To ensure they make the most delicious tacos, Cynthia and Ivan Garcia of Elk Grove’s West Coast Taco Bar travel 168 miles — one way — to source their most coveted ingredient: dried chile peppers.
“We go to Salinas because the dried chiles there have more depth of flavor than the ones you find around here,” said Cynthia, who, like her husband, is a classically trained chef.
The Bitchin Cali Burrito at West Coast Taco Bar in Elk Grove is an homage to the owners San Diego roots where the carne asada and French fry combination was born.
Jessica Yadegaran/SFGATEThose chiles make their way into the kicky moles and sauces that grace the duo’s tacos, burritos and specialty tostadas. In a short time, the family-owned business has evolved from beat-up trailer to brewery-roving food truck and celebrated brick-and-mortar. Earlier this year, West Coast Taco Bar landed on Yelp’s 100 Places To Eat in the U.S. and has won a few local taco competitions since the Garcias first started slinging tacos in 2019.
The couple pivoted from fine dining after moving from San Diego and finding nothing in the Sacramento area that was remotely close to their standards. “We kept asking everyone, ‘Where are the good tacos?’” Ivan said. “In San Diego, you turn a corner and they’re everywhere. So we thought, ‘Maybe this is something we can bring to the area.’”
The West Coast Taco team includes, from left, co-owner Cynthia Garcia, co-owner Ivan Garcia, food truck executive chef Patricia Alanis and sous chef Chris Breaux.
Courtesy of Cynthia GarciaThey opened their brick-and-mortar at 8791 Elk Grove Blvd. in Elk Grove in 2022, but the truck has been operating since 2019, first as a trailer, and offers a similar menu of around 10 or so items, including a specialty tuna tostada and fries loaded with carne asada. It makes weekly stops to breweries and other locales in Rocklin, Roseville, Sacramento, Auburn and beyond. The restaurant offers a few extras, including a tasty coconut horchata and a green salad with roasted corn, Cajun-spiced pumpkin seeds and cilantro-lime ranch.
Whether you’re eating at the restaurant or following the truck, you’ll definitely want to try several of the eight street tacos, which include achiote-marinated chicken doused in avocado salsa and Michoacan-style pork carnitas with tomatillo salsa and crushed pork rinds.
Among our favorites is the Sac Town Fire, a garlic shrimp taco dressed with a dark red mole sauce that is made with a whopping 21 ingredients. It’s inspired by Cynthia’s mom’s mole. The fiery sauce is infused into the homemade, grilled tortillas as well, giving them a brilliant red-orange color. The taco is topped with cilantro slaw, chipotle sauce and cotija cheese.
West Coast Taco Bar and its popular food truck offer eight street tacos, including, from left, the citrus-and-spice marinated Asada, the Sac Town Fire shrimp and the Dirty Diana slow-cooked birria.
Jessica Yadegaran/SFGATEWest Coast Taco’s birria is another must-try. The Dirty Diana features tender, slow-braised beef birria served on that same mole tortilla, with melted Monterey Jack cheese that’s topped with tomatillo salsa, marinated onions and cilantro. Birria skeptics rejoice: This taco will not ooze grease, and is light enough to enjoy seconds. Or thirds.
If you’re a fan of surf and turf, commit to the Bitchin Cali burrito, which is about the size of a wrestler’s forearm. A massive flour tortilla is stuffed with sauteed garlic shrimp, carne asada, guacamole, shredded cheese, pico de gallo, chipotle sauce and French fries. The combination of carne asada and fries is a nod to San Diego, where the California Burrito was born.
The Bitchin Cali Burrito at West Coast Taco Bar features carne asada, garlic shrimp, guacamole, cheese, pico de gallo, chipotle sauce and French fries.
Jessica Yadegaran/SFGATEBut for the Garcias, food has been a constant thread, since long before their time in San Diego. Cynthia and Ivan grew up in the Salinas and Central valleys, respectively, on their families’ Mexican home cooking. Ivan’s family owned and operated a Mexican restaurant, Casa Nachos, in Tracy, for more than a decade. Cynthia began working in restaurants when she was 18. They both spent years working for Darden Restaurants, the group behind Olive Garden and Yard House, before moving north in 2018, when Cynthia’s sister, Diana, was diagnosed with a terminal illness.
“We moved to Elk Grove to be closer to her,” Cynthia said. “She passed away from COVID in 2020, right before the vaccine came out. But we got to spend two years with her.”
The impetus for the food truck came along when the duo transferred to Darden Restaurants up north. “I moved to a different concept and I wasn’t fitting in and wasn’t happy,” Cynthia said. “We had friends who owned a food trailer in the Bahamas, and they suggested we try it.”
On a shoestring budget and with only two team members, they launched West Coast Taco in October 2019 with second-hand equipment and a rigged-up 2004 Ford F150. “It was barely able to haul the trailer,” Chris said. “We learned everything the hard way but it was the way we could afford.”
In 2021, the Garcias saved enough money to purchase a professional food truck and sign the lease for their restaurant in the Smart & Final shopping center in Elk Grove. They say the reception from the community has been great so far.
“People are excited,” Chris said. “They shop at Smart & Final and stop in to say hello, then bring their friends and family. We’re really happy to be here.”
West Coast Taco, 8791 Elk Grove Blvd., Elk Grove. Follow the taco truck’s schedule on Instagram.
