Jump to content

Tacos Tierra Caliente - Maria Victoria's Food Truck Taqueria Permanently Parked at West Alabama Ice House


Recommended Posts

Houston is a taco-rich environment, and I had come to believe that at a certain level of goodness, all tacos kind of play at the same level, without stand-outs.  I was wrong.  The tacos at Tierra Caliente are the truth.  These are the Platonic ideal of taco. They are the essence of taco-ness.

I sampled 3: lengua, pastor, and barbacoa.  Both the corn and flour tortillas are excellent, each spending a little time on the griddle before getting wrapped with the meat and a generous sprinkling of onion and cilantro. Both red and green salsa tasted fresh and bright, with a little bite, but not so spicy as to overwhelm the other ingredients.  My only quibble was that the pastor veered a little on the sweet side for my tastes.  (I prefer the version I had at Taqueria Tacambaro the next day up in the Heights.)

Screenshot 2017-05-08 at 9.40.41 PM.png
 
Grab your tacos, head over the the Ice House and grab a beer or Topo Chico.  If anyone else can think of a place that consistently tops (or even meets) what Tierra Caliente is putting out, I want to hear about it.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Loved my visit here. A great taco stand is one of the best ratios of price-deliciousness-efficiency in the world of food. I especially appreciated the no-nonsense cashier to weed out gawkers asking irrelevant questions. 

Barbacoa was wetter than my favorite editions, as I live for those crispy bits (tripa dorada forever), but all the flavor was there. Pastor was indeed sweet, but I’ve got a forgiving range when it comes to pastor (no trompo here, though). Chicharron was ordered because it’s often done poorly, but passed the test as well. Homely and tasty corn tortillas for all. Salsa verde had that perfect balance between spice, cilantro and acid. 

Highly recommended anytime meal. These tacos would play well in Dallas, Austin or San Antonio. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is a somber note that's perhaps best left unwritten (Josh, feel free to delete this), but it pays tribute to Maria Victoria's beautiful daughter, Maria Samano, and speaks volumes that the community so vigorously jumped in and helped, tripling the original goal in just 24 hours - this is clearly a beloved family (I guarantee that Ms. Victoria thinks about Ms. Samano every hour of every day, and I'm willing to bet that her picture is inside that truck).

Aug 30, 2016 - "How You Can Help the Owner of Houston's Most Iconic Taco Truck" by Katharine Shilcutt on houstoniamag.com

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, will_5198 said:

Loved my visit here. A great taco stand is one of the best ratios of price-deliciousness-efficiency in the world of food. I especially appreciated the no-nonsense cashier to weed out gawkers asking irrelevant questions. 

Barbacoa was wetter than my favorite editions, as I live for those crispy bits (tripa dorada forever), but all the flavor was there. Pastor was indeed sweet, but I’ve got a forgiving range when it comes to pastor (no trompo here, though). Chicharron was ordered because it’s often done poorly, but passed the test as well. Homely and tasty corn tortillas for all. Salsa verde had that perfect balance between spice, cilantro and acid. 

Highly recommended anytime meal. These tacos would play well in Dallas, Austin or San Antonio. 

🚨NOW SERVING TROMPO🚨

(I haven't tried it yet, but I saw the sign as I drove past this week.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...