El Taco Man — Restaurant in El Monte

Some of the best tacos available this side if east L.A.

I have a long time friend that lives in El Monte and whenever I am visiting him around lunch time, El Taco Man is on the agenda for my visit. I have been told that the burritos are great and they do look very good but I just can't get enough of their little tacos. They are inexpensive, small (so order many of them) and simply delicious. The only drawback to El Taco Man is the rough neighborhood it sits in. The very first time my friend took me here and before we got out of the car, my friend advised me to not make any sudden movements and to not hold anyone's gaze or give anyone a hard look. He was not joking! As a Caucasian man that has been raised in the comfortable and predominately white suburbs, I was very much out of my comfort zone here. Fortunately my friend is a local born guy of Mexican heritage and is known around El Monte. This bought me some amount of safe passage in this neighborhood but I would never venture here without him. That is unfortunate because these tacos are so good. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that El Taco Man itself is not safe or that their staff were threatening. That has never been the case. The neighborhood itself is a predominantly Hispanic gang neighborhood and is not a comfortable or welcoming place for anyone that is not from that area. If I was to rate El Taco Man on just the food itself, I would give them 4 to 5 stars. The fact that I have to question just how safe I am when going there and that I would not dare go there without someone that is known in the neighborhood knocks my rating...

This location has had its fair share of change and ownerships of mom/pop taco spots since I was a kid. This particular time I stopped by Outside is very clean parking but is small, you at least can come in and out with ease and they have steady flow of customers.

The prices are pretty good- I had three burritos, two sopes, 4 asada tacos and one fish taco and it came up to about 27 bucks so if I can find a spot where I can feed all of us for under $30 for dinner, I'm pretty happy.

First off Their sopes are on point, you got the option of choosing between lettuce or cabbage as your garnish and I prefer cabbage... but the cheese, tomato, and Bean ratio to meat was perfect and the sope was crisp just enough that it wasn't too hard or too soft. The bean cheese rice burrito was pretty good. I got also a bag of radish and limes with my meal, which was super. Got my order within 15 minutes and service was pretty good....

My only annoyance with this place had to do with the quality of the asada meat, I had a few fatty pieces in the burrito and in the taco so that was my only downside...

I'm not just saying this because I'm Mexican and I have to but because this is as real as it gets. I love this place. Its a shack and there is no seating inside. The tables and chairs are outside in a little patio area. If it's windy you will get cold. Now let's get to the food! OMG, you need to try the fried quesadilla with carne asada. They top it off with repollo and sauce and crema mexicana! I love it. It just melts in your mouth. I love that they have tacos de papa. Hard to find Mexican restaurants that have them all the time. I love that they carry agua de pepino. Very refreshing. Their burritos are a decent size and very filling and the prices? Can't beat em! Make me want to order food to go for the next day but I have to refrain from OVERLOAD. All in all one of the best Mexican restaurants in the...