El Torito - Mira Loma

This place is fantastic! The food is incredibly delicious. Just order some tacos and savor every bite.

The food here is excellent, and I definitely plan to return to try the menudo, which is only available on Saturdays and Sundays.

When you pull in to the busy parking lot at El Torito Meat Market y Taqueria on a Sunday afternoon, the first thing you 'll notice is the line beginning to spill out the front door. This sight of a chaotic scrum, with family members moving in and out of it, may compel you to determine that it 's not worth it to wait behind so many people for tacos and to leave. I advise you to stay the course. You came here for a reason, and the line moves surprisingly quickly. You 'll observe that the volume of humanity and number of orders that this place briskly handles is impressive, with most people leaving with large bags filled with take-out boxes of tacos, menudo, and prepared meats. Also, notice that every customer here is of Latino descent, which means you 've stumbled upon something legitimately special tucked into this market in Mira Loma. Order the Taco de Camarón (Shrimp Taco) when you get to the front of the line. In fact, order 2 or 3 if you 're looking for a meal. On a single white corn tortilla will rest a large handful of fat shrimp, all lightly dredged with flour before they 're cooked, resulting in a light oily crust that clings to parts of their taut bodies. These aren 't battered shrimp, more par-battered. I don 't believe there is a precise culinary term that describes this preparation, but I like it. You 'll have chopped raw onions and cilantro on the taco, and then a topping of a zesty salsa verde made of cilantro, chilies, and puréed nuts of some kind (pepitas, I 'm guessing). The entire thing is a hit, in my not-so-humble opinion. I 've had lots of excellent shrimp tacos in southern California, but this one was a completely new but wonderful riff on it to me. I wish the Taco de Chicharrón (Pork Rind Taco) was as well-executed. The somewhat crispy, somewhat chewy bits of chicharrón inside will remind someone who does not often eat chicharrón tacos of bacon bits, except these are absolute hell on your molars, or whichever teeth you use to try to grind them away. You can feel your teeth shifting in their sockets as you try to chew this stuff, and that can 't be a good thing. El Torito Meat Market y Taqueria provides a different salsa verde on this taco: more tangy, more fruity, with a nice bright, raw heat. The taco has a good enough flavor overall, but the saltiness and stout texture keeps this several large notches below the superior Shrimp Taco served here. Fried cebollitas and chile toreados are given away on the side with the tacos at El Torito Meat Market y Taqueria. Use these on the tacos, or do like me and pop them straight into your mouth. As with the prodigious tacos they accompany, they are representative of the generous portions and magnificent value that can be obtained from this operation.

The food here is excellent, and their burritos are gigantic—easily weighing between 5 to 10 pounds! It’s nearly impossible to finish one in a single sitting unless you have a really big appetite. I ended up taking half of mine home and enjoyed it just as much later. I highly recommend this place; it can get a bit busy, but it’s definitely worth the wait!

Carne asada burrito and torta are excellent! First experience here was great and I look forward to trying more items here. I also had the chicharrones. Very flavorful.