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News & ArtsMonday, December 14, 2009
Chow Seattle's Favorite Taco Bus: Shut Down!
Posted by Bethany Jean Clement on Mon, Dec 14, 2009 at 10:26 AM
Seattle's favorite taco bus—well, Seattle's only taco bus*—Tacos el Asadero has been shut down by the health department for:
• Poor personal hygiene
• Equipment/utensils not properly sanitized
• Handwashing with no hot water
UPDATE: It is the Tacos el Asadero location at 7300 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S. near Othello that has been shut down; the original location on Rainier remains open. (Thank you, commenter boyd main.)
We've loved the taco bus since 2004:
It's parked in a vacant lot on a semi-desolate stretch of Rainier; inside, it's warm from a heat lamp, the fluorescent lighting makes you look peculiarly green, and a tasteful amount of artificial foliage complements the glossy laminated photos of the food on offer. The front has narrow metal counters down the sides with stools anchored far enough away that you're sure to cover your lap in food...A chicken quesadilla ($4) was massive, its meat dripping with a light, ungreasy rojo sauce that raised it far above your usual dry, grilled pollo. The bus doesn't offer a "super" option for burritos, and the wisdom of forgoing sour cream and guacamole was made bountifully evident by a carnitas version ($4). The shredded, marinated pork had a slight bacony flavor and a little heat, with tiny flecks of red pepper and herbs; some bits were a little dry but overall it was quite moist. It's a standout home-style taste and texture, the kind you don't want to adulterate... The burrito's tortilla wrapper was thin and grilled briefly on both sides before assembly, offering delicacy without structural compromise. We also ate/wore some sopitas ($1.50), adorable little masa cakes (like polenta mated with a crumpet) piled with one's choice of meat, beans, a confetti of lettuce, tomato, Mexican sour cream, and mild, crumbled cotija cheese...
Stranger reader-reviewers have loved it in 2007 and 2008:
...without hesitation I will state that their tacos are the tastiest I've had in Seattle. Perhaps I love them more becauuse of the price, but whatever, El Asadero is cheap, tasty and cool.
Tacos El Asadero is the best approach to eating I've had in while. It is refreshing and completely unpretentious. One of those places that you both long to tell everyone about, but also want to keep the secret to yourself. The lack of effort in ambiance creates one of its own.
Here's hoping they get cleaned up (for good) and back up and running. You can find out if and when that happens here.
*ADDENDUM: By "Seattle's only taco bus," I meant BUS, not truck. But! I stand corrected: There is another bus, El Rincon (mentioned here in a 2005 Stranger article, duh). El Rincon also got shut down, then reopened this past March, according to White Center Blog. I've never been—is it good?
2
To clarify: I love taco trucks, but burritos are lame. They have rice in them, and flour tortillas. The best thing to get at most taco trucks is...tacos. Burritos aren't even Mexican food.
6
Who expects cleanliness on Rainier Ave??? If I expected my tortas to be prepared by someone who regularly washed their hands in hot water I would not buy it from a bus parked in vacant lot in the ghetto.
8
If you eat from a mobile vehicle then you tend to get what you deserve.
Vehicles are for transporting things: they're not supposed to be a damn restaurant!
Vehicles are for transporting things: they're not supposed to be a damn restaurant!
10
You don't joke about carnitas, Punditwatch. I feel about carnitas tacos the same way Loveschild feels about Jebus.
12
CARNITAS TACOS- THE PLAIN YOGURT OF MEXICAN FOOD...
CATZ EAT SOPES AND HUARACHES AND TORTAS AND GORDITAS AND TAMALES AND LOTZ AND LOTZ OF TACOS.
CATZ ARE ALWAYS HUNGRY.
CATZ EAT FROM BUSES, TRUCKS, CAR TRUNKS, AND SHOPPING CARTS. EVEN THOSE LITTLE TWO WHEELED WIRE BASKET GROCERY FETCHING CARTS, ESPECIALLY IF THEY HAVE HOME MADE ZUCCHINI FLOWER QUESIDILLAS IN EM, WHICH THEY USED TO ON MAXWELL STREET.
CATZ NEVER GOT SICK ONCE FROM THE TACO BUS. HANDWASHING IS OVERRATED- LICKING WORKS JUST FINE.
CATZ EAT SOPES AND HUARACHES AND TORTAS AND GORDITAS AND TAMALES AND LOTZ AND LOTZ OF TACOS.
CATZ ARE ALWAYS HUNGRY.
CATZ EAT FROM BUSES, TRUCKS, CAR TRUNKS, AND SHOPPING CARTS. EVEN THOSE LITTLE TWO WHEELED WIRE BASKET GROCERY FETCHING CARTS, ESPECIALLY IF THEY HAVE HOME MADE ZUCCHINI FLOWER QUESIDILLAS IN EM, WHICH THEY USED TO ON MAXWELL STREET.
