Sopes for Days...

Tacos Y Tortas Food Truck

206 South 12th Street

Hammonton, NJ 08037

http://www.yelp.com/biz/tacos-y-tortas-la-carreta-taco-truck-hammonton 

Since I found out about all the delicious Mexican food available to me in Hammonton, I had been taking regular trips with a former coworker of mine each time I was down there to try some of the fantastic offerings they have. We had been trying to find the food truck that I had heard so much about called Tacos y Tortas. It wasn’t there the first day we went, which I believe was on a Monday, and it also wasn’t there at 12, so we made sure you go for lunch between one and two Tuesday through Sunday. We finally got to go, and I was jittering with excitement the entire time. When you walk up to the window, you meet a woman and her son, the woman speaking only in Spanish, while her son cooks and takes the orders in English. They offer all types of fillings that can be added to either homemade tacos, tortas, or sopes. The article I had read about the Hammonton food scene had specifically mentioned the sopes as being divine, so I knew I had to try one.

I finally decided on two tacos campechano, one taco de cabeza, and one sope de chorizo. It was a tough decision because they offered so many options, but I think I made the right choices. The food was up pretty quickly, and they opened up the building next to the truck so we could sit and eat. That was lucky because it was freezing outside. As all traditional Mexican tacos are served, these were accompanied by lime wedges, cilantro, and onions. Campechano tacos are a mixture of beef and pork that are supremely tasty. It was crispy and full of meat flavor. It was more complex than any taco filling I have had before, but it still had all the right qualities. The lime juice, the cilantro, the onions, the crispy meat and the little addition of salsa was a combination of flavors like none other. The taco de cabeza seemed a little out there to me, and once I found out what it was I found out I was right. They take the whole head of a cow and boil it in a pot until it all falls apart, so in a taco de cabeza you can get some brain meat, some cheek meat, tounge meat, and anything else left in the head when it is set up to boil. The meat was very rich, extremely tender and very flavorful.

The sope, which I saved for last, was as good as I had heard. I had never had one before, but the texture and taste was unlike anything I have ever eaten before. It had a strong corn flavor to it, and the texture was increble. The masa was formed into its shape, almost a little cup, and then fried, leaving the exterior very crispy, and the inside light and fluffy. The filling of chorizo was amazing as well. The chorizo had rendered down immensely and the extra fat that had rendered down kept the sope moist all the way through. I can’t wait to show others how delicious these homemade sopes are.

Four solid pints for Tacos Y Tortas. The food is out of this world! The mother and son team are really doing great things,not to mention the price point is simply ridiculous too. For my friend and me to get seven tacos, a sope, and a coke, it was $12.50. There is nowhere else I could go for lunch to get a meal of that quality for that kind of price. It was a remarkable experience for me, and we already have plans to return. You should check it out whenever you are in the Hammonton area because I know you are going to love it! Cheers!