Drive down Rose Avenue towards Venice beach, and you’ll find a changed community pillaged by Snapchat employees who have all but erased the once blue-collar Black and Brown neighborhood and its quirky and artsy characters. But on the corner of 4th Street and Rose Avenue, one memento persists as a vestige of this old community: a taco truck operated by the same family since 1987.
In this latest episode of ‘Hanging with Taqueros,’ we go down to Venice and meet the Gonzalez family, who have been slanging tacos topped with beans and Jalisco-style mariscos for 35 years. We learn why they named the truck after Madonna’s hit song, “La Isla Bonita,” why they’re one of the few remaining taqueros that still put frijoles de la olla on their tacos, and what it feels like to see the neighborhood change around them. Regardless of the changes they’ve lived through, this corner of Venice is home for them.
Meet the father and son duo and get a visual taste of the food you should try on your next visit to Venice Beach. Shout out to White Claw for making this series possible, and check out the rest of the series to learn about the great people and tacos that make up this beautiful city of Angels we all call home.
La Isla Bonita, 400 Rose Ave, Venice, CA 90291
