Over the Border Taqueria

As a food blogger, nothing makes me feel more like a cool, in-the-know insider than discovering the latest pop-up restaurant, but you have to move fast to catch those before they either explode in popularity or disappear forever.  A few parking lot pop-ups I wrote about way back in the day turned into popular area restaurants in permanent locations, including Chicken Fire, Smokemade Meats + Eats, and QuesaLoco — now established local favorites that I count among my personal favorites as well.

I recently learned about the existence of Over the Border Taqueria (https://www.instagram.com/overthebordertaqueria/), Chef Samuel Aguilar’s Tijuana-style taco pop-up featuring authentic al pastor — marinated pork flavored with onions and pineapple and sliced off a trompo (a vertical spit, like the best gyro places do with their seasoned meat).  I have written before about my love of al pastor in tacos, burritos, and tortas.  It is something I’ll order anytime I see it on a Mexican restaurant menu, to the point where I judge Mexican restaurants that don’t serve al pastor.

This particular pop-up was from 6 to 10 PM on a Saturday at a small mechanic shop, Goodfelo’s, on East Colonial Drive and Dean Road, but Over the Border has even popped up at apartment complexes before.  Because I worry about parking and hate long lines, I showed up right at 5:30 and was the first person there.  There was a crew of about six people already set up, with a tent, staging tables, a simple charcoal grill with one guy grilling marinated, sliced carne asada, and of course the al pastor being licked with flames on the trompo:

Here are the menus.  Tacos come on a fresh corn tortilla (from Tortilleria El Progreso, the Mexican market and restaurant I reviewed in the first year of this blog), lightly crisped up on their flattop grill, and a mulita is like a sandwich of two tortillas with a little cheese melted in between, plus the meat of your choice and the same toppings as the tacos.  Tortas are the largest and most expensive menu items: huge and beautiful sandwiches on soft, fresh telera rolls, which are sliced in half and also lightly grilled on the flattop.  The al pastor and carne asada are finely chopped, and the orangey-red chorizo sausage is crumbled.

I brought home three tacos: an al pastor taco for myself with the works (diced onions and cilantro and their red salsa and slightly spicy guacamole) and two carne asada tacos for my wife, sin cebollas (hold the onions).  I typically don’t order carne asada for myself at taquerias because sometimes it is dry or flavorless or too chewy, or all of the above.  I just ate a few morsels that were left on her plate when she finished those two, and I don’t mind telling you, dear readers, that this was the most flavorful carne asada I’ve ever had in my life.  It had a complex and smoky flavor, and I’m sure it helped that the meat was all grilled up fresh on the type of grill everyone’s dads cursed over in their backyards.

This was my chorizo mulita, which was also terrific.  Chorizo is usually my second or third choice when it comes to meats in a taco, at places like Francisco’s Taco Madness (still my favorite spot for tacos and burritos in the entire Orlando area), Orange Blossom Trail landmark Tortas El Rey, and the aforementioned QuesaLoco, and this chorizo did not disappoint.  The shredded, melted white cheese (mozzarella?) gets a bit lost in the shuffle, and the mulita is actually messier to eat than the taco, but I have no regrets.

But this was the star of the show: the al pastor torta on that soft telera roll.  I think it was one of the most satisfying things I’ve eaten in a long time, and it’s HUGE.

Here’s an inside shot.  The torta contains the meat of your choice, the same diced onions and cilantro, red salsa, and guacamole, plus melted cheese and mayonnaise, which I think is important for flavor, holding the crumbly ingredients together, and as a “sandwich lubricant” to add some additional moisture.  And since I haven’t said much about the actual flavor of the al pastor yet… WOW.  You can definitely taste all the seasonings — garlic, vinegar, brown sugar, and especially the necessary onions and sweet, bright, tangy pineapple.  It has a nice orange color from the achiote paste (made from the spice annatto), which also adds some subtle but important earthy flavor.  If you’ve never tried al pastor before, I strongly recommend it whenever you see it on a Mexican menu, but to start with some of the best al pastor and set your expectations high from now on, get it from Over the Border Taqueria, next time they pop up anywhere.

They also had two huge, clear plastic barrels of aguas frescas: jamaica (reddish-purple sweet hibiscus drink) and horchata (creamy rice milk, flavored with cinnamon, sugar, and a bit of vanilla).  I brought home two horchatas for myself and my wife after texting her to see which one she wanted.  I always love aguas frescas at any Mexican restaurant, and even though fruity flavors are my favorites, horchata always hits the spot, especially for cutting the heat from spicy dishes. 

I will note that Over the Border Taqueria does NOT accept credit card payments — just cash, Venmo, and Zelle.  I was glad I had just enough cash on me to cover our order, since I don’t use Venmo or Zelle (just Paypal for my collectible wheeling and dealing).  But now you can plan accordingly when you go!

So where can you find these pop-ups?  Follow Over the Border’s Instagram (I included the link at the very top), and you’ll notice they announce their locations for every Friday and Saturday evening.  Right now, those seem to be the only nights Samuel Aguilar and his talented crew are popping up anywhere, so start planning ahead.  You won’t want to miss incredible food like this.  And trust me — get there early, because the legend is only going to continue to grow (and so will the lines) as more people discover Over the Border Taqueria for themselves.  Maybe one day they can figure out longer hours, more nights per week, a permanent location, or even a brick and mortar restaurant, but for now, Orlando is lucky to even experience these fleeting pop-ups.  You won’t be sorry, trust me.  I guarantee you’ll hear more about them in the weeks and months ahead.  This is one time to believe the hype, and if you don’t believe your friendly neighborhood Saboscrivner, my friend and role model, Amy Drew Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel, also wrote about Samuel Aguilar and Over the Border over a year ago!