CATZ NEVER GOT SICK ONCE FROM THE TACO BUS. HANDWASHING IS OVERRATED- LICKING WORKS JUST FINE.
14
There are two excellent taco trucks in the UW/Fremont area. One is parked next to the Donut Shop near Dick's on 45th. EXCELLENT. The other is by Piece of Mind in Fremont. Also very good, although I've only eaten there once. No complaints.
15
Tacos El Asadero has opened 2 new locations in Renton. One is in a regular-looking food truck near the NW corner of Rainier Ave and Renton Ave, I think it is in the parking lot of a fresh produce market. There is also a new sit-down restaurant location in the small shopping center at N 3rd St and Park Ave N. I've only been to the sit-down restaurant and it has the same menu as the original bus on Rainier, and the tacos and mulitas are just as good at the sit-down location as they are at the bus.
16
It IS Seattle's only taco bus, the rest of them are trucks. El asadero is literally in an old converted transit vehicle.
17
@11, 13, 14. Not true. BJC is the only food critic in Seattle, and I think she would know!
you stupid stupid idiots.
you stupid stupid idiots.
19
thanks fnarf whats next? Gorditos and Volcano mondo nachos and Cuervo Jello shooters aren't real? Okay, Mr. Passport world traveler man, you fooled us good.
20
Truck != Bus. It's so simple. If it doesn't have one of those doors controlled by a long metal rod, and you stand outside, then it's not a bus, it's a truck.
21
@8 Have you ever been to Portland? Excellent, excellent street food, much of it served out of vehicles.
Of course you should exercise good judgment to the extent you can, but honestly I've never gotten sick from eating at a taco truck or any other mobile foodservice establishment. Be a prude if you want, but you are missing out!
Of course you should exercise good judgment to the extent you can, but honestly I've never gotten sick from eating at a taco truck or any other mobile foodservice establishment. Be a prude if you want, but you are missing out!
23
@10 - carnitas is where it's at!
is the Wallingford taco truck still there (by the donut shop)?
isn't there a taco truck in Fremont as well, parked outside Piece of Mind?
is the Wallingford taco truck still there (by the donut shop)?
isn't there a taco truck in Fremont as well, parked outside Piece of Mind?
25
right as i clicked post comment on the last one, i see the "PIECE of Mind" banner on the side of the page...
27
@21, Portland's downtown street food scene is enough to make a (nearly) lifelong Seattleite weep. Especially since the reason we don't have one just like it is down to an essential characteristic of our city's stick-up-the-ass mentality.
@12, huaraches and sopes et al. come with carnitas too, you know. Carnitas is not always the best but it's the most reliable; al pastor is only good about 1/4 of the time. Birria (made with goat, not lamb) is still damn near impossible to find in the PNW, but cabeza (beef cheek) is widespread and usually excellent (think extra-soft, extra-flavor pot roast). Lengua is good in small doses. But whatever it is, it's gotta be made with masa, not white flour. Gimme three.
@12, huaraches and sopes et al. come with carnitas too, you know. Carnitas is not always the best but it's the most reliable; al pastor is only good about 1/4 of the time. Birria (made with goat, not lamb) is still damn near impossible to find in the PNW, but cabeza (beef cheek) is widespread and usually excellent (think extra-soft, extra-flavor pot roast). Lengua is good in small doses. But whatever it is, it's gotta be made with masa, not white flour. Gimme three.
29
food handler's permits, minimum H2O temps, "hygiene", etc. are good in purpose, but in practice its a big pile of stupid. The test to get a permit can be passed by a well-trained 6 year old.
31
I agree with Fnarf. (@30) They won't serve you "tainted food" intentionally. Typically, eating out involves some amount of RISK, which is how the county refers to it. Some food is riskier than others. They should just make the bus post a warning sign Ala those on menus with undercooked meats and eggs.
32
This closure isn't the one on Rainier near the old Chubby and Tubby's. The notice from the county is for the stand near the Othello light rail station on MLK. Believe me, the one on Rainier is still open, and it's so good that I caused a three-car pile-up getting in there on Saturday night.
33
@8 Yours is the mentality that's keeping street food from thriving the way it should in Seattle. I've never once gotten sick from a taco bus/truck (or any street food vendor, for that matter), but Azteca's batting a thousand for giving me the shits.
@BJC El Rincon is alright, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there. El Asadero is WAY better.
@BJC El Rincon is alright, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there. El Asadero is WAY better.
34
-the closure date was December 11, 2009, 11:15 am..
but I ate lunch there the very next day- December 12th @ 12:30pm...something's not right here
but I ate lunch there the very next day- December 12th @ 12:30pm...something's not right here
35
@33 Ha! Exactly right! If we're talking about restaurants that have given me food poisoning, let's start with Azteca and Olive Garden. They sure don't serve that shit out of vehicles, Cato!
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