los Dos Compadres

5. La Cabana