Texas Taco Heroes Veracruz All Natural to Open Food Truck in Los Angeles

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One of the best restaurants in Austin, Texas is about to open in Los Angeles. Veracruz All Natural, considered by many to be the pinnacle of Austin’s robust taco scene, will open a food truck at the Line Hotel in Koreatown this fall. The news was first reported by the New York Times.

“I’ve always liked Los Angeles,” says co-owner Reyna Vazquez of her decision to go west. It’s not going to be easy, Vazquez told Eater on the phone today when she was working on her truck in LA, but that’s the point. “There are already a lot of taco trucks and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

The incoming mobile operation marks the first expansion outside of Austin for the owners of Veracruz All Natural Reyna and Maritza Vazquez, although they have grown from their original location in East Austin to several other stops across town, including Austin’s own Line Hotel .

The new Los Angeles truck isn’t really going to be called the Veracruz, say the Vazquez’s Eaters, in part because they wanted to keep that brand close to their home and make sure it was still around for all of the fans who supported it personal feels the years. Instead, it will be called Hot Tacos and will focus on a wider range of dishes that go beyond the Vazquez’s original menu of mostly regional dishes from the port city of Veracruz, Mexico. There will still be migas breakfast tacos (albeit with a slightly different recipe for the LA market), as well as nachos, quesadillas, and more. Reyna Vazquez says this Los Angeles truck will have even more options for vegans and vegetarians.

“We’ve been researching our options here for a few years,” Vazquez tells Eater, and adds, “LA can be very overwhelming.” Still, say the Vazquez’s, they are excited about the opportunity to expand their menu and reach, but they want to do this carefully. “We don’t come with an ego,” says Reyna Vazquez. “We just hope that we can find a little way here and maybe even expand it to other parts of the city.”

Reyna and Maritza Vazquez. Veracruz All Natural

The food truck means Hot Tacos can explore different parts of the huge city, giving the team real-time market information on which dishes are working where. Plus, they always have the Line Hotel’s parking lot as the main operating base, work in the mornings for breakfast tacos next to the property’s Alfred Coffee location, and then restart for evening service when Koreatown’s many bars and nightlife get going.

Assuming everything goes well, the team is hoping to open a stationary location as well, although there is currently no confirmed address. Areas like Silver Lake and Highland Park are being considered, but for now they all just want to cook. “We want to introduce ourselves to people,” says Reyna Vazquez.

The arrival of Hot Taco is great news for LA’s already booming taco ecosystem. The west coast generally suffers from a shortage of breakfast tacos (outside of the ever-growing HomeState, which also has its roots in Texas), and Vazquez’s national notoriety means more attention to the city’s huge and diverse Mexican food scene. The sisters themselves say they chose LA specifically because of the many taquerias and loncheros that already work here; “We want to show that we can be successful in a diverse city,” they told the Times. Veracruz All Natural’s upcoming Hot Tacos Truck will open in a few weeks at the Line Hotel in Koreatown.

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