Here, in no particular order, are 11 amazing outdoor restaurants and rooftop bars in Phoenix, Arizona. #TACO STAND NEAR CHARLIES GAY BAR PHOENIX AZ PROFESSIONAL#.“I feel like this is the original way to serve tacos. “I feel like this is the original,” Munoz says. People ask Munoz when he will open up another location, or move to a brick-and-mortar location. And if she’s gone, even just to take a restroom break, he says, they ask him, “Where is the lady who always takes our order?” If Munoz is not there, people in line ask Olivas where “that guy” is. He and Olivas have become fixtures of the taco truck. When service is finished and the sun begins to rise, he and the team share a family meal. Munoz wakes up around noon Thursday through Sunday to run errands and get the truck ready for service, which he oversees all night long. Munoz is old enough to warrant sitting back and letting the young 20-somethings chop away inside the truck and run the business while he gets some sleep. The result is a sort of borderland food, like the Sonoran hot dog, that perfectly blends Sonoran cuisine with American ballpark food. He tops round, generic yellow-corn nacho chips with gooey yellow nacho cheese, then piles on either chopped steak or chicken, along with salsa, crema, and charred onions. “So I came up with the quesadillas and the nachos." I started to think, ‘What could I make them that they would possibly like, other than tacos?’ “There were spring training teams coming to town to play baseball, and we were the ones doing the catering. “The reason we started the Super Mega Nachos was because we use to do catering before we opened ,” Munoz says. But he also wasn't afraid of inventing new dishes, either, like the wildly popular Super Mega Nachos and mini quesadillas. “The reason I decided on it was because I figured that there are so many people in Phoenix from Sonoran and Sinaloa.” He knew they'd be eager to get a taste of this style from back home. Shelby Moore “This is the style common to Sonora,” Munoz says. “There are people who come in all the time who probably have no idea what our name is.” “They were calling us all sorts of names. “They started spreading the word, ‘Oh, at Charlie’s they have Rocky Point tacos.’” And like a game of telephone, this is how Taquería los Yaquis got its first nickname, "Charlie’s Tacos." Then customers started comparing Munoz’s tacos to those they had eaten in the popular tourist town of Rocky Point, Mexico. Nevertheless, they started serving tacos around back in the parking lot. There was light rail construction bogging down Camelback Road. At first, he says, he wasn't sure it would be a good place. He needed a location and, a couple of years later, he happened upon the parking lot in front of Charlie's. In 2003, he began making plans for Los Yaquis. Unless specified otherwise, everything gets a lashing of spicy, bitter salsa and cool avocado sauce.īefore the taquería, owner Jose Munoz worked in construction, but he’d always dreamed of becoming his own boss. The line of customers is in place from the moment they open until the moment they close, with hungry night owls vying for the chopped-meat tacos, burritos, and meat-topped Super Mega Nachos. until 4 in the morning, the six or seven cooks in the trailer spend their hours frantically dodging each other to grab another fresh stack of tortillas, replenish salsas, and chop freshly cooked steak and chicken with big cleavers at freakishly high speeds. Shelby Moore Every Thursday through Sunday, and especially on Fridays and Saturdays, when they’re open from 7 p.m. But that night, when I suggested we go to Los Yaquis, he responded with a look of confusion. We’d been there together once before, but Titus had been countless times, as he had grown up and gone to high school just around the corner. We wanted to grab some food after a round of drinks nearby. It feels like everyone who knows Taquería los Yaquis loves it - though only a sliver of their patrons actually call the business by its given name.Ībout a year ago, I remember going to the taquería with a friend, Titus. Signature Taco(s): Chopped steak and chicken Taquería: Taquería los Yaquis, 705 West Camelback Road, next to Charlie's nightclub Over the next several weeks, we’ll be guiding you toward the Valley’s tastiest tacos, and the taquerías that serve them. In the hunt for the latest trendy restaurants, our spotlight often misses neighborhoods that are home to some of the Valley's best kitchens - including those making metro Phoenix's best tacos.