Tacos El Pariente

$ 6 DOLLARS FOR A BURRITO! What a joke! This is a taco cart not a fine-​dining experience. You can get the same burritos for $ 3 at «Beto» type diners. With that said the $ 1 taco with all the trimmings was a good deal.

My new favorite street tacos! So worth the $ 1.25!!! Anyone who likes taco carts must try this place. I think I’ll go back tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.

Had their food at a party and the only thing that comes close to having flavor is their asada tacos. It was a catering event, not to impressed with food, but it’s ok for a quick bite.

Pretty good place, off the beaten path and one of the carts you have to know how to find to get to it. It’s behind 3 Alarm Saloon, on a side road (god bless whomever landed that spot at a bar).
It’s pretty standard, like most of the other cars around. I hadn’t had any trouble with English, as the cooks speak enough to know or are conversational.
The meats are good, not too grisly, some fats, and a good amount of seasonings. I like the carne asada and the chicharron. The chicharron there doesn’t taste like it’s be rehydrated like some of the other stands, but like genuine pork belly fat and skin.
The offer the usual side toppings, onions, grilled onions, peppers, pico de gallo, salsa. They double up their little tacos with the tortillas, but I just pull the bottom one off. I’d say hit this place up if you’re driving down state off Fort Union.
cash only as expected.

Burritos are $ 7 and are bigger than chipotles burritos. Carve asada was good. But not good as a late night snack as the food is quite heavy.
Spanish only and cash only. And if it’s late night, try to be drunk for this food. You’re body will thank you for it later

Used to be my favorite taco stand, now it is subpar. Last couple times I’ve been there I’ve received an unusually small amount of meat that was extremely over cooked. My heart is kinda broken. :(

We absolutely love El Pariente’s food. Generous portions of wonderful fillers and an attractive assortment of condiments — one especially terrific hot sauce (apparently home made) that adds a zing to an excellent meal. We usually buy two each — one for immediate enjoyment and one for later.

Cheap, delicious, fresh, authentic. Tip these awesome people for bringing their magical tacos into this world.

Great place with an interesting but convenient location for me, great food, fast service, and well priced. This little out of the way taco cart serves up consistently good food.
I visited most recently on 1÷11÷16, a frigid day, about 1:00pm. The cart was fairly crowded at this time and the woman in the cart was busy preparing food. She was efficient, friendly with the customers, but clearly busy. I was served timely and asked for four asada tacos ($ 1.25 ea.). The food arrived promptly, each taco consisting of two soft and warmed, white corn tortillas with a generous helping of meat piled on top. The meat was seasoned well and flavorful. Condiments were plentiful and the salsas great.
I’ve previously enjoyed chicharones (spicy pork rinds) and chorizo and will be looking forward to trying the Cabeza next time. I didn’t see tacos al pastor on the menu as another reviewer claimed so I either didn’t look hard enough or it wasn’t available today.
It’s a taco cart, so seating is nonexistent except for some planters. The area was clean. Parking plentiful. I’ll be back!

Excellent Street Tacos. Everything you want, and more flavors than quite a few other taco carts in slc. My favorite is the Asada and Al Pastor, but I haven’t eaten anything there that’s not delicious.

Go ahead and splurge on some fast Mexican street food from this local taco cart.
Get yourself a $ 1 taco filled with Alambre (cheese/​red peppers/​carne asada), Carne Asada (steak), Pollo (chicken), and Al Pastor (spicy pork). Sure they have other options, but these are what I prefer. Watch out, they are coming out hot on a styrofoam plate served upon two mini corn tortillas each. Open up that right cooler and get yourself a little shredded cabbage, maybe a dash of pico de gallo, a lime, some pickled carrots/​onions/​jalapenos, and a squirt of the avocado salsa for a little kick. Maybe grilled onions if you’re into that sort of thing.
Or maybe your stomach is really hungry. Get that $ 6 burrito wrapped in a hot big flour tortilla filled with mexican style rice and loads of pinto beans. There are the same meat options but just stick with the carne asada, or you know what, you do what you want! Ask for it to stay open — they will wrap it for you if you lack the burrito-​tucking-​abilities. Why open? Well same procedures as the tacos, put what you want on that beast!
Maybe you take a kid with you who is like, «You want me to eat that messy taco?» Get that little human a quesadilla or torta for $ 5.
The next thing you need to do is open up the cooler on the right and snag up a can of mango nectar to help slug down that taco/​burrito/​quesadilla/​or torta you chose (why not, all the drinks are a buck!). Hand the gal some cash (because that’s your only option) for giving you cheap tasty delicious Mexican food. Place a buck or two into the hanging bird-​looking tip jar, and go sit on the back of your car. Oh and do yourself a favor and grab a paper towel would ya?
Boom — You will become a fan.

The lady was very weird & acting strange like if she was drunk or something.
I was being very polite & nice with a smile the whole time.
I asked for several varieties of tacos but she didn’t give me anything that I asked for, she just gave me all one meat when I asked for 7 different types of meats/​tacos. When I asked several other people, this had also happened to them so it’s not an isolated incident.
She seemed more interested in talking to her friend.
I spoke Spanish so it wasn’t a communication thing.
When I called the department of health about this stand they said they’ve had several complaints about food illnesses & food handling violations & the better business bureau is also conducting an investigation on them. Although I didn’t get sick I still don’t recommend.

Just a taco truck in the middle of downtown Midvale. One dollar Mexican tacos with a variety of meat. Got an assortment of carnitas, al pastor, barbacoa, pollo, and buche.
All of the meats were excellent and not dry at all. Al pastor had an interesting flavor to it, buche (pork stomach) was also very good, my favorite was chicken.
For a quick fix for authentic tacos, it doesn’t really get much better than this. I highly recommend El Pariente to anyone.

