El Chile Toreado

The James Beard Foundation broke the mold when it nominated the father-and-daughter team of Luis and Berenice Medina as Best Chef Southwest semi-finalists in 2023. The duo, hailing from Chihuahua, Mexico, operate one of the city’s favorite food trucks where Luis plies his decades of experience as a hot dog cart operator and Berenice leverages her Le Cordon Bleu degree in recipes that blend Mexican, New Mexican, and classic American influences. The dishes pack in flavor rather than pomp.

El Chile Toreado cooks up exceptional burritos, fully-dressed hot dogs, and soft tacos with pillowy tortillas, all from the confines of a fairly small food truck. But your focus should be on the velvety braised carnitas fried in their own lard or the saucy adobada, a New Mexican classic made with a variety of chiles, spices, and herbs. If you want to go peak Santa Fe, order the jumbo hot dog topped with spiced pinto beans and Monterey jack cheese.

Horno owner and chef David Sellers and the father-and-daughter team of Luis and Berenice Medina at the El Chile Toreado food truck on Early Street are Santa Fe’s two entries in a field of 20 chefs for Best Chef in the Southwest region, the James Beard Foundation announced. The Foundation looks to reward best chefs “who set high standards in their culinary skills and leadership abilities, and who are making efforts to help create a sustainable work culture in their respective regions while contributing positively to their broader community.” Berenice Medina operates El Chile Toreado with her father, Luis, and brothers Jonathan and Lester.

BuzzFeed, an “Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media” “scoured Yelp to find the absolute BEST burritos in each and every one of the 50 states.” It says a lot about the evolution of the mobile kitchen (that’s food truck to you, Bob) movement (pun intended) that New Mexico’s best burrito (according to Yelp’s algorithms) comes from Santa Fe’s El Chile Toreado, which boasts of a five-star average over 150 reviews. That’s a perfect rating for barbacoa, al pastor, carne asada, carnitas and so much more. El Chile Toreado also serves up tacos and salsas that have reviewers raving.

Look for the burly jalapeño mustache curled at the ends—a logo for Chile Toreado, a beloved and battered old trailer (there is also mobile food cart on the Santa Fe Plaza) that’s earned a loyal following since opening in the early 2000s. For years, El Chile Toreado sat in a scruffy parking lot on Cordova Road, near the railroad tracks, but that era recently ended, sending customers into a flurry of panic. You’ll now find it tucked away in a shady spot on Early Street, in front of their future brick-and-mortar restaurant.

Recent shortlists for the lauded food prizes have included the likes of Horno and El Chile Toreado (though, neither won), and Restaurant Martín’s Martín Rios has earned a number of Beard Awards nominations over the years; Sazón chef Fernando Olea won the Best Chef: Southwest award just two years ago, too, and remains the only guy for whom many locals will readily eat crickets.

If you have any doubts about the quality fare of some food trucks, look no further than my first choice. El Chile Toreado garnered a James Beard Foundation Best Southwest Chef semi-finalist nod earlier this year. Father-daughter team Luis and Berenice Medina shared the honor, but they are quick to credit the rest of their immediate family, as well, for the business’s success.

Sweets aside, my favorite Santa Fe foods were no doubt from El Chile Toreado. A James Beard Award semi-finalist, this humble food truck had possibly the best breakfast tacos and burritos I’ve ever tried. I regret waiting to go until my last day because I would’ve made multiple return visits had I experienced the magic earlier in my trip.

While this taco spot is housed in a trailer, El Chile Toreado isn’t going anywhere. The rig is lacking wheels. Perhaps some happy patron absconded with them because they didn’t want to lose the ability to order mouth-puckering beef barbacoa, served shredded and best topped with ribbons of indigo-hued pickled onions.

This outstanding Santa Fe food truck was nominated for a James Beard award and is always delivering exceptional food for fair prices. The El Chile Toreado Breakfast Burrito is huge. This thing is loaded and will keep you full for any other Santa Fe adventures you have planned.

You wouldn’t be able to tell by the looks of this unassuming food truck that they were nominated for a prestigious James Beard Award. El Chile Toreado offers fresh and authentic Mexican street tacos with balanced, consistent flavors.

- Rating: 4.8/5 (265 reviews)- Price level: $- Address: 807 Early St. Santa Fe, New Mexico - Categories: Mexican, Food Trucks- Read more on Yelp