Best al pastor and pork tacos from the 101 Best Tacos Guide

If you see a line forming down the block for a towering, bright red trompo and the team manning the puestos stacked end-to-end looks more like a well-oiled assembly line than a casual pop-up, there’s a good chance you’ve stumbled upon one of more than a dozen locations for my favorite al pastor. As the name implies, Angel’s Tijuana Tacos specializes in T.J.-style grilled and sheared meats topped with avocado salsa, cilantro and onions. While there’s cabeza, asada, chorizo and pollo, the al pastor — sliced thin with a flourish and a garnish of pineapple from the top of the trompo — is the signature item.

Angel’s manages to perfectly crisp the marinated pork almost to the point of singed, the flames licking the side of the eye-catching meat obelisk. The result is layers of spice-rubbed pork oscillating between fattiness and crunchiness, and when paired with cheese, that gooey addition pushes the al pastor toward decadent. The handmade corn tortillas get smashed almost paper-thin on a wooden press, then thrown on the comal until they bubble. Don’t let that thinness deceive you; somehow, these fresh tortillas always manage to withstand the onslaught of meat, salsa and as many grilled onions as you can heap on with tongs. Look for Angel’s across L.A. and the Inland Empire, including in Tujunga, Long Beach, Echo Park, Van Nuys, Eagle Rock, Chino and Woodland Hills.