Tacolandia, con todo por favor!

Summer has officially started, and what better way to begin, than a day filled with tacos, tequila, and beer! LA Weekly's first annual #Tacolandia curated by our friend Bill Esparza was a huge hit! We hit the road to LA, with empty stomachs and ready to devour the taco creations from the hand picked variety of vendors that attended the event. The event started at noon, and needless to say that there were already lines curving in various directions just thirty minutes in, all leading up to each of the booths. After about the 4th taco, there had to be a "let's just walk around for a bit" breather, and there may have been a Blackberry Sage margarita thrown into the mix as well.

The weather was beautiful, and not unbearably hot by any means, compared to other summertime street food events that we have attended over the past years.

La Guerrerense Doña Sabina Bander was flashing her amazing smile as always, while dishing out their mouth watering tostadas de almeja y erizo, and a special to Tacolandia pate de Jurel.

Chef Ricardo Zarate of Mo-Chica, Picca Peru, and Paiche. This beauty is a pork belly chicharron taco..no words needed.

Guerrilla Tacos The colors and textures were gorgeous on their salmon crudo tostada.

Chef Trey Foshee of George's at the cove San Diego being represented with an Achiote cured snapper fish taco.

Tamales Elena They served up tacos de barbacoa, and a taco de rajas con crema, in which both of them were just perfect.

Loteria Grill They had three tacos that day. The first half of the day was their Taco bilingue and Tres Cochinitos, and the second half they brought out a Taco dulce. All three were absolutely delicious.

Mision 19 Chef Adria Montaño and Luis Adrian dishing out the taco de fideo and ubre de vaca to the crowd.

Mariscos Jalisco The crispy shrimp taco that I spoke of earlier..I could go for about five of those right now! Okay, maybe three..but seriously..

Mexikosher Matza albóndigas with serrano aioli and chopped egg, Kosher Mexican Restaurant in Los Angeles, established by Chef Katsuji Tanabe.

Bistro LQ Chef Laurent Quenioux was having fun translating to some guests what his taco de escamoles (Ant eggs) consisted of. Hey, everyone was eating and absolutely enjoying it!

Soho Taco They were serving up Lobster tacos on handmade blue corn tortillas, and their carne asada taco was also a favorite of mine for the day.

Leo's Taco keeping the tacos al pastor flowing at Tacolandia.

Mexicali Taco We could not leave without a taste of Mexicali Taco's taco de campechana. The smoky aromas from their booth were intoxicating.

Tacos Kokopelli Reppin' Tijuana and rocking the crowd with their "Kraken"-Grilled Octopus and Portobello mushroom tacos.

It was hard to pick favorites for the day, all of the tacos were unique in their own way, and some even made especially for the Tacolandia event. All of the tastes from La Guerrerense's paté de Jurel tostadita, the fideo, tripa, and cow udders taco from Misión 19, Taco Bilingue from Loteria Grill, to the crispy shrimp taco from Mariscos Jalisco were incredible! That's only a slight preview, from everything that was enjoyed. I can't even write the names of each of them, without my stomach starting to growl..

Most of all, congratulations to Bill! It was an unforgettable event, and we can not return to LA soon enough!

La Guerrerense's Doña Sabina Bandera

What a great crowd and vibe at Tacolandia