Meet the East L.A. Taqueros Serving Some of L.A.’s Best Mesquite-Grilled Tijuana-Style Meats At Saturday’s TACO MADNESS
Don Cuco’s. Photo from the L.A. TACO archives.
TACO MADNESS, Presented by Bud Light Chelada, is L.A.'s first and biggest taco festival. All of L.A.'s heaviest hitting taquerías will be in one place for one day only! The 21 + event is happening from 5 to 11:59 PM on Saturday, May 6, at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes in downtown Los Angeles. Ticket sales proceeds will support L.A. TACO's award-winning street-level journalism.
Tacos Don Cuco—the Tijuana taqueros best known for being the first to bring birria de lengua to Los Angeles, along with their smoky adobada—will be hurling spoonfuls of salsa through the air onto sizzling, mesquite-grilled meats this Saturday at our annual live TACO MADNESS event at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes.
This year, the East L.A.-based taqueros are keeping things traditional for TACO MADNESS. Their menu will consist of asada, pollo, and chorizo (plus a secret surprise) cooked over mesquite. All served T.J. style on handmade corn tortillas and topped with fresh, chunky guacamole. To quench your thirst, they'll also have aguas frescas.
Don Cuco is one of nine other taqueros competing for this year's "Judges Choice" trophy on Saturday. Get your ticket and you'll in for a treat. Expect succulent, roasted whole pig tacos with mustard salsa. Crunchy rock cod and shrimp hard-shell tacos. Elegant oyster, fried chicken, and beef cheek tacos. Mesquite-grilled tacos de aguja straight from Mexico. Plus birria, more asada, chorizo, pollo, and all the other proteins you'd expect to find at your favorite taquería.
Don Cuco, a 2021 TACO MADNESS semi-finalist, entered this year's TACO MADNESS as a favorite thanks to their showmanship, handmade tortillas, exquisite carne asada, and rare-for-Los Angeles mesquite-cooked adobada. But ultimately, they lost in the second round by a mere three votes to fish taco legends Taco Nazo (a finalist this year).
Join us tomorrow, May 6, at 5:00 PM in Downtown L.A. to try one of East L.A.'s best taqueros, and many more of L.A.'s heaviest hitting taquerías, all in one place. Along with electrifying live performances by DannyLux and Pachyman, live mural making, tattoos, shopping, and much more. Tickets are still available here.
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