El Pastorcito has many options for tacos. One of the most popular is al pastor. (Mary Ramirez )
El Pastorcito has many options for tacos. One of the most popular is al pastor.

Mary Ramirez

Taco Truck Tour

Nothing says ‘college student’ like a cheap meal

December 1, 2021

Liberal has an abundance of taco trucks and as every college student knows tacos are cheap, filling and great to eat. Crusader News set out to try every taco truck in town. The staff was divided up and sent out to try four different taco trucks and all the flavors they had to offer.

Kylie Regier

Chilangolandia’s cook fills hot off the grill tortillas with carne asada. These steak tacos are a popular order at the taco truck.

Antojitos Oringinales Chilangolandia

We asked the cook what the most popular taco is and he said pastor which is pork meat. We also asked how long they have been open and he said they have been open for five months. 

In a rusted pan, the worker at Chilangolandia cooks jalapeños to add to one of the salsas. The truck gives complimentary red or green salsa with each order. (Kylie Regier )

The pastor was our favorite because it was sweet as there were also pineapples included in the meat and the green salsa included was really spicy and thick.

The asada was not as good as it was very fatty, chewy and hard to eat.

“The asada is not my favorite. There is not a lot of flavor and it is fatty,” Kylie Regier, a nursing major from Liberal said. 

You can add onions and cilantro to the tacos. Most squeeze the lime on the tacos themselves to get the perfect citric acid freshness.

The tacos had sat for a bit which caused the tortilla to become soggy and almost wet. This was our fault though, as we had gone back to the school to try them. 

It is recommended to either speak Spanish, bring a friend that speaks Spanish or use google translate because they didn’t speak English very well.

Overall, we do not recommend this taco truck and on a scale from 1-10, we rate it a 4/10. 

 

El Pastorcito

El Pastorcito taco truck is the big dog over all of the other taco trucks in Liberal. It’s one of the original trucks and is often called by locals, “Mexican Sonic.” Their prices, food and drinks are sold at a reasonable price and are very delicious, depending on what you get and like. The food comes out fresh, hot and packaged nicely.

The al Pastor taco is a customer favorite and we can see why it was very flavorful. Our real favorite, however, was Asada (steak). This one comes with small cubes of seasoned steak, cilantro and onions. The choice of red or green sauce tops off the simple street food. Saskia Vogelzang, a sophomore mass communications major, thought it had a good taste. It was her first time trying taco trucks and she was surprised at the burst of fresh flavor that cilantro and lime added.

One of the weirder tacos we tried was the Lengua or beef tongue. It tasted funky. The texture of shredded meat didn’t sit well. I’d never get them again, but then again, IF I didn’t know it was tongue before I ate it, I might have a different opinion.

We give this truck a 7/10 rating. While the food was good, we counted off for how long it took to get the food. We’d also warn anyone that does not speak Spanish that it might be a little difficult to order off the menu if there are no pictures to point at.

Taqueria Azteca Tacos

The taco plate from Taqueria Azteca, in Liberal includes Taco assada, el pastor and barbacoa. All are typically served with cilantro and onions and a lime on the side.

Taqueria Azteca Tacos

Taqueria Azteca Tacos’ most popular taco is the Pollo taco. This taco had an unexpected pop of flavor to it, living up to its most popular taco title. The Barbacoa taco had a slightly greasy taste to it and the Asada had an abnormal flavor but that could have been different if it had been cooked more.

“The surprising flavor of the Pollo taco made it my favorite,” said Victoria Martins, a sophomore biology major from Brazil. 

Victoria Martins, a super sophomore from Brazil, tries a taco from Taqueria Azteca. Her favorite taco from the taste test was assada. (Brooke Katen )

The taco truck had a speedy service time but with slightly rude carhops. The carhops and cooks did not speak English, making it difficult to order without some sort of Spanish knowledge. 

“I do not speak or understand Spanish, so it was a little difficult to order when the carhops don’t speak English,” said Brooke Katen, a sophomore biology major from Maryville, Missouri.

Due to the speedy service, affordable price, large menu, average customer service and greasy taste we gave them a score of 4/10. 

Las Delicias Taco Truck

Whether you are starving, browsing and looking to try new foods or craving mouth-watering goodness, you can bet that Las Delicias Taco Truck will be sure to hit the spot. 

Las Delicias’ cooks revealed that their most popular meat is Asada and a lot of their food comes with extra add ons such as onions, cilantro, avocados and the mildest to spiciest salsas. 

Overall, the experience at this taco truck was pleasant. The carhop was extremely accommodating and nice but I would advise you to know how to speak a little bit of Spanish or have google translate if you are not too sure about what to order.

Out of all the tacos, these are some of the mixed comments given by the Crusader staff: 

“The Asada is phenomenal. The taco is a bit spicy because of their salsa but in total it is really good and it is so mouth-watering!”

“The Pastor taco was great as well!” one critic said as she doused the Pastor taco in lime and the spiciest salsa possible and said that it was “not spicy at all!” 

However, the Barbacoa was the least liked by the food critics with comments saying that it was “a bit too greasy and the texture itself was a bit mushy.”

The additional onions, cilantro, limes, etc. are what help make the tacos good depending on each individual’s preference. The green and red salsas give the tacos an additional unique taste. 

We would recommend this taco truck because the crew working was very generous and tried their best to accommodate although English was not their first language this added to our scouring, making our overall experience a 9/10.

How to find the taco trucks

About the Contributors
Photo of Laura Gillespie
Laura Gillespie, Reporter

Laura “Gracie” Gillespie is a 19-year-old sophomore majoring in biology. She was born and raised in Stevens County in...

Photo of Kylie Regier
Kylie Regier, Reporter

Kylie Regier is a freshman at SCCC. She plans to go to nursing school at Seward after finishing her associate’s degree....

Photo of Megan Berg
Megan Berg, Reporter

Megan Berg is an SCCC freshman majoring in mass communications. She is an 18-year-old native to Southwest Kansas having been...

Photo of Saskia Vogelzang
Saskia Vogelzang, Reporter

Saskia Vogelzang is a 19 year old sophomore born in Utrecht, The Netherlands. She's majoring in Mass Communication after...

Photo of Mary Ramirez
Mary Ramirez, Reporter

Mary Ramirez is a sophomore majoring in Behavioral Science with hopes of becoming a child therapist. Her hobbies include...

Photo of Brooke Katen
Brooke Katen, Reporter

Brooke Katen transferred to SCCC in January of 2021 and is currently a sophomore. She is 19 years old and from Maryville,...

Photo of Dani Arellano
Dani Arellano, Multimedia Editor

Daniela “Dani” Arellano is a returning third-year student from Hugoton. Arellano graduated in 2021 with her Associate...

Photo of Reece Hay
Reece Hay, Reporter

Reece Hay is a freshman at SCCC and is majoring in psychology. She is 19-year-old and was born and raised in Liberal. Hay...

Photo of Mauricio Gonzalez
Mauricio Gonzalez, Reporter

Mauricio Gonzalez Paiva is a sophomore majoring in mass communications. He already graduated from SCCC in business administration....

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