SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — On Saturday afternoons in the Bay Park area, specifically located at 2335 Morena Blvd, you might be wondering why there is a line wrapped around the block. Well, it's because of the newest food truck in town, Mike's Red Tacos!
Michael Touma, owner of Mike's Red Tacos, was born and raised in San Diego and as a big food lover himself, he was on a mission to find the best birria in town.
Birria is a traditional Mexican dish that is a meat that is slowly cooked in a stew.
"I'm a foodie at heart, I always have been. I get that everyone likes food, but some people love food and I'm one of those people," said Touma. "I really enjoy creating and testing recipes. At a young age, I saw the opportunity to open up a smoke shop, so I ran with it for 10 years. It was time to venture out and pursue my passion for food."
That's where his dream of starting his own taco truck began.
"I've been exposed to all types of Mexican food," said Touma. "First time I ever had birria, I was hooked."
Touma was determined to find the best birria in town, so that's when he decided to go south of the border to learn more about the popular dish.
"Going south of the border was a distinct learning experience, not to mention a lot of fun. I had the opportunity to taste birria in its own homeland," said Touma. "I must say, they were all great, but each chef adds their own unique touch. I was inspired to give birria my own twist here in the states."
Touma connected with local chefs to create his popular birria recipes and once he had his menu locked down, he launched Mike's Red Tacos food truck in June.
Mike's Red Tacos menu features birria tacos, birria mulita, birria ramen, homemade chips and salsa, and one of the most popular items on the menu, the crunchstack!
The crunchstack is two tostadas wrapped in a tortilla cooked to a red-golden brown, stuffed with beef birria, double cheese, cilantro and onions. Then served with consome, chips and salsa! Yum!
"What makes birria so popular is the method, in which the high-quality meat is slowly simmered for hours into a blend of authentic spices," said Touma. "We make an in-house chili oil that our freshly made tortillas are dipped into that we crisp onto the flat top, which gives them their signature red color, and that's why they're called red tacos!"
Though it's been years in the making and a lot of hard work, Touma doesn't run the food truck solo, he has help from friends and family.
His fiancé and he work the truck alongside their chef, Jose and his wife Katalina and others.
"Our day starts early. We start at 8 a.m. and we get the food truck ready and load up everything and we drive down to the site and start prepping," said Touma. "We start frying our tortilla chips, everything is made from scratch. We have four different salsas. A jalapeno, a yellow (sweet & spicy), and we have a traditional red and green salsa."
Mike's Red Tacos has only been open for two months and the popularity of Mike's delicious homemade birria recipes is the reason the family-owned business is already thinking about the future and their next move.
"We plan on expanding into a brick and mortar, that's the ultimate goal," said Touma. "The food truck was more for a proof of concept and we've had tremendous feedback and everybody just loves the food."
Mike's Red Tacos food truck is only open on Saturday's from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. or until sold out and he plans to extend the days and hours hopefully sometime this year.
For updates on Mike's Red Tacos, you can visit their Instagram page here.
