La Frontera #3, the food truck with a more seafood-heavy menu located in the same parking lot. drowns out the music with notes that are sweet, creamy, and rich. Best Mexican Food Truck LA FRONTERA #1 209 North 16th Street lafronterafoodtrucks.com If you’re focused on your driving while tooling down 16th Street (and you should be), you may miss the two food trucks camped out near Monroe Street. But the next time you’re not rushing to get some- where, stop and experience some of the best Mexican food in town. La Frontera #1 faces 16th Street, and the cash-only joint serves up tacos, burritos, vampiros, tostadas, and more. The al pastor is to die for and we usually order it packed into a burrito, but with a long list of available meats, including carne asada, cabeza (beef head), and buche (pork stomach), it’ll be a long time before we run out of things to try. And speaking of options, you can take your food to go or enjoy it under the awning of the small seating area, or you can check out Best Mexican Drive-Thru MARIA’S FRYBREAD AND MEXICAN FOOD 4041 East Thomas Road, #124 602-957-3514 mariasfrybread.com In a city with a ’Bertos on practically every corner, it’s safe to say that Phoenicians have no shortage of choices when it comes to drive-thru Mexican food. But when we can, we eschew the corporate option and go for something a little more authentic (and in our opinion, way tastier). Maria’s Frybread and Mexican Food is a small restaurant in east Phoenix, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in taste. The eponymous frybread is outstanding — we love it under the red chile beef, which in turn gets topped with lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. Burritos (breakfast and non), tostadas — there’s really not a bad choice here. You can eat in the homey dining room on oilcloth tablecloths, or pick up your meal in the drive-thru. Just be aware that unlike a ’Bertos, Maria’s has limited hours for the dining room and the drive-thru, so make sure you time your visit well in order to try this hidden Arcadia gem. Best Mexican Happy Hour CASA CORAZON 2637 North 16th Street 602-334-1917 casacorazonrestaurant.com Among the many strip mall joints of midtown Phoenix, Casa Corazon sticks out. The red-painted restaurant is housed inside an old church, complete with high ceilings and arched doorways. However now, the space welcomes the masses to celebrate the holy ritual of happy hour. From 3 to 6 p.m. on weekdays, Casa Corazon serves carne asada, al pastor, and canasta-style tacos for $4 a pop. Draft and bottled beers cost $5 and a house margarita will set you back $6. On Tuesdays, the $4 taco deal runs all day long. We suspect that you’ll love the food so much that you come back for lunch or dinner, when the menu includes mouthwatering fare like Pasta Corazon with Tequila Shrimp or the house special chicken with mole negro. Best Tacos LA BAMBA MEXICAN GRILL RESTAURANT 12102 West Thunderbird Road, El Mirage 623-213-7860 la-bamba-mexican-grill-restaurant. negocio.site We don’t get out to the west Valley town of El Mirage very often. But when we do, it’s usually because we’ve been thinking about the tacos at La Bamba Mexican Grill Restaurant and we can’t hold out any longer. We’ve written plenty about the outstanding al pastor at La Bamba, the tender meat marinated in a house- fermented pineapple vinegar. It’s part of a very small menu: just a few kinds of tacos (get them Bamba style to add cheese), plus a quesadilla, a torta, and a salad. Topped with Chef Edson Garcia’s red, green, and yellow sauces (red salsa, avocado salsa, and a secret salsa), tacos are accompanied by a pile of diced onions and cilantro, lime wedges, and cucumber slices. The lightly crispy shells give way to an incredible blend of flavors. Trust us when we say, these tacos are worth the drive. Best Gorditas TACOS CHIWAS 1028 East Indian School Road 602-358-8830 And other Valley locations tacoschiwas.com If your experience with gorditas is limited to the ones you’ve had at Taco Bell, you haven’t had real gorditas. At popular local chain Tacos Chiwas, the gorditas are small — about the size of a coaster — and stuffed with flavor. There’s only four to choose from: two kinds of shredded beef (red 168 BEST OF PHOENIX 2022 | WWW.BESTOFPHOENIX202W.C0M | SEPTEMBER 29, 2022