El Taco Norteño

So, there I was this morning, driving and hungry. I began thinking about the fajita, potato, and cheese tacos I used to get from one of my long time favorite mexican restaurants and all of a sudden I found myself looking for a place near where I work. There is this gas station (slash)meat market not too far from me, that serves some great tasting fajita tacos, but I wanted to find something that was closer to what I remember from the place in my head.
After two trips up and down North Houston-​Rosslyn, passing this taco truck twice, and 15 mintues to spare before being tardy for the work party (wink), I decided that «nothin’ from nothin’ leaves nothin’» and I pulled into the gas station wherer the El Taco Norteno truck sat. I asked the chica if she could make me dos tacos with fajita, papas, and cheese (that’s Span-​glish). She was on the phone, but nodded her head and, in a matter of about 7 minutes, gave me the bag with the goods in it.
After having to go to the store, break a $ 20 and then pay for the food, I was at work and art my desk… read to get my grub on. Hark! My eyes must be deceiving me… two egg and potato tacos? What to the, huh?! I told my boss I had an emergency and sped off back to the truck, explaining what I’d ordered to the chica. She said, «Ohhhhh», dumped some fajita meat into each taco and handed me the bag. I expressed that I didn’t want eggs and asked if there was any cheese. She told me, with a rather disdainful tone, that there was no potato and cheese, just potoato and egg. To myself, I thought… how does a taco truck not have the ability to make a taco to any simple specification? Was she just being mean, because it was early and she didn’t want to do any work? I wasn’t mean or anything, despite having to leave work to return the food.
I can’t say I don’t like the food, but I definintely didn’t like the nerve of this chica, to insult my intelligence AND be mean like that! WOW!

El Taco Norteño is one of the many taco trucks parked along Bingle/​N. Houston Rosslyn. These are the working class trucks that Houston has long been home to, and I love to hit them up for a cheap lunch when I’m watching my budget or just to rock it old-​school and take a break from their new gourmet, more expensive brethren.
My first time to stop by El Taco Norteño I got my usual trifecta of barbacoa, pastor, and the less adventuresome fajita, which is nevertheless a good barometer for taco trucks, and is an order most neophytes would be comfortable making should they read a taco truck review. The fajita beef was well-​seasoned, with a delicious touch of char at the edges, while the al pastor pork was particularly good with its unique blend of seasonings, and very traditional — though I’m not sure whether they have an actual spit inside the trailer. Whereas the first two might honestly have been a touch dry, the barbacoa was a little too rich and heavy for me, with the slow-​cooked shredded beef almost dripping with juices, very soft, almost stew-​like, and probably very fatty.
My next time at El Taco Norteño, I skipped the barbacoa, and simply got two fajita and one pastor. Each taco is built on two corn tortillas (flour upon request), and dressed with cilantro, grilled onion instead of fresh, and a couple of wedges of creamy avocado — which you don’t always get at taco trucks. With a spritz of lime on top and a dash of the spicy salsa verde (roja upon request), these tacos make a solid lunch, and only $ 1.50 a pop.
El Taco Norteño also offers tortas and burritos, as well as other meat options like pollo, lengua, or chicarron. So I’ll definitely be back to give one of these other combinations a whirl. The Shell station in whose parking lot this truck is parked also had comparatively cheap gas — an extra bonus.