Masa Taco is a taco shop specializing in Vegan tacos and handmade flavored tortillas. Let me tell you; they are killing it! We recently had the opportunity to check out MasaTaco and sample a few of their tacos. We tried too many to talk about them all here (check out our MasaTaco podcast to see my take on all the tacos we tried).
A few of my favorites were the Al Pastor, Campachana and the Carnitas. First up was the Carnitas, beautiful Korean mushrooms are deep fried then seasoned to taste like carnitas. They’re served on a smoky chipotle tortilla topped with vegan crema and pickled onions. Amazing! The mushrooms are crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle just like carnitas. On a scale of 1-10, I give this a solid eight. You obviously know it’s not meat, yet there is enough similar taste to satisfy most carnivores (myself included). Next in line was the Al Pastor. With this one, they take tempeh (a soy-based protein) and use traditional al pastor seasoning but instead of using fresh pineapple, they use dehydrated ones which gives it a little more concentrated pineapple flavor. They top it all off with chopped cilantro and more of the delicious vegan crema all on a handmade tortilla. This was a ridiculously good taco and easily a nine on the scale and was almost my favorite. My favorite taco of the night was the Campachana. Traditionally, Campachana is made with seafood. This one, however, is a vegan meat trio cooked and seasoned to perfection. And once again, placed onto a smoky chipotle handmade tortilla. But the secret for this taco is the coconut-based vegan cheese. This "cheese" takes the taco from a solid eight or nine to a 15! It adds a creaminess that blends perfectly with all the "meats."
The man behind this business is David Fuerte, the Chef/Owner of Masa Taco in Whittier CA and the founder of Made for Chefs. Fuerte is an incredibly talented chef who loves being in the kitchen and wants to help up-and-coming chefs pursue their passion for the industry as well. He started Made for Chefs with the thought of helping young chefs get their feet off the ground. Starting a catering company can be very expensive so Made for Chefs makes that dream more accessible by loaning out equipment and trailers thereby saving them hundreds if not thousands of dollars. He also designed some of the most badass cutting boards and magnetic knife holders on the market, hosts a local cooking competition called “Chefs Throw Down,” and is also a personal chef for a famous baseball player. Chef David has always loved to be in the kitchen and has known since he was nine years old that he wanted to be a chef. Growing up and watching his Grandma in the kitchen was a huge influence for him. During our interview, Chef David shared a couple of his fond memories with us and reminisced about his grandmother cooking for the family. Make sure you tune into the podcast to hear more about these experiences. Those experiences made him into the chef that he is today, and taught him valuable lessons about cooking. He learned to appreciate where food comes from and to use everything possible from his ingredients. His parents also imparted on him the value of hard work and self-sufficiency. It's a value that he still lives by today. There is a lot of competition here in Southern California for tacos, and they’re even competing with traditional meat tacos. However, Masa Taco knocks it out of the ballpark! In my opinion, it would be hard to find better vegan tacos anywhere in the country. Not to mention, Masa Taco doesn't just have one or two vegan tacos. We had six different vegan tacos, and that is probably only 30% of their menu. For my carnivores out there, they do have traditional meat tacos as well. I’m not going to lie, even though I love me some meat, I would happily (and without any hesitation) order any of the vegan tacos from Masa Taco. I will be back to visit again, and you should take the time to come try it out as well. In fact, ask for Chef David and tell him that Bryant from “Thank God I'm a Foodie” sent you.