Taco+trucks



As a newlywed, Jose Uarte came to this country in 1989 with hopes of fulfilling the American Dream. His first stop was Escondido, CA where he struggled to fulfill his dream for a better life. Ten years later he was offered a job opportunity in Crescent City, CA as a fisherman. Unfortunately, a week after moving to Crescent City, the great job, was no more. The company had gone bankrupt. To help him out, his sister offered him a job at a taco truck she owned in Corning.

A year later a customer told him of an empty truck that was for sale in Chico and he should think about branching out on his own. The truck was falling apart and decrepit, but Jose only saw the opportunity to run his own business and be his own boss. He parked it on 17th and Park and named it “//The Taco Man//.”

A year of after starting his own business, Jose was offered the taco truck on 9th and Pine. He liked the location and the fact that taco truck already had an established customer base so he abandoned the decrepit “//Taco Man//” truck and moved to the existing location and took over “//Tacos Al Paisa//.” It has since been voted one of the best taco trucks in Chico!



He didn’t want to own just another taco truck in Chico, though. He wanted to offer something on his menu that no one else had, so he went to all the taco in Chico and took stock of what was offered and what was left out. On his visits, he discovered that none of the other taco trucks offered a seafood taco, so he added a shrimp taco prepared in the traditional style of his native Sinaloa, a state known for its seafood and Chilorio.



Jose offers a traditional taco truck menu, beef, chicken, pork, and shrimp taco, but what makes //Tacos Al Paisa// different from the other locations is his tacos al pastor. The recipe for the tacos al pastor is not a traditional recipe; this is a recipe so famous in Jose’s state of Sinaloa that songs have been written in homage to the deliciousness of it.



As a sign of appreciation towards his mother, Jose has her mix the necessary spices needed for the Chilorio.



The taco truck is moved to a different location every night so that it can be cleaned and re-stocked with fresh food.



In 2009, Jose opened “El Gordo Burrito,” a free-standing restaurant where people can sit and enjoy their meal and where he has access to a commercial kitchen where he can prepare the food needed for the taco truck.