Pasadena Taco Truck Chosen Among Top SoCal Tacos

Southern California is a taco mecca and discussions about who serves the best tacos can get pretty heated among Angelenos.

Even in Pasadena, a mini taco rivalry exists between two taco trucks that park walking distance from each other on Fair Oaks Avenue. 

One of those truck’s tacos was named one of the top 13 in Southern California by Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold earlier this month in the Los Angeles Times. The honoree may surprise you, depending on your taco truck loyalty. 

El Taquito Mexicano, which is decorated with iconic images of Pasadena, parks a little further south on Fair Oaks Avenue and has been in business since 1979.

Much newer to the game, the bright yellow Arturo’s taco truck parks in a lot at 400 South Fair Oaks.

Gold favors the newer kid on the block, especially when it comes to the chorizo tacos that he names as one of the top 13 in Southern California. 

“Crunchy-skinned, a little spicy, spiked with those unidentifiable chewy bits that are really best left unexamined, Arturo's chorizo tacos are what you want to be eating halfway through the night,” said Gold.

In a Taco Tuesday feature about Arturo’s last March, Gold admitted the yellow truck is the “second most-beloved vehicle on Pasadena’s taco-truck row,” and opined that the quality of both trucks is almost equal but Arturo’s line is shorter.

Pasadena Patch asked readers to choose their favorite Fair Oaks Avenue taco truck last year, shortly after the site launched.

See who readers chose in the poll here.

Which Fair Oaks Avenue taco truck do you think is the best? Tell us in the comments section below. Does another Pasadena spot serve tacos that are better than those served at both Fair Oaks Avenue trucks? Share that too in the comments below.