Crispy Golden Goodness at La Travesia

For Chapter 1 in my never ending quest to find the perfect taco, I went to La Travesia, a hole-in-the-wall taco (and more) joint on Nob Hill in San Francisco. Well, more accurately, this is the first documented chapter: The quest for the perfect taco is, in reality, infinite in both space and time, stretching as far back as the Big Bang and as far into the future as the Big Crunch, collapsing back on itself in a spectacular ring only to be repeated again, over and over, always searching for the perfect taco, occasionally getting close yet never quite finding it.

Yeah, I like tacos.

Anyway, the taco pics that I saw online for La Travesia looked pretty good, and that's all it takes for me to want to try them. So away I went to Nob Hill.

La Travesia has an unassuming, hole-in-the-wall vibe. The interior is cozy, with eye-pleasing wooden chairs and dark wooden tables covered with clear plastic. The plastic takes away from the visual aesthetic, but it's also a signal that there's a lot of salsa action going on — a major plus.

My food order:

1. Plátanos maduros (fried plantains)

   1. Comes with refried black beans, sour cream, queso fresco

2. Two shrimp tacos

3. One carnitas taco

4. One al pastor taco

5. Chips and guac

   
   

My all-time-favorite kind of taco is grilled shrimp in a freshly handmade corn tortilla with cabbage slaw and some kind of spicy aioli. From the pics I saw online, the shrimp tacos at La Travesia seemed to fit the bill, so I was particularly excited for those.

The fried plantains with black beans came out first.

Black beans with queso fresco and sour cream.

Texture is pretty important for Latin American bean preparations, and in my experience it can vary widely between soupy and very thick. These were at a middle ground between those extremes. They didn't have a particularly robust or powerful flavor, but they were nicely seasoned and had a unique, subtle note I couldn't quite place.

The star of the plate — no, the star of the whole meal — was the plantains. Whenever I do a food photo session, my goal is to get at least one pic that you can actually taste, not just see. Boy, did the plantains deliver.

Thank you Mr. Maillard (and the cooks at La Travesia) for these perfect plantain edges.

I can remember exactly how these tasted just looking at these pics. Crispy, sweet, starchy, delicious.

Taste the sweet and savory crunch through the screen.

The plantains were as good as they look, and even better than they look during the first few minutes when they were still hot out of the pan. The combination of caramelized, crispy edges with the starchy sweetness of the body was an absolute delight.

The beans, sour cream, and plantains all played really well together. Each could be eaten individually, or paired, or taken all three together, giving different flavor and texture combinations that were fun to play around with. The sour cream had a rich, complex flavor without being heavy, which was really nice because it left more room for...

Carnitas and al pastor tacos.

...tacos!

These were fine tacos. They did not leave me in an awe-inspired daze, wandering the streets afterwards, contemplating how perspective-changing a single, small portion of food can be. (That really happened in Mexico City.) But they were fine, they hit the spot. Well, maybe left a tiny bit of the spot unhit.

The carnitas and al pastor tacos (pictured above) had an interesting tomatoey (maybe carroty? some habanero hidden in there?) sauce. I didn't love it and probably would not order it again, but it was nice to try because I've seldom had meat tacos with that kind of light, vaguely tomato-based sauce. The tortillas were a step up from store bought and held together well, and the crunchy, watery radish really drove home the experience of a super light and refreshing taco. But, I'm almost always looking for more oomph in my tacos.

A refreshing grilled shrimp taco.

I can get on board with a lighter experience for a shrimp taco (as opposed to pork or red meat) as long as it also has amazing flavor. These (pictured above) sort of delivered on the flavor, but didn't wow me. The avocado and spicy aioli added some very-much-needed fat, and the lettuce and radish were coated with a light sauce, I'm guessing a vinaigrette. It was very refreshing and tasty, but "refreshing" is not the main adjective I want from a taco, and it strayed a bit too close to "grilled shrimp salad with vinaigrette in a tortilla" for my tastes.

The chips and guac existed. They were fine.

So there you have it: Chapter 1 in the never ending Taco Quest, in the books, courtesy of La Travesia. If you have any must-try tacos in the Bay Area — or, let's be serious, anywhere in the world — let me know, and I may just have to make a pilgrimage there.

Thanks for reading!

ryan@ggfoto.com