New Berkeley Taco Truck Is Rolling Out Handmade Tortillas and Super-Sized Tortas | Eater SF

"At Berkeley’s newest taco truck I found a menu that reads like a rundown of current buzzy taco trends: quesabirria, handmade tortillas, quesatacos, mulitas, a hybrid “pizza birria,” and al pastor sliced off a vertical spit with a pineapple on top. The family-run operation, led by Raul Rodriguez and his daughters, has been around four years (mostly selling in Richmond) but moved to its current spot three months ago and now draws a steady flow of customers who come for items that are hard to find in Berkeley. Though many of El Rulas’s special items are associated with Tijuana, the family actually hails from Mexico City and prepares many dishes — that al pastor, for instance — in the Mexico City style. The heart of the menu is fresh masa: any taco can be requested on a thick handmade tortilla pressed to order (for $3, only a $0.50 upcharge), and they also sell large handmade-tortilla quesadillas topped with a layer of crispy cheese, chopped lettuce, and crema; Mexico-style huaraches with nopales salad; and monstrous tortas — their overstuffed torta Cubana (chorizo, a fried steak cutlet, ham, sliced hot dog, a thick wedge of queso fresco, and oozy melted mozzarella) is a distinctive favorite at $13. Rodriguez says they added quesabirria after Berkeley customers kept asking; in Richmond they’d be one of many trucks serving these dishes, but in Berkeley they stand out, and many new customers — used to paying more at local taquerias — are surprised by the prices. The truck is open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m." - Luke Tsai