El Gallo Giro Food Truck
Mexican restaurant · Mission ·
Crispy carnitas tacos, chicharron, and grilled chicken tacos
Crispy carnitas tacos, chicharron, and grilled chicken tacos
"When we’re looking for Mexican food in San Francisco, our internal GPS usually points us in a few directions depending on what we’re looking for: burritos at El Farolito, tlayudas at Donaji, and carne asada at Tacos Del Barrio. But when we’re craving carnitas, there’s only one destination: El Gallo Giro. This food truck on 23rd Street in the Mission is serving carnitas tacos for which we’d endure 4x Uber surge pricing. The meat is extra crispy, the tortillas are pillowy, and the tomatillo salsa has a kick (but if you’re looking for something delicious that will also give your mouth third-degree burns, get the extra spicy chicharron). El Gallo Giro is cash-only and open for lunch Monday through Friday, so make sure you've stopped by the ATM and have a conveniently timed out-of-office meeting on your calendar." - Ricky Rodriguez
"El Gallo Giro has long been one of the best taco trucks in the business, dishing out juicy Michoacan-style carnitas and deeply flavorful grilled chicken for $2.50 a taco. The truck has been parked in its usual spot at 23rd and Treat streets for 22 taco-filled years." - Paolo Bicchieri, Eater Staff
"El Gallo Giro has long been one of the best taco trucks in the biz, dishing out impeccably juicy carnitas and deeply flavorful grilled chicken. You can find the truck parked in its usual spot at 23rd Street and Treat Avenue, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday." - Paolo Bicchieri, Dianne de Guzman, Eater Staff
"At the corner of 23rd Street and Treat Avenue a standard-issue white taco truck sits in a small lot in front of a park — no music, neon, or Instagram spectacle — yet for 22 years it has become one of the Mission’s most beloved institutions, inspiring kids’ Halloween costumes and even prompting customers to invite the owners to their weddings. The truck’s reputation rests on Elena Caballero’s Guanajuato-rooted cooking: plancha-crisped, salty, juicy carnitas tacos are a longtime favorite, and the regional chicharron taco — cooked in Elena’s special sauce so it ends up soft and spicy and often topped with beans and grilled serranos — is a style the family says you won’t find in any other state. Family-run to the core, Elena makes the salsas, beans, and rice while her husband Jose shops for produce and handles the meat, and daughters Stephanie and Nicky serve as the front of house, maintaining close ties with neighbors; the truck’s origin story (Elena arriving from Guanajuato at 18, rising through Bay Area kitchens, then partnering with her brother Cuco) and the community loyalty that has kept them going through gentrification and even tragic fires are as central to its appeal as the food itself." - Lena Park
"Saunter up to this storied truck and order yourself a plate of impossibly crispy and juicy carnitas tacos buried under a flurry of onions and cilanto. You won’t regret it. El Gallo Giro is widely respected as one of the best taco spots in the city, parked at 23rd Street and Treat Avenue, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday." - Dianne de Guzman, Eater Staff