Rancho Bravo, You're the Best Around

The ~~Taco Bravo~~ Rancho Bravo truck in Wallingford has the second best tacos al pastor that Seattlest has ever had. A trip to Mexico a few weeks ago provided the third best. The absolute best came from a burrito place just outside of Chicago circa 1997, but details of that era are sketchy at best and the experience may have expanded in the remembering. Somehow we still haven't had the "real" al pastor that is said to be roasted on a vertical spit gyro style.

The burritos at Rancho Bravo are ok, the tamales they make are awesome and they assemble a proper torta, a sandwich which we couldn't quite figure out, culturally, until someone explained to us that it's an artifact of baguette colonialism ala the Bahn Mi. If you're not an al pastor fan all your other favorite meats are available: tripe, chorizo, etc. For the uninitiated, al pastor is like a marinated or BBQ pork, ideally stacked and roasted on a spit, although we've never had direct visual evidence of it being prepared that way. It should at least be red. It looks like this:

Whoops. Seattlest was breaking a three-day, Earth-Day-inspired meat fast with these tacos so we thought first with the taste buds and second with the camera. They look as delicious as they taste, though.

Wallingford, by the way, is in no way deserving of this taco truck. If the neighborhood was that blond preppy jerk from the 80's with the popped collar, daddy's connections and mad tennis/golf/karate skills, then Rancho Bravo would be its Elizabeth Shue. It just doesn't fit. Someday some geeky neighborhood with a big heart is going to come along with its cast of dedicated misfit friends and steal it away. Until then it's in the Winchell's parking lot near Dicks.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@seattlest.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Dan in Food on April 23, 2008 4:00 PM

Comments [rss]

backstrom

hey, give wallingford a break! you act like all the cool places should be concentrated on the hill or something, don't be so selfish. we appreciate cool stuff too

bigyaz

@1: Nothing ironic about it. Coincidental, maybe.

Mike D

I love their burritos. Have you guys read the incredibly immature and offensive post about this on the Slog yet?

I don't know what their axe to grind with Rancho Bravo is.

HarshRealm

psst. the best tacos are in white center.

Rancho Bravo's pretty damn good though.

Eco Geek

I ate the worst bagel of my life at the Wallingford's Winchells. Course I had it coming, who goes to a donut shop for a bagel?

Dan

Wow, it is Rancho Bravo. Good one, Dan. And I live in Wallingford which might be why it gets so much shit here. Just about all the neighborhood's shining stars have been already named here: Als, Winchells, RANCHO Bravo...well, that's about it. Golden Oldies? It annoys me enough to bitch about it here, but, you know, not enough to move.

And I've done the doughnut after the tacos as well. It is a great, if unorthodox, pairing.

Katelyn

Winchells is an excellent complement to Rancho Bravo. I say this based on my own life experience.

squidoo

When did this become the Stranger? Chill out Dan. Let us misfits in east Wallingford have our shining star. You make it sound like Rancho Bravo is struggling while Trophy Cupcakes steals the show, when in reality the only competition is Winchell's and Dick's.

opus

The name is Rancho Bravo.

And Wallingford deserves it simply because we get crapped on by Seattlest all the time. (But we all know you're just jealous.)

chainsaw riggins

That taco truck is one of the things I miss the most about living in Fremont/Wallingford, other than Al's Tavern.

There's also a really good one on Rainier, just south of the Lowe's. A close rival to Bravo.

Katelyn

I have some of those very tamales waiting in my freezer for when I'm not sick of tamales anymore... The people who run that truck are nice, too.

Wesa

Ironic that you post this. I go to physical therapy (knee surgery) a block up the street and I've been eyeballing that taco truck for two weeks now. I will definitely try it tomorrow.