Taqueria El Asadero

If there was ever an episode of The Magic School Bus where Ms. Frizzle resigned as a teacher and turned her set of wheels into a taco truck, we’re pretty sure it would look something like Taqueria El Asadero. They operate out of an old school bus on Rainier where Mt. Baker meets Columbia City, always have a line of people during lunchtime, and serve one hell of a torta.

If you’re planning to eat right away, you should absolutely order your sandwich filled with tender birria. It makes us wish Ms. Frizzle were real (instead of an animated fictional character) so that she could explain the science behind how juicy meat dissolves toasted bread. Go for the carnitas with excellent crispy skin if you’re heading back home and/or have enough self-control to not devour this thing immediately.

Though this is a taco truck, we enjoy the tortas, mulitas, and burritos a bit better than the tacos themselves—they don’t come with as much meat as we’d like, and we find them to be a bit small. But even so, they’re only around $2, and the rest of the menu follows suit: hardly anything is over $10. That makes this spot one of our favorite options for a lower-priced lunch or dinner.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Nate Watters

Tortas

Some of the best in Seattle. Both the birria and carnitas are fantastic meat choices.