LT's Street Tacos are 'Almost Fast' food

Bring on the food trucks! I was on the search for something new and lighter, fresh and flavorful. I'm not ashamed to say that I searched for food trucks online and stumbled upon LT's Street Tacos. Most of the time, you can find it parked at 515 W. Main St. in Jackson, but like so often with food trucks, check the Facebook page first to make sure that's where the truck really is.

As summer heats up, I find myself seeking lighter foods. Anything fried is eliminated along with large servings of meat. I want something small, fresh, and satisfying. LT's Street Taco's fits the bill nicely. You can get a taco from the truck stuffed with different kinds of meats depending on availability. This time, I tried chicken, steak and ground beef.

My husband and I sat under a pop-up shade tent on the walkway by the truck at a wooden table with wooden chairs. It was pretty warm and a little humid, and I was chugging down my water waiting for our food. I had to smile when I saw "Casi Rapido" on the side of the truck, translated into "Almost Fast" on the other side. And that explains the service here perfectly. Nothing is put together until you order it, so there is a little bit of a wait, but it truly didn't amount to much.

And when the food did arrive, I knew we had a winner. Street tacos look small to our American eyes, but that is by design. You are supposed to eat them on the move, so they are kept small and manageable. Two corn tortillas, thin and layered up so as to cradle the meat and not leak, chunks of white onion and fresh cilantro. That's it. It is simple, and the secret to the flavor is all in the cooking of the meat. I don't know how LT's packs so much flavor into their steak, but it was my favorite taco. A little smoky and tender, seasoned with spices that just up the overall beefiness of the taco, the small chunks of steak were incredible. The ground beef was a close second with many of the same spices as the steak. And if you are a chicken fan, there is something for you: juicy, tender strips of meat, the lightest flavor profile of all and probably the most summer friendly.

At LT's, I was offered a choice of mild or spicy salsa to go with my tacos. I'm a bit of a coward when it comes to spicy, especially when eating authentic tacos, so I asked for mild. I did not realize how this was going to change my whole eating experience. The salsa was green, and I tasted it first before I put it on my tacos. I was expecting a salsa verde, tangy and full of tomatillo zing. What I got was ice cold cilantro. People seem to have a love/hate relationship with cilantro, and I love it. If you are someone who doesn't like it, you should probably skip the tacos, or ask for no cilantro.

A burrito and street taco from LT's Street Tacos, cooked and in our hands Almost Fast.Submitted by Rebecca LaClair

Back to the salsa! It was a cool, refreshing cilantro-based salsa, and I drizzled it on. The cold, fresh salsa hitting the steaming hot meat smelled absolutely amazing and lightened an already perfect summer food. I cannot recommend the salsa enough.

My husband ordered a burrito and a taco, and said the burrito was so good that he went back and ordered another. We also tried a quesadilla for posterity's sake. The burrito was stuffed with your choice of meat (he chose beef this time), white queso cheese and beans. It was rolled and toasted, filling, tasty and pretty transportable. I don't encourage it, but you could probably eat one in your car in a pinch. The quesadilla was a flour tortilla, filled with meat and queso cheese and folded in half, pressed flat and toasted on both sides. We got this one with steak, and it was just as tasty as the other LT's offerings. No matter what is filled with these meats, it is packed with taste, fresh and totally satisfying.

You can also get rice and beans with your entree as a combo, but you can order a la carte as well. And that is the menu at LT's Street Tacos. It is small and simple, and that keeps service speedy. We'll visit again.