Is it a taco? It looks more like a burrito. In truth, it’s more like a wrap made from a giant freshly made corn tortilla. Nevertheless, it’s called El Taco 5 y 10, named after its makers, who pop up under the 10 freeway in the West Adams neighborhood.
This giant taco challenges your preconceived definitions of what a taco is and is not. It’s flexing its right to define itself by its roots, back when tacos were more than just proteins layered between sheets of masa. They’re reminiscent of a time when tacos were naturally rolled up in corn tortillas instead of served flat with open-seams, before they were strolled around on burros by the borderlands and got the name "burritos."
The truth is, too many people are obsessed with labels, and that extends to labeling tacos and burritos. In the end, what matters are not the inedible words you call something, but the quality of its flavor and textures that you ingest. And by that measure, El Taco 5 y 10 passes the taco vibe-check.
They start by pressing a ball of masa into a sobaquera-sized corn tortilla that stretches from the tortillera’s bicep to her wrist. After being carefully heated on the plancha, it’s then prepared like a tlayuda is. Except for asiento (pork fat), it’s giving a light layer of black beans, covered in cheese, sprinkled with chopped cabbage, meat of your choice, and dollops of guacamole before it’s rolled up like a rug.
Each Taco 5 y 10 is light and filling, giving you the experience of a full meal without the heavy burdens of a girthy burrito. They, of course, also have tlayudas tempered to a crisp over a mesquite fire, and a pineapple-crowned trompo roasting on a vertical fire.
This taco operation is run by mother son duo Juana Bernardino and Danny Martinez. The name, 5 y 10, is not a call-out to L.A.’s freeways, but rather to Plaza 5 y 10 in Tijuana.
As Danny tells L.A. TACO, “We wanted to name it something that folks that are from Tijuana would recognize and connect with.”
So far the whole West Adams and Mid City community has already connected with them as they’ve grown in popularity since an opening amid the pandemic.
Danny is also an aspiring comedian, just don’t ask him for any jokes while he’s working. Keep the line moving folks.
Tacos 5 y 10 ~ evenings, Thursday through Monday ~ 2426 Hauser Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90016
