Politics and tacos don't mix on L.A. streets
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In Los Angeles, they're circling the taco wagons.
A Los Angeles institution, taco trucks roam the City of Angels selling juicy burritos and spicy $1 tacos filled with pork, beef cheeks or tongue, goat and almost any other meat that can be wrapped in a tortilla and dabbed with hot sauce.
The problem is, some don't roam enough. County supervisors last month sparked a save-the-taco-truck movement by raising penalties for caterers parking in one place for more than an hour to up to $1,000 and six months in jail.
As ubiquitous as hot dog stands in New York, L.A.'s taco trucks offer cheap and filling meals.
The new rules, the result of lobbying by restaurants and some residents unhappy with mobile rivals, only affect trucks outside city limits -- areas where about a tenth of L.A. County's 10 million people live. But a media and Internet blitz has led to widespread political indigestion.
Food fans aiming to push back the changes and keep all of L.A. county a taco haven counterattacked with Taco Truck Night, a campaign to show public backing for the vendors, on May 1.
Tanya Scheer, 26, and Dio Marin, 34, showed up for the impromptu demonstration of support, following the suggestion of the saveourtacotrucks.org Web site.
Chewing on burritos tinged red from chilies, the pair enthusiastically described how they often pulled to the side of the road on their bikes late at night for a quick snack.
"It's almost like going to a fair," said Scheer, who was born in the Midwest. "They don't have taco trucks in Minnesota. It creates community."
Arriving on foot or by bike, the crowd at Rambos in the Eagle Rock neighborhood included a broad ethnic mix.
Pulled next to the curb, with sidewalk-side wheels on risers to keep the old GMC truck even, Rambos Tacos offers the worn edges typical of the trade.
Some sport flashing neon; the Rambos truck featured a painting of a rebel fighter and a buxom woman, though the fender is dented and the fluorescent light glares.
"It would be the end of my work," protested Rambos counterman Jose Murillo, 40, leaning out of the truck. He has worked the truck for nine years. Behind him, cook Daniel Aguilar warmed tortillas and meat on a grill, adding radishes to each plate to cut the burn of the chili.
In fact, Rambos will not have to fight to keep its place, since it is within city limits, while the county rules only apply in unincorporated areas.
County Supervisor Gloria Molina, who led the action to keep trucks on the move, is not backing down.
"Most of the people who are familiar with (the measure) don't like the trash on their lawn or drunk people at two in the morning," Molina adviser Gerry Hertzberg said.
Taco Truck Night co-creator Chris Rutherford expects Molina will sit down with truck owners, thanks to the food fight. "At least we're on their radar screens," he said.
(Editing by Alan Elsner and Eric Walsh)
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