EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – One native El Pasoan loves to travel and he loves food.
And he wants to bring those two loves together to serve up tasty dishes to the city he calls home.
Hector A. Garcia started his Tako Tako Tacos food truck back in 2019.
Tako Tako Tacos will be this week’s guest at KTSM’s weekly Food Truck Friday segment on Oct. 27. He will be featured on KTSM’s news at noon and will be serving food outside the KTSM studios at 3801 Constitution Dr.
Photos courtesy of Tako Tako Tacos
“I like to put my own twist on authentic recipes,” Garcia said.
Garcia serves a quintet of tasty tacos – Tijuana-style beef birria tacos; carne asada street tacos; Korean tacos; potato and ground beef tacos; and his newest addition, tacos al pastor.
Other dishes of note are his spicy birria ramen, with or without a taco on the side; birria cheesesteak with hoagie buns directly from Philadelphia; and his churro cannolis, which fuse his love for Mexican and Italian cuisine.
“I am a frequent traveler. I mean frequent,” he said. “I have traveled to 38 countries. One of my main focuses has always been food. When I plan out trips, I look at what restaurants I want to go to.”
Before starting his food-truck business, Garcia worked as a diabetes and heart failure medicine specialist for a large pharmaceutical company. That job frequently took him to the West Coast where he fell in love with Tijuana-style birria tacos.
Garcia said he has loved to cook since he was a little boy. During his travels, he looks up Michelin Star restaurants and sees if the head chef is available to talk to or give a quick tour.
“El Paso has a special place in my heart. We are still developing our cuisine in terms of bringing in more than just the usual,” he said. “You don’t see any celebrity chefs starting restaurants in El Paso. I want to bring something delicious.”
Garcia originally thought that he would start a fine-dining restaurant but decided to go with a food truck instead.
“Right now, it is easier not to deal with the overhead,” Garcia said.
Garcia says there are three main tenets that make his food stand out: flavor and consistency; bringing a taste of Mexican fusion; and putting his own spin on authentic recipes.
“There are some (recipes) you don’t touch,” he said. “My asada recipe is my grandfather’s, 70-year-old asada marinade recipe. It is amazing. That one I haven’t changed anything. All I have changed is my toppings.”
One of the big things is offering consistent quality, where you serve up great food the first time a customer orders it or the 100th time, he said.
Garcia has one food truck right now. He can be found from 10 p.m. to 2:30ish a.m. Thursday through Saturday at 5500 Doniphan near the Little Bit of Texas club.
In the near future, he is hoping to be at Fort Bliss during the day and plans to add a second truck next year to expand to the East Side.
He also is a fixture at Borderland events and caters private parties and events.
You can find out more about Tako Tako Tacos by clicking here.
Tako Tako Tacos can also be found on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
You also call (915) 478-1575 or email hector@takotakotacos.com to learn more.
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