Tacos El Gordo

Tacos El Gordo operates from a street-side setup on Avenida Revolucion in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, away from the marina and the tourist strip, and serves the traditional Baja taco repertoire to a clientele that is mostly local workers rather than visitors. The menu runs to the cuts that define authentic Mexican taqueria cooking rather than the fish tacos most travellers associate with Baja: adobada, marinated pork carved from the trompo, at about $3 for two; cabeza, slow-steamed beef head meat, at the same price; and tripa, lengua and asada alongside. The vampiro at roughly $4 is the item worth ordering specifically, a taco built on a tortilla griddled until crisp with cheese underneath, a northern Mexican format that is not widely served in resort restaurants. Homemade salsas run across a full heat range and are made through the day, and grilled spring onions, radish, cucumber and lime are set out free. Craft and standard Mexican beers are available alongside soda and aguas frescas. The setting is a street operation: a griddle and trompo behind a counter, a small number of plastic tables and stools under an awning, bright lighting, and traffic passing a few metres away. There is no dress code, no reservations and no seating plan. Hours run 10AM to 1AM daily, so the stand covers both the local lunch rush and the late-night trade, and the trompo turns fastest around 2PM and again after midnight, which is when the pork is at its best. Cash in pesos is expected and a full meal rarely runs over $10 per person. For visitors staying near the marina, it is a short taxi ride or a 15-minute walk inland, and the difference in price and character from the tourist-strip taquerias is substantial. The stand keeps its salsas replenished through the day rather than making a single morning batch, which is part of why the local following holds, and the free accompaniments of grilled onion, radish and cucumber are set out for every order. Visitors unfamiliar with the traditional cuts can order a mixed plate and work out preferences from there.