tl;dr: one of the best in SGV. All meats are tasty, portions are great, prices are really reasonable. Solid 4.5 stars You know how you always see so many taco trucks or stands on a main street? Do you ever stop by all of them and check them out? No need, I am the one who eats. My goal is to try all the taco stands in Los Angeles. Located in front of an El Monte Numero Uno market and CVS, this is one of my new finds and definitely one that I would eat at every week. Their style is like a blend of Tj and traditional taco stands. This is their setup: charcoal grill only for asada, pastor spit, stewing pot, vast condiments stand (incl. guacamole), and auga frescas. Asada is grilled nicely and retains so much flavors despite I didn't get a freshly grilled batch. If it retains grilled flavors and stays juicy after sitting in the steam bath containers, it must be seasoned well and the right cut of beef was chosen. Pastor is nicely seasoned and not that greasy. They sometimes will give you pineapples but it is still good without it. I wished it was sweeter and a bit more meat juicy but I can't fault their pastor because it's beautifully cut and roasted. Goes really well with grilled onions. Cabeza is tender and already seasoned; good amount of meat and fat (albeit more fat, makes it juicier) makes it perfect for two tortillas. Tripas is good; it may not have the best flavors but it is nicely stewed, grilled right, and tastes clean. They use store-bought tortillas but don't fret, all the flavors are there. They use the stewing meat pot's (cabeza, buche, tripas) oil to season their tortillas for grilling. Their dark red salsa is seriously perfect :D nicely roasted chiles smoke flavor combined with a thick savory consistency makes it perfect for any meats. Not too spicy to be unenjoyable but enough to make you want more. The workers told me it's a blend of arbol chiles. This is one of the best salsa I've had at taco stands. Guacamole salsa has a decent amount of avocado with the right acidity, saltiness, and creamy texture. Again, goes well on any meat. The fact that they let you scoop this yourself makes the $2 a bargain. Salsa verde is good; high acidity (I like) and a good tomatillo flavor makes this a good choice for those who enjoy a mild salsa (it's on the upper end of mild). The orange salsa (taquera) is spicy! Good smoky flavors and only a few drops are needed for a nice burning kick. I need to come back and try rest of their meats (I always get their asada and pastor every time) because I keep getting what tastes good even though I should try the rest :) Their quesadillas and alambre portions are HUGE especially if you order multiples. Give this place a try and tell me if I'm wrong. I eat tacos every week and typically drive to South LA for my likings, but this place is winning my emotions. This is the upper echelon of $2 tacos in SGV. read more

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Came across Mike L's review for Tacos Xaam and decided to check it out myself. Seeing the open condiments table and the unlimited sauces were pretty much what drew me in. Not sure if there are set hours that they are set up, but we stopped by on a Thursday night last week to grab some tacos for dinner. They're located on Garvey Avenue (near the back of the parking lot), in front of the Numero Uno Market - there's also a small churro stand adjacent to Tacos Xaam as well as a hot dog stand in the plaza across the street. So when we walked up to the stand, we saw one of the workers managing the meat. They have pastor roasting on a spit while some meats are inside of a pot and other meats that have already been premade. We originally only wanted asada tacos, but the worker convinced me to try the pastor. And I ended up adding a cabeza and tripa as well. I'm not a taco connoisseur, but I have to say that I really enjoyed the tacos from this stand. For one thing, they give a ton of meat! Tacos are a little pricier than the place that we usually visit ($2 a piece), but I think the quality is there - and the quantity is definitely there! Out of all the ones that I tried, I actually enjoyed the tripas taco the most. This was on the crispy side and retained its crunch as I bit into the taco. The tortillas are on the oily side with the combination of the oil and the meat, but everything tasted really good together. And of course, you have to try the asada if you're getting a taco. We ordered five or six of these - my sister agreed that it was packed with meat and really tasty. The steak was cooked well and wasn't chewy or dry. I also ordered cabeza on a whim and thought it was pretty good, but probably not my favorite. This reminded me of the beef stew meat that my mom makes at home. It had good flavor and was actually really filling, but I'd prefer asada over the cabeza. The worker asked why I didn't want to try the pastor, so of course I gave in and ordered one. I really liked the fact that this came with some grilled pineapples - reminded me of the Brazilian steakhouses! This was a little on the salty side, but with the addition of the sauces and condiments - I'd say that the taste was really good. If you order your tacos to eat there, they serve it on a plate, making it easy to load up your tacos with the condiments. If you plan to eat them at home, they offer bags for the condiments as well as sauce containers to scoop out the sauces. There was a container for lemons, onions, cilantro (love that this was by itself and finely chopped), and a spicy jalapeno pepper/onion mix that looked way more innocent than it tasted. Unfortuately there weren't any limes that night - as for the sauces, there's the guacamole, salsa verde, and two kinds of red sauces that looked super intimidating. We enjoyed the salsa verde the most - not spicy and had a nice zest to it. The people operating this booth were friendly - everything was super fast and we got our tacos within minutes. tl;dr - Tacos Xaam is definitely a taco stand you want to consider for those late night cravings! It's a little further out there than the regular SGV places, but it's worth it. They also have quesadillas, burritos, tortas, etc. I will return to get more tacos! read more

