Driving back to the Bay Area from Sonoma, Cyrus, Dallas, and I made a series of pit stops at a number of Sonoma’s and Vallejo’s best taco trucks.

Energy levels ran high as we pulled off Route 12 on to the gravel parking lot where the Tacos El Gitano truck was parked. Digging in to our six tacos (‘cos) al pastor we were pleasantly surprised by the grilled onions and spicy salsa verde that almost made up for the luke warm meat stuffs. The sope de carnitas proved more interesting with heaps of lettuce, pinto beans, salsa, cheese on its slightly toasted tortilla. All in all, Tacos El Gitano was nothing phenomenal but a good beginning to our dining experience.

Our second stop, Tacos Dos Hermanos, offered much more in the way of tacos al pastor. We also enjoyed an array of well done carnitas cos dripping with a sauce of the combined runoff of freshly squeezed limes, salsa verde and spicy meat juices. Over an unremarkable ceviche tostada livened up by some ripe avocado and a round of horchatas, our crew compared this truck to the last and found the comida of Dos Hermanos to be unequivocally more tasty than those of El Gitano. Still, the location–off busy Route 29 in Vallejo in the Vallejo Furniture parking lot — left a fair deal to be desired. The horchata was also pretty watery.

The gang’s last stop, also off of Route 29 in Vallejo, was Tacos Guadalajara. Having read that Guadalajara’s ‘cos al pastor are not to be missed (and our bellies nearly replete) we ordered two a piece and dug in. Guadalajara’s ‘cos were slightly less salty than those of the previous stops but equally crispy as those of Dos Hermanos. Furthermore, Guadalajara had the added appeal of offering great salsa rojo, rich horchata, and a more appealing ambiance than either of the previous two stops–a pair of benches set under a shady tree just of route 29.

Bellies full, piling back into our old, grey Corolla, mouths burning from the pickled peppers we’d just eaten, we resumed our journey towards the Bay Area, and a wedding!

Tacos El Gitano
21040 Broadway (Route 12)
Sonoma (in front of Sonoma Materials)

Tacos Dos Hermanos
Corner of Sereno & Sonoma Blvd (Hwy 29)
Vallejo

Tacos Guadalajara
Corner of Ohio & Sonoma Blvd (Hwy 29)
Vallejo

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