Guerrilla Tacos

October 2, 2017
This classically trained street chef’s first book is a vital exhibition of culinary artistry done the L.A. way. “A taco is a blank canvas,” writes Avila, who drives a food truck and serves five-inch tortillas with a vast assortment of creative toppings. The grilled-shrimp taco has a Thai peanut sauce and a carrot and cucumber slaw. Battered squash blossoms, two per tortilla, are stuffed with ricotta and topped with heirloom-tomato salsa. The roasted pumpkin taco boasts a pear vinaigrette, crushed pecans, and a hint of mescal. And there are even duck-heart tacos that presuppose access to the 32 duck hearts needed to cook up the recipe for a party of eight. There are a smattering of plated offerings as well, including a rigatoni-and-meat-sauce dish called taco pasta, which is what “Mexican moms give you when you ask for mac and cheese.” Avila, in collaboration with Parks, also proves himself to be a gifted memoirist, narrating his life story amid the recipes. Readers follow his career from forklift operator at a cardboard-box factory to culinary-school student to food-truck phenom. Those stories add nuance to the compilation of flavorful recipes.