This taco stand is always busy. Once you drive by, you smell the meats being grilled over charcoal and it's intoxicating! It's located on the side walk of Garvey right by the Numero Uno Market and CVS. The line sometimes can get long, but it moves relatively fast. I've tried their tacos and burritos, and both are always amazing. For the burrito, I normally get half Asada / half Pastor with only rice and no beans and it's amazing! They do load it up on the meat and they melt cheese onto the tortilla and the cheese in my opinion, makes it that much better! For the tacos, the asada has so much grill flavor that it's crazy good. For the al pastor, I love that they add a slice of pineapple to each one for that little sweetness. I also love their tripa! If you eat it right away, there's a little bit of crunch to it and it just melts in your mouth! Their guacamole sauce is extremely thick and delicious. They also have a variety of difference onions for toppings (spicy red onions and now they have a new pineapple onion). With ample parking in the parking lot, this is a great place for dinner or late night. With the price hikes everywhere, 2$ a taco isn't bad at all. One more thing, I don't remember from the previous times I've come, but they now make their own tortillas fresh! They have the dough all ready in a metal container and they roll it through their machine and cook it on the spot! If you're in the area, just look for the bright lights and the line of people and you won't miss it. read more

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I think I found my new burrito spot! I wouldn't say I'd go here for tacos only for the sole reason that their tacos are pretty tiny for $2 dollars. I didn't eat there, I got it to-go but nonetheless, it was still such a good taco place. [Food]: Their meats are cooked on a charcoal grill which is an A+ in my book. Unfortunately it's not tijuana style but that's okay. Their tortillas are hand pressed and fresh which I definitely love. I got a carne asada burrito and 3 al pastor tacos. The carne asada burrito was a pretty big size, not chipotle sized but for taco stands, I'd say it was more on the above average length. The meat was pretty good, nice charcoal flavor and semi-thick pieces. The Al Pastor was crispy but not like a chip. Crispy and juicy. Not to mention the pineapple they add with the taco is such a nice complement. More taco places should do that. Their sauces are okay. I liked the bright green sauce (avocado salsa) and the tomatillo salsa was pretty typical of any taco place. Personally, I think I could make a better tomatillo salsa. Their red salsa is pretty spicy but its tolerable. You can taste the spice but it won't have you coughing. They provided a lot of sides like cucumber, radish, grilled onions, grilled jalapenos, onions and cilantro, and spicy pickled onions. Overall, this place is such a vibe! Try it out and you won't be disappointed read more

I'll keep it real short. If you know the original Ave26 taco stand in DTLA, this is a fantastic alternative if this is closer to you compared to Ave26. The only thing missing is a free stewed potato but the variety of options offered by Tacos Xaam make up for it, in my opinion. They're not there on Mondays though, last time I checked. Instead, a different taco group takes their place on Mondays so keep an eye out. Tacos Xaam tend to have a large firespit for their pastor, a bbq grill for their asanas, and a large flat top grill area, along with a steaming container area. Basically, if they're not taking up at least 9 yards of the sidewalk length for their whole setup and they look small, it's likely not them. read more

Came across these tacos and it was the BEST taco stand I've ever had. They were super friendly and very fast! The mulitas were tasty and the red/ orange salsa was spicy and yummy! 10/10 recommend read more

Tacos Xaam - a group of people standing around a grill - Mexican Near Me - El Monte, California