Eating on the hood of your car: Internacional 2000 Taco Shop - Al Pastor

There's something about eating off your car. You know what I mean, getting something from a food cart, window, or truck, and placing it on your hood, and having a nice messy old time. There's just something visceral about it. So I thought I'd do a short series of posts, of stuff I've eaten off the hood of my car.

I found out about the Al Pastor from Internacional 2000 totally by accident. I was waiting for my order from the Mariscos El Pescador truck (another upcoming EOTHOYC post) when a young lady asked me what I'd ordered (tacos de pescado and gobernador). We both chatted while we waited, and pointing South, she mentioned really good tacos on the weekends from "International Mercado". She loved the price, a dollar, then really got my attention when she said it was Al Pastor, right off the spit! Returning home, I started doing searches on "International Mercado", and came up with only one match, Internacional Mercado 2000 in Chula Vista.

I couldn't miss the plumes of smoke rising in the air as I entered the parking lot of the mercado. As I drove up the parking lot, I noticed.... well how could I NOT notice, the area set-up outside a window, with Pollo Asada (grilled chicken) grilling on one side, and Al Pastor on the trompo (vertical spit) on the other.

I mean really....you can't miss it....

The drill was fairly easy. You ordered at the portable cash register, "quatro al pastor por favor", paid ($1 each) the man, was handed a receipt, and you moved to the next line. The really nice guy manning the flame spitting vertical spit device takes your receipt, and he asks (and luckily for me points) to all of the accompaniments, and you go yes or no. And he goes to work.

Corn tortillas were thrown on the oil laden griddle to the right of the trompo, and when ready were put in front of the spit. I noticed that after serving the woman in front of me, the gentleman waited to complete two sizzling spins before he started carving the sizzling meat. Holding the double tortilla at an angle, the Al Pastor was caught as it was trimmed.

As a "coup de grace" the gentleman added a few pieces of the saturated, caramelized pieces of meat sizzling on the bottom of the trompo pan on top of the trimmed meat. Topped off with cilantro, onions, and sauced, the plate was handed to me......

But he wasn't done yet....as I walked away, he waved a hand at me, and made a wiping motion over his mouth, and pointed at the window of the taco shop. Now how did he know I'd be making a mess? I grabbed a few napkins, and headed off to my car..........

Biting into the tacos, the first thing that struck me was the balance of flavors and textures. Nothing over-powered anything else. The crisp pieces of Al Pastor were wonderful. The Al Pastor had a mild sweetness, from the drippings of the large slice of pineapple placed on top of the Al Pastor as it was turning on the spit. It reminded me a bit of mild Char Siu. The meat was very moist and tender. Enough words from me, the pictures say it all.

You know, I'm not a very religious person, but I'm just wondering of that young lady was my "parking lot guardian angel". Here I was, leaning on my car, eating tacos in a busy parking lot, a slight breeze blowing in my face, watching the sun set. It doesn't get much better than that, does it?

Some notes: The young lady told me that Al Pastor was only done on Fri-Sat-Sunday. Maybe someone who speaks Spanish and visits can confirm. These tacos are $1, though it looks like a whole range of tacos are offered, along with that delicious looking Pollo Asado.

Internacional 2000 Taco Shop (Window in the parking lot of Mercado Internacional 2000)
1415 3rd Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91911

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Comments

[caninecologne]

hi kirk -
is this the one on the corner of 3rd and orange? if so, that used to be Woo Chee Chong, a now defuncy Asian grocery store that was the predecessor to Ranch 99, Seafood City etc. The original location was downtown, then there was the Chula Vista location. this one closed around the mid 90's. i haven't been back since, but now, after reading this post, I will definitely be back for those tacos!

the tiny strip mall down below facing orange has a flower shop, a Mexican food joint, a Chinese bakery (but owned by Filipinos) and a beauty salon with the curious moniker "D'Sexy Look"! Nice!

[Kirk]

Hi CC - Yes, it's on the corner of Orange and 3rd - go on the weekends.... a buck for the Al Pastor is a bargain.

[Eat. Travel. Eat!]

What a nice find! I need to try more of these taco places out. The last time I had al pastor was in the rain and no, it was not as good as what you describe this place to be! The tacos have such bright colors and look so filling :).

[sawyer]

very very nice! been a while since i've had some real good al pastor, let alone w/ pineapple. would u say this is now your favorite al pastor joint in sd?

[kat]

this is when I wished I had a car and this type of place to eat from...

[RONW]

eating on the hood, LOL. Somebody musta misplaced the tailgate.

[ed (from Yuma)]

Glad somebody else is reminded of char siu by al pastor. Those tacos look good!

[Janfrederick]

"You know, I'm not a very religious person..."

Ahem. I wasn't either until I read this post. ;)

[Kirk]

Hi ETE - This Al Pastor was made right, as you can tell I enjoyed it.

Hi Sawyer - I don't know if it's my favorite, but a combination of factors, i.e. price, flavor, and environment made this.....

Hi Kat - LOL! I'd go for the car first! ;o)

Hi RONW - It would be eating on my tailgate..... if I had one!

Hi Ed - Yes, these did have a mild Char Siu flavor to them.

LOL Jan - I guess good Al Pastor could be described as a religious experience????

[Faye]

Hi Kirk,

I love love love al pastor. I don't particularly like Mexican food but on my last trip to Cancun, the hotel made some killer al pastor. It's been hard to find something close to that here in SD.

Have you tried Tacos el Gordo? They're suppose to be known for their al pastor but when i tried it, i found it a bit disappointing. I'm curious to know your take on it (if you've been there).

Your newfound place looks good thou! Thanks for the post!

[Kathy]

Oh man, Kirk! I just had tacos here in NYC the other day...I've gotten so used to the $2.75-$3.50 per taco price that places here charge...the shock of that price didn't hit me till I read your post, lol

[nhbilly]

LOL I made tacos over the week and boy I wish I had some al pastor.

[Kirk]

Hi Faye - Yes, many times. I thought the Al Pastor I've had been good to fair, but it fluctuates. I like the Suadero at Tacos El Gordo. I've got a post from waay back when.

Hi Kathy - Yes ,these are pretty reasonable. Over $3 a taco, unless it's some kind of seafood (i.e. smoked marlin) is pretty steep.

Hi Billy - That shouldn't be too hard to find in your neck of the woods.

[MMMYreader]

Hey it looks char siu BBQ

Sweetish glazed it seems, but white sauce added looks like Doner Kebap from Germany.

[Kirk]

Hi MMMY - You don't know how close you are! You can read a bit more about "shepherd style tacos" here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taco_al_pastor

[Masa Assassin]

Hi Kirk that I also stumbled across that place by accident. This was a while back and I must have went on a day they did not have pastor. Looking at your pictures and your description it looks like I am going to have to make a trip back. Thanks

[Kirk]

Hi MA - At a buck a crack it's worth it. It's also kinda fun watching the guy work.

[Lori]

This place is open every day and has all of the tacos including the Al Pastor.