La Poblanita

La Poblanita
3825 Indianola Ave, Columbus, OH 43214
(Parking lot of Beechwold Barbershop )
Corner of Blenheim and Indianola (across Marzetti plant)
614.598.9539
Open Tuesday to Sunday 10:30 am to 9 pm
Cash Only (as of March 2015)
Instagram: lapoblanitacol

La Poblanita opened at this spot in late September (2014) in the very heart of Clintonville. It is a one woman operation. Marcelita (Marci) the owner is happy to be running her first business and reports great feedback from the community so far. She is originally from Puebla Mexico but she has lived in Columbus for a long time and speaks English well.

Her trailer is small which limits the menu she is able to serve but what she does have is excellent. The standard menus includes: tacos, tortas, burritos, quesadillas and chuletas (pork chops). La Poblanita also offers the following specials when possble: Carne Asada Platter, Grilled Shrimp Platter and (some weekends) Tamales. The Taco Truck Tasting team has sampled the following on two visits: burritos, quesadillas, pork chops, Carne Asada, and grilled shrimp. Based on two trips and in spite of the fact that this business has been open less than 1 month, I declare this is one of the ten best taco trucks in town. Portion sizes and prices are very good. The vegetables in the side salads and inside the burritos are fresh and served in generous portions. Meat choices are steak, chicken and pork.

For platters in addition to the main dish you receive a side of seasoned rice, a side of pinto beans with queso blanco mixed in, a small salad with lettuce, cucumber and radish and when available a piece of candy. Platters are typically served with 4 fresh tortillas which are served steaming hot and fresh. Do use caution with the two house salsas – both the green and the red are very, very hot.

The burritos are densely packed with meat and any other items you would like included. The pork chops were a surprise to see on the menu (not a typical taco truck standard). They were well cooked and lightly seasoned. They are not available every day and do not last long due to popularity. Although a one person operation, service has been very good and friendly. It is a one minute walk to Weiland’s Market across the street which is a nice way to spend some time if you are waiting for a large order. Check out La Poblanita muy pronto.

December 2014 update.

Business has been decent at La Poplanita which has helped them add a wrap and some branding to the trailer, they may be the only Mexican trailer with an Instagram account but whatch out, next thing you know, you will see their logos on vehicle fleet branding on roads everywhere! Further visits to the truck has all been very positive eating experiences. The trailer initially moved around several spots on Indianola but as of March 2015 seems to have found a permanent home.

Taqueria La Morena

Taqueria La Morena
3775 Cleveland Ave
614.269.8062

La Morena is a new taco truck on Cleveland Avenue. The husband is from Tamaulipas and the wife is from Honduras. She said that they will be adding some Honduran dishes and other items to the menu soon.

 

This dish was the taquito pirata and while it’s not a traditional taquito (a rolled, deep fried and stuffed tortilla), it is really delicious. It’s a thick  handmade corn tortilla filled with a finely chopped mixture of ham, chorizo and steak with melted cheese. It won unanimous approval. We’re looking forward to going back to try the taquito la gran senora.

 

 

 

The rest of the menu consists of taco truck staples: tacos, burritos, sopes, huraches and tortas. The sopes were hand made and were solid. Meat options were pastor, chorizo, steak , chicarron and chicken. On Sundays they make posole and at the weekend they have fresh agua de pina and more meat options including lengua and barbacoa.

 

 

The truck has been open for 3 weeks and is off to a promising start. The taquitos pirata alone are worth a detour via Cleveland Ave and they have table seating outside the store.

 

Taqueria San Angel

Taqueria San Angel
4005 Sullivant Ave Columbus, Ohio 43228
Open daily.

There’s a great new taco truck on Sullivant Avenue called Taqueria San Angel.  It’s between the Los Guachos turn off and Georgesville Road. The owners are from Oaxaca and are offering some Oaxacan specialties like tlayudas and Oaxacan style empanadas. We were excited to see them open as one of the previous Oaxacan trucks Tres Reyes disappeared over the winter.

This is the first place in Columbus that we remember seeing tlacoyos. Tlacoyos are similar to a Salvadorean pupusa as they are made of a masa dough that is stuffed with refried beans, cheese or meat and cooked on the grill. However they are football or torpedo shaped rather than being round and sometimes have toppings on them like a sope.

One of the highlights of Taqueria San Angel are the Oaxacan empanadas. The difference with these compared to other types of empanadas is that they are not sealed and they are cooked on the grill, so they are sort of a cross between a quesadilla and a large empanada. They have some really interesting and unusual fillings that seem to vary day to day. We’ve sampled huitlacoche (corn smut) which you rarely see on menus, zucchini flowers and mole. They also have mushroom and amarillo (Oaxacan yellow mole). Pictured below is the empanada with quesillo (string cheese) and huitlacoche. It has an earthy mushroomy taste.

Another highlight is the home made agua frescas. We’ve tried both cantaloupe and watermelon (sandia) and both were excellent. Refreshing and not overly sweet with a little pulp. 

The owner is clearly a very good cook and everything including the tortillas that we had have been home made. Here’s the tlayuda. The base was a little chewy but otherwise it was very good.

Taqueria San Angel has access to an indoor seating next to the truck with three tables.

 

 

Condesa

6157 Cleveland Ave
(Parking Lot of House of Cigar, west side of street, south of Ida)
Columbus, 43231

Open 10 am to 10 pm Monday to Saturday

This opened after June 4th 2014 (the date on it’s inspection tag).

Right now they are in flux as a new business. Their core menu is standard Mexican fare – tacos, burritos, quesadillas and Tortas. They may do some occasional specials on the weekends such as Pupusas. We are mainly posting this as a TTSA – Taco Truck Service Announcement. We will try to visit again later in the summer when the business is more experienced and they have a chance to find their footing. Let us know what you think in the meantime.

You will find this truck just south of 270 and Cleveland Ave., one the west side of the street.

Los Aguachiles

(Note this Truck is closed / was sold as of June 2014)

6157 Cleveland Ave (Parking Lot of House of Cigar, west side of street)
Columbus, 43231
614.483.0624

We seen a few seafood-focused taco trucks come and go on the west side before but Aguachiles brings this novelty  the east side. Found on north Cleveland Avenue just south of 270, it’s conveniently (if you’re getting take out) located in the parking lot of a beer store.

The truck takes its name from the dish – aguachiles – which is a shrimp ceviche in which the shrimp are essentially cooked in lime juice. Usually aguachiles are very spicy but the version at Los Aguachiles was probably the mildest version we’ve had. It didn’t suffer for the lack of heat and I’d imagine you could order it spicier. As is traditional, it’s served with crackers and tostadas.

The truck offers several different versions of shrimp cooked on the grill. The main difference seemed to be different levels of spice. We enjoyed our order of camarones a la plancha. The shrimp were grilled with onions and peppers and still had a little kick even though this was reputed to be the mildest option. They were served with cucumber, rice and beans as well as tortillas.

We also tried a tostada de camarones y pulpo (shrimp and octopus) which proved to be a solid version of the dish. Not too spicy but with plenty of lime and some avocado.

In addition to the seafood, there are plenty of meat options including the usual taco truck staples of burritos, tacos, tortas and quesadillas.

The truck has a tent with some seating and the owner and staff were friendly. The truck had only been open 3 days when we visited so we expect the menu and hours to evolve as they get established.