Guava blossoms have an exotic, heavenly fragrance. Their heady scent, the autumn air and the steam rising from a grill marry sweetly to tantalize your senses as you near Our Lady Talpa church, in East LA at sundown. Long before the new Los Angeles magazine's issue "The best Mexican food in Los Angeles" featured a centerfold story about Tacos Guanajuato, Pancho V. (my mentor in all things Mexican food) advised me to give this place a try. The butterfly-fluttering feeling you get when your favorite author publishes a new book or when the sequel to your favorite movie is released, is akin to the way I felt coming here for the first time. It's Wednesday night at 10 PM, Julia and I are giggling like schoolgirls as we exit my car. The area feels safe where we are given a VERY warm welcome. All smiles, like we are old friends, the chef shakes my hand beneath a canopy while the open air shakes hands with a hot grill. Allow me to introduce you to Ulises, Pepe and Fernando. -The family. I accept a sample of the Jamaica - Hibiscus Aguas Frescas. A great palate cleanser for the good things to come. I know what to order, having read my mentor's review. Volcanes ($1) with pastor ( marinated pork) and grilled pineapple. Volcanes are small, light as air, crunchy corn shells covered with bubbling hot melted cheese and your choice of grilled meat, grilled pineapple, guacamole, vegetables, salsa etc. The chef will mastermind your configuration if you forfeit your control to him. I love to be dominated so I relinquish all my decisions to his wise authority. He chooses avocado, pastor, and grilled pineapple for me. Good choice! "Please have a seat!" our hosts urge my girlfriend and I, so we do. Suddenly, music is playing. Thanks! Wait! Magic? (This is good stuff guys) *insert drool* Prepare your tongues to experience textural overload when dining here. The volcanes deliver a light crunch of corn, scalded melted cheese and sweet grilled flavors. Be sure to order another one a minute or two before you finish the last bite, else you might be overcome with regret. There is no contest. The volcanes are far superior a choice to the tacos we sampled. The pastor (marinated pork) is tender and well seasoned, the lengua (tongue) is tender but a little plain and the asada (steak) is lean but also might leave you wanting the pastor. The condiment bar offers cucumbers, cilantro, onions and a few varieties of salsa for you to improve your bounty. Nothing is too spicy here. A handy option for those of you with delicate tummies. Enjoy a wonderful night out in the intoxicating guava-scented air, experiencing gastronomic bliss. Give your worried finances a holiday here, where all these items are only one dollar. Tomorrow you can can break the bank, cutting into your steak on fine china, tipping an actress, and waiting in vain for the valet. But! Tomorrow, you might be wishing you were here. Where they treat you like family, the guava blossoms are blooming and everything goes right; just like magic. If for any reason, you find this review, useful, funny or cool. I forfeit all credit to Pancho V. who found this place for us: http://www.yelp.com/biz/tacos-guanajuato-los-angeles#hrid:9qPVfOLlV57F5NSEzVB4Pg Put your finger on the pulse, by following him. Don't have a yelp account yet? He is a great reason to sign up. Tacos Guanajuato welcomes phone calls. You can make sure they are there, order catering services or let them help you plan a party. Visit them @ 4th and Savannah at sundown. Take me with you ;-) read more

I'm sad yet happy at the same time, sound confusing? let me explain!. So I pull up in front of "Our Lady of Talpa" Catholic Church/School, NO I'm not here to ask forgiveness for all my sins I'm here for the tacos!, say what, yeah the tacos! you see Tacos Guanajuato sets up shop on the sidewalk in front of the church at 4th and Savanah when the sun goes down, these guys are from Guanajuato, Mexico and represent their fine State of Mexico with authentic items such as Volcanes. So the reason I'm sad is WHY am I the first to review these guys?, seriously you guys need not be scared to eat off the streets, I guarantee you'll find some better tasting food, less expensive, meet some interesting people, get to know the City where you live, I know a lot of you thing King Taco is great stuff, well it's not come give these guys a try and you'll see what real tacos taste like. So in Sinaloa they call them Vampiros, but these guys are from Guanajuato and there they are called Volcanes, they start off by dropping cheese directly on the grill http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/R2AePeUOesztiJyBO4MgEg?select=F2h09H9H9f67fTVPQcnEIA until it starts melting then scrape it up and place it on a grilled corn tortilla *(a tostada grilled until hard) then top it with meat, you put your own toppings. They have a complete condiment bar with a variety of salsa, limes, radish, cucumber, guacamole, onions, cilantro etc... http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/R2AePeUOesztiJyBO4MgEg?select=bnQyU3BRJ8Wq48W8cRqnsQ They do Al Pastor the right way on a trompo http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/R2AePeUOesztiJyBO4MgEg?select=-5BKbG6-b4Nj7let3pWhJg Volcanes de Al Pastor - http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/R2AePeUOesztiJyBO4MgEg?select=FUR4gkEalFIUpebTx0WxhA The crunch of the crispy tortilla topped with some delicious al pastor w/pineapple slices, salsa, guacamole puts a smile on your face with every bite!. Tacos de Al Pastor y Volcanes de Asada - http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/R2AePeUOesztiJyBO4MgEg?select=F9ivbU6vhexnarKInwNbnA While this is not the best al pastor I've had there is nothing I can complain about http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/R2AePeUOesztiJyBO4MgEg?select=inGrUtJwr7BisXgPxAvz0A it's so good. The carne asada Volcanes is real good too!, tender and flavorful and with the crunch of the tortilla and gooey cheese http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/R2AePeUOesztiJyBO4MgEg?select=JkW_dsc9NKKKxUqAwoexGQ Buche - http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/R2AePeUOesztiJyBO4MgEg?select=2n7yOjci20WGGIDQI1d0hw Now this is something I love unfortunately very few places cook it well Volcanes de Buche - http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/R2AePeUOesztiJyBO4MgEg?select=pkPjlhDSnrdiN-GetjaHqw I ordered a Volcanes because I really liked the crunchy tortilla with the gooey cheese, I asked for the buche to be cooked dorado, which is grilled.fried until crispy http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/R2AePeUOesztiJyBO4MgEg?select=xGjye-O39qxPoRPOW1zWUQ and these guys do it to perfection, hands down best buche I've had in Los Angeles. Whom ever takes the time to read this review, do yourself a favor and take the time to go visit these guys and see what some real tacos are all about! read more

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The horchata is amazing, the Volcanoes o Vampiros are incredible, especially with the pork and pineapple, and the carne asada is amazing, and they also have a great salsa selection. I have been sad ever since they closed up shop on the street corner. The vampiros seem like something I could make at home, but figure there is no way since I have since never had anything quite as good as these, and for $1 each, how can you go wrong. I hope my review helps inspire others to write reviews and get the stand back out on the street for us, you have our support!!! read more

I found the place from the LA Magazine. I was in the area visiting a client and they also recommended the place. The Tacos were great and the price was even better. This is a must try place if you are in the area. read more