MIAReview
Tacos El Machine Gon
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There is a taco rift in Miami. We have traditional Mexican tacos that are comforting and just what you want alongside a salty margarita after a long day. And then there are the "gourmet" tacos that taste like what it feels like to be at a confusing Art Basel show. Rarely do both types of tacos combine into one flawless experience, but Tacos El Machine Gon is one of the few exceptions in Miami.
Tacos El Machine Gon is a North Miami Beach food truck that sets up on a patch of astroturf adjacent to a gas station. Its name will make anyone familiar with Mexican slang (and Miami’s official language, Spanglish) chuckle. It’s a play on words that sounds close to “el más chingón,” which is a Mexican saying that essentially translates to: “the most fucking amazing.” It’s a pretty bold claim, but it’s not just overconfident marketing. The tacos at El Machine Gon really are los más chingones.
The attention to even the smallest detail in every dish goes beyond any taqueria we’ve visited in Miami. They use blue corn tortillas that not only look striking but also add a pleasantly chewy texture to every bite you take. The meat fillings are tender, and not-at-all greasy. Even the horchata is made with quality cinnamon, and you can definitely taste the difference.
But contrary to what the farm-to-table folks will tell you, quality ingredients only take you so far. What El Machine Gon does with those ingredients is perfection. It’s like they’ve spent months in a lab engineering each dish, down to how many sprigs of micro cilantro and crumbles of cotija to add. Their signature dish (the tacos El Machine Gon) features a triple meat combination that has to be one of the most texturally satisfying bites in Miami: sliced steak, rich Mexican chorizo, and crisp yet puffy pieces of pork rind.
But this place still delivers even if you don’t care about cheffy details and just want to sit under some string lights with generous amounts of stretchy, melted cheese. It’s the cheesy dishes, in particular, that make us love this place so much. Case in point: the costras, which we like to describe as a shotgun wedding between a taco and a quesadilla.
That this food is available from a truck behind a gas station is kind of trippy. But it’s also a shockingly pleasant little dining patio, especially since you don’t have to worry about eating on the side of the road while dodging Real Housewives of Aventura. Since they are a truck that occasionally caters private events, it’s wise to check their Instagram before you go to make sure they’re open. If they are open, you can bet on a delicious and refreshingly stress-free eating experience. There’s a merciful amount of off-street parking (including some vacant spots in the empty car wash out front) as well as a mix of picnic and bistro tables under a canopy of string lights. We love everything about eating here—so much that we might just start referring to them as El Más Chingón. They truly deserve the name.