Taco Truck · LA Late Night

Los Angeles Street Tacos

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LA's famous al pastor is carved straight off a spinning vertical spit — a technique Lebanese immigrants to Mexico originally adapted from shawarma.

Served on small double corn tortillas with just meat, chopped onion, cilantro, and salsa — no lettuce, no shell, no cheese — LA's street tacos are sold from taco trucks and carts that set up on street corners, many of them only after dark. Marinated pork al pastor and grilled, chopped carne asada are the two most-ordered fillings.

Why it's made this way: The stripped-down toppings and cash-and-go format trace back to the dish's roots as fast, affordable food for LA's Mexican and Central American immigrant communities, and a truck lets a vendor serve hot, freshly carved meat without the overhead of a restaurant lease.