There’s a new sizzle on Mission: Street tacos at night 

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It’s Saturday night, and Mission Street is sizzling with tacos. At the intersection with 19th Street, Gustavo Gonzalez runs hundreds of al pastor tacos to his hungry customers while one of his employees shaves pork off of a metal stand and bar — el  trompo — that holds pork shoulder. The meat is seasoned with spices straight from Gonzalez’s home in Nuevo Leon, in northeast Mexico. 

Carne Asada is cooking over charcoal. It makes the meats taste as if they come straight from home, Gonzalez says. 

On a busy night, he sells up to 800 tacos. On a slow night, 300. Tacos sell for $3.50 to $4.00 a piece. 

And so it goes for the five other competitors along Mission, each with a special recipe to offer the hundreds of hungry diners who cruise the street. There are the locals, the regulars, the tourists, and the influencers taking videos. One, Tacos King Maya, has been around for four years, while others only fired up two months ago.

Most of the stands have tarps that cover a couple of nearby tables, gas-powered stoves and grills to cook up the meat. At one stand, a cook shaves pork off the trompo and throws it on the grill; another cook takes a few fresh tortillas, fills them with sizzling meat, and adds cilantro and onion. The street-style tacos are ready to go.

All the shops have a trompo to hold the pork shoulder — the secret, the cooks say, to a juicy and flavorful al pastor taco.

Viviana Montaño, who owns a taco business across the bay, in Richmond, called El Garage, is on Mission Street Saturday to visit one of the newest shops on the corner of 20th Street. She’s already eaten at the spot three times.

‘“It’s really good. I love their al pastor,” says Montaño. “My boyfriend and I like walking around the neighborhood and trying new stands. I know how difficult it is at the beginning, so I like supporting.”

Henry Chimas set up Tacos King Maya in 2020 on Mission between 20th and 21st streets after losing his job during the pandemic. He says that during the last few years, he’s been able to cook Mayan dishes he learned from years of cooking with his father.

“I’ve been in the food industry for almost 20 years now, and my dream is to finally open a spot of my own one day,” says Chimas as he prepares a torta with a traditional pork dish called poc-chuc. The dream for Chimas and his wife: “To hopefully buy a food truck soon.”

Just a block north of Chimas at 21st Street, Geovanni and Rosa Aldaco are making tortillas from scratch for Rosita’s Food. The couple has been at the intersection for two years. Their recipe?  Combining the Veracruz flavors that Rosa grew up with — adobo, chipotle peppers and bay leaves — with the to-go taco culture of Mexico City.

“I saw no one else was doing what we do [Veracruz seasoning and fresh tortillas], so we started doing it,” says Rosa Aldaco “Now, I have my loyal customers who come every weekend, because they know my husband and I prepare everything really fresh.”

Across from the couple, “Bonita Chilanga” is already closing down for the night. They’ve been at the spot for a month and for them, Saturday has been too slow, maybe because everyone was at Outside Lands. 

“Our specialty is the torta chilanga, which we modified by adding cheese to it,” one of the two brothers says. “No one in Mexico City prepares it that way, so we take credit for that twist.”

As the brothers drive away, Antony Sua remains at his stand on the east side of Mission between 21st and 20th streets. He’s sitting with his family, waiting for last-minute customers.

Sua, at the spot for eight months, sells tacos, hamburgers and hot dogs. 

“We didn’t make any money the first two months,” Sua says, but he’s now doing fine.

So far, the vendors say, the police have left them alone. Sure, they would like a permit, they say, but so far, none have successfully secured one. “They told me that they couldn’t give me one, because of the health code,” says Gonzalez.

Back at 19th and Mission streets, Jesus and Allan “El Mongo” Gama, who are touring with their band Son Rompe Pera, give a thumbs-up to Gonalez’s tacos al pastor. 

“Having these taco spots at the corner, where you can eat and talk smack, makes me feel like I’m in Mexico,” says El Mongo. “And the flavor is really good, too, so good that some are even better than the ones in our neighborhood back in Mexico.”