I stopped here on 1−5−15, and on all the reviews said el pastor, so I got an el pastor burrito which comes with rice cheese and beans, I minus the beans and added pico. Caramelized onions, and light tomatillo sauce/​salsa…
It was good, not excellent, meat was tender but almost a sweet after taste, it wasn’t bad but a little unusual, I would try the other tacos to see if they are a little better but for $ 6 it is a pretty good deal.
The stand is out in front of the sporting good store off fort union. But still looking for that place you tell your friends HAVE to try… LOL

This joint is super good. Solid street tacos for a buck ($ 1) and burritos for $ 6.
Pork (carnitas) is by far my favorite, seasoned well, shredded and delicious.
The spicy pork is tasty, in little chunks like the carne asada, seasoned to a delightfully spicy red color.
The steak (carne asada) is very good, small chunks seasoned and ready to go.
The chicken is also seasoned and has peppers (maybe onions too) mixed in with it. Tender and tasty.
They have a full condiment bar with onion and cilantro mixed with tomatoes, chopped cabbage, grilled jalapeños, radishes, cut limes, mild red salsa, spicy red salsa, green salsa and guacamole in s bottle! All the extras are free, fresh and delicious.
They also have a cooler with canned sodas and small bottled water. $ 1 each.

Excellent street taco experience for a mid-​Saturday referral from Unilocal: I’d recommend this joint to anyone who likes a variety of fresh made street tacos served with a smile!
My wife and I sampled their al pastore, pollo and carne asada. Tacos were prepared in the cart (see pics) quickly with two tasty, soft corn tortillas each. Excellent variety of salsas and sauces in squirt bottles. Marinated carrots (hot!), radish slices and lovely oil roasted jalapenos too. We shared four tacos and a canned Mango drink for $ 5. They also offered burritos for $ 6 and had a large variety of canned soft drinks and Mexican fruit drinks.
No chairs or tables (it’s in a parking lot, right?) but we sat and ate in the shade on the some wide timbers that formed th edge of a planter box right next to the cart. We were the only gringos eating there and the crowd of maybe six patrons and the ambiance was pleasant and relaxed.
Four stars because although it was delish and I’ll be back for more, I can’t say «As good as it gets» because I’m on a quest for the perfect taco. Stay tuned!

I’ve only been to 2 taco stands locally in Midvale: Pariente and Cunado. They’re only about 2 miles apart. If i had to choose one, I would say Pariente is better overall. (though Cunado is good too). Pariente has more meat variety to select from, plus a place to actually sit and eat. (There are some planters where people can sit and enjoy their food, at Cunado I end up eating in my car b/​c i don’t want to stand.)
I’ve been here a couple of times and the gals making the food are always nice and greet you with a smile. Ice chest with condiments is well stocked with grilled onions, pickled carrots, cabbage, and radishes; and they aren’t discolored and brown. There appears to be 4 types of sauces: Verde, 2 types of roja, and avocado salsa.
I’ve tried the Chicharron in red sauce, carnitas, buche, cabeza, al pastor, carne asada, alambre tacos. Al pastor and carne asada are pretty standard.
Carnitas; chopped small with a little more fat mixed in than i would’ve liked. So if carnitas is my main priority, i would go to Cunado; Cunados carnitas comes in lean shreds and a bit crispy.
Alambre: it’s kind of like a Philly cheese steak taco, there some bell peppers, some chopped steak, melty white cheese PLUS BACON!
Cabeza: First time trying this and they weren’t bad, though seemed kind of fatty and overly «wet» which I wasn’t expecting.
Chicharron: appears to be deep fried first to give bumpy/​bubble texture on the skin, then it’s cooked in red sauce.
It’s usually standard to pay after eating, but i try to have exact change so i can pay immediately after i get my food. so i don’t have to wait to pay later. Another positive, on my last visit i noticed the girl working changed her gloves every time she went from handling money to cooking food. So kudos for good sanitation practices.
Overall, really tasty $ 1 street tacos!

My taco stand. I eat here 2 – 3 times a week. Friendly, cheap, delicious and their cooler is always stocked fresh.

A great little cart towards towards the south end of the valley. Their carne asada is passable, but the Al Pastor truly shines. Top it with some limes, grilled onions, pico, and a little green sauce and you’re good to go.
Tacos are street-​style (i.e. small), but they are piled high with meat. Plus, they’re only $ 1 each, which is more than the downtown carts but still certainly reasonable.

This little cart is indeed hidden behind 3 Alarm Saloon, but to miss it would be a shame. I stopped by for an evening Cinco de Mayo snack and was glad I did. Delish!
There are actually three separate Tacos El Pariente Carts in Midvale. They all share a common menu and the other two are actually located on the same block of 7800 S. near 700 W. near Old Town Midvale. At least, that’s the story right now. They’re carts, after all. Those wheels mean something.
I was just warming up when I hit El Pariente the other day, so I only had two tacos: one cabeza (head) and one carnitas. I was hesitant on the head taco, but was glad I got it. It was served piping hot and the fatty meat just melted in my mouth. I was wise to sample the salsas in the cooler (youch!) but found a mild one that my wussy mouth could handle. A little cabbage. A little lime. Voila… er… perfecto.
Don’t be intimidated by the 3 Alarm crowd. They do like their food, and there’s plenty of regulars (the burrito seemed to be a popular item) but the gruff biker exterior disappeared when I struck up a conversation with them about the food. Food is the universal language, and there was a good crowd on bikers, Mexican food enthusiasts, suburban families, and kids all after the grub.
Nothing stood out as over-​the-​top extraordinary, but it was all perfectly legit street food and the gal running the cart was very friendly and got our food out quick.