LAReview
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Tacos La Rueda
Included In
There aren't many Sonoran-style taquerías in LA, but the few we do have really elbow their way into the city's taco scene at large. Sonoratown cranks out excellent chivichangas with the efficiency of a Tesla assembly line. El Ruso makes dainty flour tortillas that withstand drippy, stewed chicharrón. Sonoritas serves juicy filet mignon tacos for an indulgent lunch. And then came Tacos La Rueda, a Bellflower taqueria with a menu that's seemingly twice as long as its peer spots. We're dubbing this Sonora's unofficial embassy in LA, or at least for all things flour and beef.
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
The tacos de asada here just feel right. Not in a woo-woo kind of way, but in the literal, textural sense. Thin flour tortillas are semi-translucent, yet sturdy and foldable like a magician's handkerchief. Sliced cabbage, onion, and cilantro add a needed crunch. Salsa roja jabs you with spice for a quick second, and every edge of beef has a distinct crispiness. One of the main characteristics of Sonoran barbecue is the smell of mesquite charcoal, and how its smoke permeates everything like an industrial-strength air freshener. That's not the case at Tacos La Rueda (they use gas) but the tender chuck steak still gets plenty of flavorful char from the quality time it spends with a ripping hot asador.
While beef is the signature, it's by no means the only draw of this small strip mall taquería. Tacos La Rueda does the most with their relatively limited space, which looks like an In-N-Out that commissioned a mural of a Yaqui tribesman. The menu is varied and hyper-regional, with specialties you can't find at your average stand like bacon-wrapped "doggos," cheesy caramelos, lorenzas with frijoles dripping off the side, and tacos de cabeza that are so delicate they disintegrate like a Kleenax caught in a flame. Order an item that kisses Tacos La Rueda's grill and safely assume it'll be the most memorable thing you swallow this week, whether that's the nearly incinerated tripas or the warm tortillas dabbed with rendered bacon fat. The success of these tacos comes down to the timing and temperature control of the grill. That attention to heat, in combination with the balanced salsas, is what makes La Rueda's tacos some of LA's best.
Tacos La Rueda is carving out even more room in the LA taco conversation for smoky, Sonoran-style grilled meat tucked into golden tortillas de harina—an evolution that should delight anyone who cares about our food scene. From now on, don't talk about LA tacos without mentioning this taquería. And if you do, we'll know you haven't been here yet.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Tacos
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Lorenza
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Caramelo