I love almost everything about food trucks: the convenience, the speed, the price. But I always struggle to keep up with knowing where to find them, if they are even out on a given day.
But Berks County’s newest food truck is easy to find: Tacos El Gordo has a permanent location at the corner of Lancaster Avenue and Museum Road in Shillington.
Tacos El Gordo officially opened on September 1. It’s the fourth location for the Lancaster County-based Mexican restaurant fleet. In addition to a brick-and-mortar location in Ephrata, there are two other food trucks with permanent locations in Lancaster and Lebanon.
I stopped by on a Wednesday afternoon, a week after opening day.
It was around 11:30 a.m. when I pulled in. An inflatable tube man emblazoned with the words “tacos” flailed in the breeze to beckon in customers.
The truck is located in the parking lot of Jade Garden. The restaurant, with its low-slung awning and dark windows, stood in stark contrast to the bright yellow truck with the mural of cacti and dessert dunes wrapping around the bottom.
When I stepped up to order, I was told about the Wednesday special: $12 for a burrito and soda. According to the menu, burritos are regularly $15-$16 so it was a great deal that I couldn’t pass up.
(I was also told about the Taco Tuesday special: four tacos for $8, which I will certainly take advantage of in the future).
After placing my order, I grabbed a drink from one of the two coolers sitting in front of the truck and just a couple minutes later, I had my food. Outdoor seating was limited to a single picnic table under a canopy along Lancaster Avenue. Rather than hang out, I took my food back home to Wyomissing.
I unwrapped the burrito which was still hot inside the foil wrapping. All burritos are filled with beans, lettuce, tomato and your choice of protein – chorizo for me.
The burrito wasn’t huge, but it was stuffed full. The chorizo was finely ground and not very spicy and it felt like a good ratio of ingredients inside.
Unlike most places that I’ve visited, the yellow rice was served on the side instead of wrapped in the burrito. It also came with a small cup of guacamole on the side. I put a scoop of guac onto every bite until the green stuff was gone and took a forkful of rice after every bite. The guac was definitely a welcome addition, helping to bring everything together while adding the distinct creaminess of the avocado and herbiness of the cilantro to it.
Overall, I was happy with my choice and would go back again, especially for the $12 deal.
Tacos El Gordo provides all the advantages of a food truck – fast service and lower prices (thanks to the lower overhead) – with the predictability of a set location. And you’d be hard-pressed to find a more high-trafficked location for a food truck in Berks County.
Hopefully, those ingredients all come together for a long-lasting business.
BCE Review
Food: Good
Ambiance: Fair
Service: Excellent
Price: $$
Tacos El Gordo
450 W. Lancaster Ave
Shillington, PA 19607
