Trejo's Tacos - La Brea Ave — Restaurant in Los Angeles

First, the good: the "Spicy Shrimp Taco" was excellent. It consisted of a throat-melting "diablo" sauce that undoubtedly contained copious amounts of pork juice, pork drippings, pork grease, and all of the above. It had phenomenal flavor and I always appreciate a sauce that errs on the side of nearly being too incendiary for human consumption. My only issue is that it was small for a taco I paid more than $5 for.

The "Young Jackfruit Taco," on the other hand, was more sizable in terms of fillings, but not nearly as good. If I were to summarize it in a few words, they would be "sour potato taco," as that's what this tasted like with its overwhelming sour citrus flavor. Some people talk about how the jackfruit here is "just like meat," but I ain't buying it. I eat meat every day, every meal. Other than air and whiskey, meat is my most favorite and most essential of all things that mother earth provides me. I hate to break it to you all, but this is nothing like meat.

I ordered the "Cauliflower Taco" as well and was shocked by how little cauliflower was actually served on the tortilla provided to me. What was there was alright, but I was unable to process it because I was amazed at the audacity of this place to charge me a combined $15.29 for three tacos this small, with one of them being mediocre, and another being outright terrible. Danny Trejo is the man, but he didn't invent charred cauliflower.

I like to do research before I go somewhere new to eat, even fast casual restaurants like Trejo's Tacos. Nowhere on Trejo's Taco web site is it mentioned that their full menu isn't available until 11am and, in fact, it literally says "ALL DAY Menu," so when I came in at 10:40am, I was surprised to learn they were only serving breakfast. I didn't want breakfast. I wanted lunch. It's 10:40am for chrissakes, and even Mickey D's starts lunch at 10:30am. And if thousands of taco shops in southern California can figure out how to serve their non-breakfast fare during all of the hours they're open, why can't the well-funded Trejo's, one of the larger taco shops I've ever seen, a place with a fairly limited menu, figure out how to serve a taco without an egg in it at ten...

Ok. So here's my legit opinion. Great location. The only drawback is their inadequate parking. There is a valet there, just to walk 7.5 feet to stand in line. The restaurant is clean and inviting, with a streamlined "no frills" menu, offering all of your basics, asada, chicken, fish, shrimp, etc. As well as vegan options. They have tacos, burritos, as well as bowls. Also, everything is served a la carte. The first thing I'll say, is that the food came out RIDICULOUSLY fast! I had barely sat down as my food arrived, so that was awesome! I ordered the asada, carnitas, and the jackfruit. I also ordered an horchata, which is sweetened with dates. It was ok, but at least refills were free. As for the tacos, the carnitas (grilled pineapple, red onion, fermented hot sauce) and asada (pepita pesto, and slaw) were both tender and flavorful. While both were good, neither were anything special. Ironically, the jackfruit (avocado cream, pico de gallo, tortilla strips), which was full of flavor, was my favorite. Conclusion: While delicious and tasty, if you expect me to spend 5 or 6 dollars, on 1 taco, you had better be offering me something that's difficult to attain anywhere else, which in my opinion, was not the case. You can get tacos just as good for half of what you'd pay here.

**Revision: I actually spoke to the manager (Who was incredible, clearing tables, getting me refills, and even chased a customer outside in order to return his phone, which he had forgotten), and he told me that their price point is higher than most places because all of their ingredients are locally sourced and organic, and all of their meats are also locally sourced, free range, and hormone free. So the price is a little more understandable. I still just want a good...

If I could give 0 stars, that wouldn't equate to my true feelings, because I think that I'm feeling a negative 5 stars, for the food that I received! I ordered 2 Carnitas, and 1 Baja fish taco, as well as an order of chips and Salsa; I was looking forward to eating it! The 1st thing I tried was one of the Carnitas( just reached into the bag and blindly grabbed an item); it was tasteless, and the texture was awful! I didn't really want to finish eating it, but I don't like to waste anything, so I finished it anyway. The next thing I ate(this time I looked at the label), was the Baja fish taco: it at least had some flavor and a nice texture to it. I didn't even want to try the Salsa and chips! As I stated above, I don't like to waste anything, so I offered it to a guy that was asking for money to buy food. I told him that I didn't have any cash but I had food from Danny Trejo's, and he was excited! It made me happy that he was happy! So maybe that was why I was lead to there in the first place! I was torn between the Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles(on Pico) and Trejos' place; I couldn't go to Roscoe's because I thought about PandB Rock being murdered the week before at a different location(but still a Roscoe's)! The prices at Danny Trejo's place were not in line with the quality of the food(I've had better tacos in my hometown)! I also bought an overpriced keychain for my Son; it at least looked well made! Do yourself a favor, and don't fall for the hype! Mr Trejo should take his name back, and sue whomever created the menu! I enjoy his movies but not his tacos! I had these on a Monday; maybe I should have waited for...