Skip to Content
Tacos

These Musicos-Turned-Taqueros Went From Working with Prince and J.Lo to Serving Juicy Asada in the Streets of Whittier

[dropcap size=big]A[/dropcap] trio of Latino musical directors and musicians who have worked with the industry’s biggest acts now find themselves working a plancha to create the hottest new street tacos built with their own flour tortillas, bulgogi, asada, and chicken tinga. 

How much more Los Angeles can you take? 

With tours and concerts canceled, Bryant Siono, Fabian Chavez, and Joe Mendez found themselves kicking it over some carne asada almost a year ago when one of them said, “Let’s do a taco pop-up.” In quintessential fooness, the “if you’re down, I’m down” exchange quickly led to them all pulling up their socks and starting “Tacos y Que” the next day. They were only trying to do something fun until the concert scene picked back up. Little did they know their tacos would go on to be the next big hit. 

Siono, from East L.A., was the Musical Director for Jennifer Lopez. He last helped J.Lo put together her show in Las Vegas. He’s also played with Prince, Chris Brown, Backstreet Boys, and others. He’s currently helping produce the music for FOX’s “The Masked Singer.” Chavez, from Downey, is a producer and saxophonist who’s worked with artists like Mac Miller, Maluma, and Saint Motel. And Mendez, also from L.A., recently ran far away with Flock of Seagulls as their drummer. He also plays with the local group The Reel Band. 

Bulgogi taco from Tacos y Que. Photo by Memo Torres for L.A. TACO.

But now, instead of dropping beats, they’re grilling meats, pouring salsas, and flipping tortillas while DJ plays Celia Cruz for a fast-growing crowd that cares less about who they’ve worked with and more about the burly tacos this new band of taqueros has created. 

They have one secret menu taco, and it’s not for the weak of pansa. It’s tasty, juicy, packed with heat, and served with a blistered chile serrano.

The main tune to their tacos starts with their Sonoran-style flour tortilla. “It’s our secret weapon,” they tell us. From the onset, they all agreed they wanted to distinguish themselves from other tacos. “We didn’t want to just throw onions and cilantro on our tacos,” says Siono. “Yeah, we wanted to avoid the birria trend,” adds Chávez.

They worked with La Princessa in East L.A., who is now the exclusive producer of these chewy and buttery tortillas. Chavez tells L.A. Taco, “We wanted to go with that because they have a different texture and flavor.” Siono adds, “We put a lot of thought and time into perfecting this tortilla recipe. We wanted to have the right amount of manteca to keep them hot and flavorful.” 

Every tortilla is first heated and slapped over some cheese melting on the grill. The asada is marinated, limed, and salted and grilled on the flat top, sacrificing that charred fire flavor of a traditional carne asada for a burst of juicy meat instead in every bite. It gets an additional dash of special sauce, onions, cilantro, a spoonful of creamy guacamole, and topped with julienned pickled red onions. The chicken tinga is a slow-cooked success with chipotle balanced with a lime-avocado-cilantro cream and red pickled onions. And the sweet and savory bulgogi is topped with a crunchy and spicy coleslaw made with roasted corn, carrots, red cabbage, crema Mexicana, lime, and some garlic chile. 

Vegan or not, do not sleep on their veggie taco. This seasoned potato blended with soyrizo and served on a blue corn tortilla will make any meat lover a believer with its rich, pulp flavor. If you are a strict vegan, you’ll have to stick to the blue corn, but if you’re a flexitarian, ask for it on their flour tortilla. It’s a convincing soyrizo taco.

They have one secret menu taco, and it’s not for the weak of pansa. It’s tasty, juicy, packed with heat, and served with a blistered chile serrano. Ask for the steak picado, and make sure you have some of their refreshing horchata or agua de pepino ready. If you can handle the heat, it won’t be that bad, but like their slogan says, “They just hit different.”

Follow their IG for their pop-up schedule and locations. 

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from L.A. TACO

Tens of Thousands of Angelenos Flock to L.A.’s Flower District for a Valentine’s Day Flower Free-For-All

Tens of thousands made their way to the city's wholesale flower capital, jamming the streets and sidewalks with countless flowers and people. L.A. TACO'S contributing photographer Kemal Cilengir was there to capture it all, including street vendors getting fined and the dystopian-like flower free-for-all being had by lovestruck customers and hustling vendors eager to offload their prized plants.

February 14, 2025

This Weekend: A New Bar-Setting Indian Restaurant, Duck Laab Pizza, and a Filipino Breakfast Diner Pop-Up

The founder of World Central Kitchen has Tequila-laced queso fundido and Tequila-laced Oaxacan chocolate cookies for you, while the Fairfax Farmer's Market is now serving Polish eats.

February 14, 2025

Self-Defense Against ICE: Community Groups In L.A. Are Uniting to Protect Themselves

More than 50 organizations have joined the call to join this coalition, making it one of Southern California's largest immigrant rights coalitions. The group aims to extend from the San Fernando Valley to the U.S./Mexico border. The coalition is organizing training sessions to prepare its members for community tactics to defend their neighbors from ICE raids and deportations. Their first mass protest is taking place on Monday.

February 13, 2025

Tacos Before Vatos: 13 Tacos In L.A. That Will Make You Forget About Him

For L.A. TACO, love is always in the air, and it smells like charcoal burning on a sunny day under carne asada and tortillas hot off the comal, with vibrant salsas, caramelized onions, and thick guacamole. Forget him, and spend time with things that matter in life: tacos, forever. 

February 13, 2025

Unmatched Hustle: Immigrant from Michoacán’s Tierra Caliente Creates Innovative Tortillería on Wheels…In Bakersfield

Many come and buy pounds and pounds to share with their family members as soon as they taste a warm “taco de sal,” a tortilla sprinkled simply with salt and rolled up like a thin flauta. It’s common to eat tacos de sal while waiting in line at a tortillería in Mexico, but not so much in the U.S. 

February 12, 2025
See all posts