Taqueria Lopez

Holy mother of all that’s spicy. The batch of red sauce that came with my burrito is so spicy it’s actually making my insides spasm. That’s a good thing I love industrially spicy food.
The actual burrito (al pastor/​chorizo) is good, not great. But I have lofty standards for Mexican food trucks, buses, whathaveyou.
3.7 stars. But the sauce is definitely tryworthy for you capsaicin lovers.

I absolutely love this place! Their food is cheap and authentic. My favorite menu is Pastors Tacos (two dollars!) with their spicy green sauce!

I know my taco trucks in Durham. On Hillsborough, you’re within striking distance of three, maybe four. Lopez is my go-​to taco truck, though. Great stuff, particularly when paired with a Cookout milkshake. To be honest, you can’t really go wrong at any of these trucks, but I like these guys the best.

I can’t say these stack up to taquerias like la vaquita and los comales. The tortillas were soggy and the meat a little bland which they try to hide with screamingly hot salsas.
Also someone may have thrown a bottle at me or in my general direction in the parking lot. Awesome.

You’ll never get so much food for so little money in Durham. I ordered a carnitas burrito with additional avocado and they gave me a huge plate with the burrito and side salad for $ 6. Taste was OK but not great, especially salsa tasted horrible. However, it is overall significantly better than Cosmic Cantina (the other late dinner option in Durham). BTW, the lady serving the food was a nice person which is always a plus.

This place rocked when it was a restaurant. I got this Mexican Boulliebaise kind of thing once, it was money.

«Now a truck, but great Mexican food in about same location!»
I used to love this restaurant, but the rent got to be too much for them, so the Lopez family sold it, and the new owners closed it within a few months. I’d heard there was a truck with the same name, but I was thrilled last night to discover that it’s actually the same people and some of the same food!
Tacos are $ 2 each, and they have absolutely delicious cabeza meat. Tacos all come with sliced radish, lime, cucumber, spicy (albeit runny) salsas, and a few other accompaniments. I doubt they still have the fancier dinner dishes the restaurant used to, but if you want some tacos or other basic dishes, this place rocks.
The truck sits right outside the Shell station (plugged in there), across the street from Kroger on Hillsborough Road. Alberto Lopez said they try to get there by 7pm each night and stay there ’til well after midnight. Give it a try– dinner or late-​night taco fix!
PS– Can’t call orders in– no phone in the truck.

I thought this place was kinda lame, but perhaps we misordered. I tried a few tacos (al pastor, asada), and they were a disaster. The pastor was dry pork with pineapple (I hadn’t had that before, and it may be traditional but it was not good), and the asada seemed to have been sitting under a heat lamp for days.
On the bright side, there was this really saucy waitress who was really nice.

I decided to finally try this place out since I see it all the time passing by. The menu consists of Oaxacan-​Mexican cuisine with a surprisingly large amount of seafood.
However, the first time I tried some tacos – the asada, compechano (chorizo+beef), and the cabeza (cow brain). The asada was great, compechano flavorful but too salty, and the cabeza remarkably tasty and not too fatty.
The next time I took some friends who haven’t tried authentic Mexican foods. One friend got the steak dish which was on special consisted of what I think to be a leftover steak from Kroger’s, pan cooked until medium rare. I chose the chicken mole, and I must admit I don’t know what «good» mole tastes like, but I thought it wasn’t very appetizing.
When you dine in, there is a decent fresh-​looking salsa bar, and several tv’s playing telenovelas. Drink assortment is great with lots of Jarritos and agua frescas.
Too bad I discovered this place and its tacos right before I graduated.