Published by Jeremy. Last Updated on May 17, 2023.
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Taqueria el Pastorcito came onto the Pittsburgh food truck scene serving up delicious tacos with their star item being their tacos al pastor. This style of pork is cooked on the traditional Mexican trompo, a vertical rotisserie like what is used to make gyros and shawarma, and is something you don't see all too often in the city.
We first visited this truck on one of its inaugural outings and fell in love with their food as they immediately transported us back to the many wonderful tacos in Mexico we were fortunate enough to sample when visiting.
Naturally, it should be no surprise that this food truck became an instant hit. In fact, in just about a year they went from only being a food truck to also opening a dedicated taqueria in New Kensington about 30 minutes east of downtown Pittsburgh.
We of course had to visit shortly after it opened to get more of their delicious taco creations.
It was worth the drive.
Taqueria el Pastorcito's Restaurant Lives Up to the Food Truck
For those who live east of Pittsburgh, or those who simply cannot make it to one of the truck's frequent stops at local breweries, you will be delighted to find out that the menu of Taqueria el Pastorcito's restaurant is not much different than what the truck offers to begin with.
Their glorious pastor is still cooked on the trompo, many additional types of meat are available for tacos, and for those who want something a bit different, they have other options including crunch wraps, tortas, quesadillas, and specials on the weekend that you may not be able to find on the truck itself.
During our first visit, we had to go for a mix of the tried and true tacos as well as a pastor crunch wrap.
Tacos here come in a trio and for a little bit extra you can mix and match protein types. As we are huge fans of the truck's tacos, we had to start with that. Angie went with one pastor, one carnitas, and one chorizo and we couldn't get over the tenderness of the meats (especially the carnitas) in addition to the strong and vibrant flavor of the pastor.
For just three tacos, the portion sizes were quite generous and we did not go wanting for more especially after loading up on salsas and more from the on-site topping bar (watch out for the kick of the hot sauce though!).
The crunch wrap was also a rather generous portion size and I naturally had to fill this one up with my favorite meat type, pastor, and was not disappointed. There was so much meat in the wrap, which contained both hard and soft shell tortillas, that it likely rivaled about three tacos worth of pork if not more.
Throw on a modest amount of chips and queso on the side, which I naturally poured all over my crunch wrap in addition to the traditional onions, pineapple, cilantro, and hot sauce from the toppings bar, and this order left me so stuffed that I did not go wanting for an extra taco or two (something that is normal for me when the tacos are this good).
So while New Kensington may be quite the drive from downtown Pittsburgh, we personally will be willing to make the trip time and time again to get these tacos- especially when the food truck is not closer to home.
To put it bluntly, these tacos are every bit as perfect as the ones we ate in Mexico and are the kind of thing we wish we could see more in Pittsburgh. Hopefully we will make it out on a Friday or Saturday for a weekend special, like Birria tacos, barbacoa tacos, tamales, and more because they all sound just as delicious as the pastor meat that got us hooked on Taqueria Pastorcito in the first place.
No matter what you do, Taqueria el Pastorcito is worth seeking out whether it is for the food truck, restaurant, or as we do, both. This spot offers up some of the finest tacos and other Mexican dishes we've had in the region, and that is a distinction we don't make lightly!
Taqueria el Pastorcito is located at 929 4th Avenue in New Kensington. They also post their food truck location on their Instagram page and serve food at Strange Roots' Gibsonia location, too!
