Full Belly A.
Yelp
I live close by the Tia Julia Truck and I'm so happy when it's here! Their cemitas are the best, I think. But yesterday I took my boyfriend to see if he would like it, since he's a huge fan of Taco Veloz's chiccharon tacos.
We each had a torta, enchildada for me, carnita for him, and we each tried their tacos de chivos. After learning about the anatomy of tortas versus cemitas, I always considered tortas to be bad, off versions of a cemita. I mean, the bread! The chipotle! The quesillo Oaxaca! But, boy did I underestimate the torta at Tia Julia!
The bread is unique, along the lines of cemita rolls, but a thing of its own. I always thought torta rolls were the 3 for $1 rolls in the local supermarkets (delicious, yes, but also familiar). The enchilada as well as the carnita were packed on there, as were the beans, cheese (not quesillo but springy and cut into three sticks of cheese on said sandwich). The pickled japlapenos really tied things together! Great, great sandwich, and for $6 I'd rather spring the extra buck for that than a $5 footlong.
The tacos de chivos were really something else! The chivo had the gaminess that makes chivo not beef, which I like, and it was also fatty. Surprisingly I don't love too gamy or too fatty, but this was rich and balanced. The boyfriend was mighty impressed, and I was surprised as well. Three dollars for a taco de chivo is worth the extra fifty cents (or $1 at Taco Veloz!)
The thing I find about the many taquerias in JH/Elmhurst is, while there are many I find they each have a specialty. Some have great tacos de chiccharon, like Taco Veloz, others have great fish tacos (like the Izquierda Taqueria on Roosevelt and Whitney, now gone and replaced by another taqueria). I like Tia Julia's cemitas best, and now their tortas and tacos de chivo have my heart as well. The fun of the neighborhood is checking out the different taquerias and seeing who has the best type of item. I suggest bringing your appetite!
If I see the Tia Julia truck driving along Roosie, I'm following!