I am a hedonist in many areas of my life, but especially when it comes to food. I. LOVE. FOOD. To an unhealthy degree. I travel the world, devouring my way through back alley food carts and three-star Michelin restaurants alike. I don’t think twice about hopping in the car spur of the moment to drive to Hatch, NM for the annual Chile Festival or Gilroy, CA to eat garlic until it wafts from my pores. Three meals a day is a suggestion often ignored, more of a floor than a ceiling, a social construct I refuse to be bound by.
One of my favorite developments in the food world is the food truck. There’s romance in the idea of someone cooking something they know is delicious and driving around to share it with the masses. I admire them the same way I admire street performers. They have talent, they’re willing to put it on the line in a very public way, and the people decide if they’re worth giving money to or not. Maybe it’s the relatively low barrier to entry compared to brick-and-mortar establishments, but food trucks take chances, they experiment, and they adapt quickly if something doesn’t resonate. Food trucks are the laboratory of gastronomy. They bring countless cuisines and culinary creations, and I want to eat them all.
Today, I sampled the wares at a food truck that opened in January 2020 just before the pandemic struck. They have proven a popular outdoor dining option and are looking to add two new trucks to their fleet. Their entire menu is built on the solid foundation of a food that I wish was more readily available-birria. If you haven’t tried it, birra is meat, in this case beef, that is stewed slowly over 4-6 hours in a sauce of tomatoes, chiles, and magic until it is unbelievably tender and flavorful. It comes from Jalisco but can be found throughout Mexico and is just getting a toehold in the great state of Utah.
Birria is used to fill virtually everything on Red Taco’s menu – which could be overkill someplace else, like if every pasta had the same red sauce, but here it works beautifully. It was 40 degrees as my wife and I sat outside and smashed a plate of queso tacos, street tacos, doraditos, and consomé.
I don’t speak much Spanish, but I am fluent in food, so let me break this down a little. If you’re a dip- your-toe-in-the-pool-before easing-yourself-in type of person, start with the street tacos. Two small tortillas, topped with birria, with onions and cilantro on the side. The twist – the outer tortilla is fried, so it crackles when you fold it and provides a satisfying crunch as you bite into it. I’d never had a street taco that crackled like that, but I’m completely sold on the idea. It was delicious.
If you want to level-up a little, go for the doradito. Now you’re talking about a large taco that holds its u- shape because the exterior has been well-fried. The outer tortilla is crispy, the inner is soft, and it’s filled with generous amounts of warm, juicy birria. So, so good. They also offer three hot sauces: mild hot (tomatillo), hot (chile de árbol), and very hot (habanero).
This is what it’s all about 
Look at that cheese pull!
But the real stars of the show are the queso tacos – the same as the doraditos but with one incredible additon: they are capped with an immense amount of cheese, fried crispy on the edges, but soft and stretchy on the inside. Delicious on its own, this cheese serves a structural purpose as well – it keeps the birria firmly locked inside as you dip the taco in a cup of consomé that transports you to true taco nirvana. Consomé is birria broth and meat that started as a stand-alone dish in Mexico until someone thought, “Hey, what if I dip my taco in that?” and immediately made the world a better place. This is why Red Tacos is worth the drive to Provo, worth seeking out, worth eating at time and time and time again. All your worries, concerns, and troubles are a distant memory as the pleasure centers of your brain are flooded with dopamine.
Notice that the sombrero is a taco. Genius!
Know Before You Go: The Red Tacos truck can be found at 235 S Freedom Blvd in Provo. They are open Wednesday through Sunday and post on Instagram if they’re sold out. They also get points for embracing tech – you have the option to text them your order, pay with Venmo, and they use pagers to let you know when your food is ready. I was very impressed by Red Tacos and highly recommend them to get your food truck fix.
