Tacos and Martial Arts or How to Freeze Your Butt Off in the Quest for Chinese-ish Tacos

In the mood for tacos? Absolutely! And I have been since the other Tuesday night at the Dengue Fever show, except on Tuesday I was craving the standard favorite- a juicy carnitas taco (or maybe a fish taco). It is now Friday afternoon. My proclivity has veered somewhat toward a slightly different direction. I'm looking for something sweeter perhaps, something with a tang? I almost went to John's again for a kimchee taco, but I opted instead to check out a new offering.

It was cold today, or rather it still is cold today and I am dressed for yesterday. I stood in line for approximately 15 minutes, ordered, and waited another 15 minutes. All the while the wind whooshed through the alleyways between the high-rises in the Financial District seemingly aimed right at me and my mostly spandex tights. Ah well, nothing ventured nothing gained. Often with pleasure comes sacrifice, or something like that.

So Kung Fu Tacos, the taco truck I trekked to for lunch today, makes cute little tacos with a Chinese/general Asian twist. The crowd in line was young and were mostly hipsterish-professional types. I am really going to just advocate having Kung Fu tacos for lunch for the overall experience and not so much for the actual food. But the tacos are good. I had the Asian Asada and the Roasted Duck. The asada comes with what they're calling an Asian relish, onions, a little bit of hoisin sauce and decent-quality chunks of beef. It is a taco of well-balanced flavors. The roasted duck is appropriately sweet, comes with mango and cilantro. The duck is succulent, lovingly greasy. You get darling little wedges of lime for your tacos on the side. Come to think of it, everything about this experience was kind of "darling": the tacos, the people in their bright plaids, limited-edition sneakers and little knit hats, the fat alley cats (yes, alley cats in the alley) roaming around hunting for dropped morsels, the small truck tucked away at the end of the lane set against a backdrop of red brick. Just adorable.

And the portions. The portions were adorable. By adorable, I mean small. I was hungry and I ordered two tacos. There are no pictures of the tacos because: 1) I was too hungry to take pictures and gobbled them up very quickly and 2) I kinda forgot my camera. ;) In retrospect, I should've ordered three tacos, but there's really no point in regret, is there?

They also serve a dessert banana caramel empanada made by El Porteno for $2.00 which is a great and delicious deal. And because I have a sweet tooth (oh, so sweet), of course, I ordered one, which was well worth it since my appetite had not quite been sated. I would go back to Kung Fu Tacos if the truck is close by and I want a pre-lunch appetizer. I would not however, hike up a hill to them and arrive hungry/slightly out of breath.

Take a leisurely walk right before noon around the Financial District. Bring your coat with you. Pass by Saint Mary's square, which is a lovely little square (another adorable thing for the day) and find yourself at the Kung Fu Taco truck in the parking lot or at the end of an alley. Stand for a while. Order multiple tacos. Enjoy.

http://kungfutacos.com