Written by - Dulce Ortiz 🇬🇹
Taqueria Los Primos, located all throughout Prince George’s County in Maryland, is a Mexican restaurant that specializes in traditional Mexican dishes. Their most popular and convenient food are tacos.
With seven restaurant locations and a handful of taco trucks along Interstate 95, Taqueria Los Primos is on its way to becoming one of the most popular Mexican restaurant chains in the area.
Despite the numerous locations in the area, I stopped by their taco truck, located off Route 1 in Jessup, Maryland.
This small but cute truck sits in an empty lot for the majority of the year and sticks to a limited menu based off the main restaurants. My visit focused on their main specialty which is tacos! I ordered three kinds of tacos: al pastor, cow tongue, and grilled tripa. I accompanied these with a small horchata.
At first glance, I immediately saw that this truck was very busy with customers, which I found interesting since I came around 3 p.m. on a Saturday.
Despite how long the lines were, the wait time was no more than 20 minutes, which seemed really good! The truck had a few picnic tables in front of it for guests, but most people including me, were taking their food to-go. The location was clean and sat near a busy intersection, but it was still separated to a lot where there was not as much traffic.
The tacos came in a plastic container and were accompanied by limes, radishes, and two different types of sauces: a red and green one. These sides are typical for all their taco meals. The tacos were each garnished with onions and cilantro (onions not pictured because I’m picky!).
From my immediate reaction, these tacos looked very good, having all the bright and fresh features I look for in a taco. Using soft tortillas, they smelled very strongly of different spices. And to top it all off, these tacos were very hot - indicating they were very fresh.
To start my food taste test, I tried the horchata; how could I not? Good horchata is an indicator of a good restaurant (I mean it!). While not my personal favorite, it had a smooth consistency and a decent level of sweetness. To me, its only fault was that mine seemed a little watered-down.
Next, I moved on to the tacos, first trying the grilled tripe taco. These have been a personal favorite of mine to get at most Mexican taco shops, but it’s hard to find a place that cooks and seasons the meat correctly. Grilled tripe, or in Spanish: tripa, is a part of the cows’s stomach lining.
Consuming these parts of meat is a strong part of Latino culture. The taco I tried contained tripe that was perfectly tender, seasoned very nicely and had the right texture. Overall, I would rate it an honest 8.5/10.
Next, I tried the al pastor taco. The al pastor spice blend consists of a marinade of pineapple and spices that is made to sit on a large body of meat, typically pork. It is roasted and ready to eat after sitting for a few hours. This taco was incredibly delicious. The sweet and savory taste, as well as the bright red color of the meat, really made this experience pleasant. Overall, I believed this to be my favorite taco of the day with a rating of 9/10.
Finally, I tried the cow tongue taco. As bizarre as it may sound to eat cow tongue, it is a delicacy in Latin America and does not have the taste you’d expect. While the texture may be a stopping point to some, it is quite good to me.
This taco had a soft textured tongue that was cut into small, diced bits. The taco lacked a little flavor, but it didn’t stop me from finishing it! I’d give this taco an overall 7/10.
In the end, this taco truck proved that its size means nothing in comparison to how massive the food experience really is. This place truly had an amazing feel and an even better taste. Recently, Taqueria Los Primos opened a location in College Park, off Route 1. I cannot wait to see where this small franchise will go in just a short amount of time.
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