Totally Unauthorized

We were visiting friends in Sonoma yesterday, and ended up having a very interesting meal.

Along the Sonoma Highway, in the evenings after the regular business close, arrive a line of taco trucks, to set up an informal gourmet alley of authentic comida Mexicana.

The trucks arrive sometime after 7 pm, and people are already waiting for their favorite.  Vicki and Don have tried a few, and swear by La Bamba, a rolling establishment with a  strong following, judging by the waiting crowds.

We wandered there about 8:30, and there was still a considerable line.  For the 8 of us, we ordered 30 tacos–12 chicken, 12 beef, 6 pork.  That may sound like a lot, but they are very small tacos, served 6 on a plate, each consisting of 2 small soft corn tortillas, the appropriate filling and salsa.  The plate also contains sliced onions, lime and radishes.

 

A variety of other Mexican foods are available, but “when at a taco truck, eat tacos” seems like a good motto to me.

This little place is busy–there are three people inside, cooking up a storm, and it still took about 20 or 30 minutes to get our dinner.  One large table is set up in front, and we commandeered it as soon as possible.  The waiting crowd is inordinately friendly, and we had a good time waiting.

 

 

At last, the food arrived. and the 8 of us fell on the plates like a horde of locusts.  More salsa was demanded, napkins were rounded up, limes were squeezed, plates were emptied.  My broken, restaurant-owner Spanish came in handy.

The tab for this feast was $41, but that included sodas and bottles of water.  You won’t go broke eating here.

All 30 tacos were dispatched, and we headed home.  La Bamba isn’t really a restaurant, it’s more of a moveable dining hall that hangs out in a particular neighborhood in the Sonoma evening.  You find some great food in the Michelin Guide, you find some on the side of the Sonoma Highway.