El Camión: a truckload of goodness

Ask five connoisseurs of taco-truck fare about their favorite Seattle spot, and you're likely to get five different answers. Let's hope one of them is El Camión.

The converted trailer at the edge of a Home Depot parking lot on Aurora Avenue North near North 115th Street is a great place to grab a quick bite while picking up some lumber or to get a cheap, filling meal for the whole family.

If you're not in a hurry, relax in lawn chairs underneath deck umbrellas, listen to the boombox sounds of a norteño band, take another bite of your fish taco and imagine, for just a moment, that you're somewhere much farther south than a Seattle parking lot.

The menu: The familiar taco-truck offerings, with a few pleasant surprises. Aside from the usual burritos and taco fixings (pork, steak, tongue, tripe), there are fish tacos. Platos (plates) include chicken mole or grilled steak, chicken or fish, accompanied by generous helpings of black beans and slightly spicy rice. Don't expect the tamales in corn husks: These are wrapped with banana leaves, and the masa (corn meal) is smoother than some I've had. It was laced with a delicious vein of hot sauce. The Mexican hot chocolate sounded inviting but, alas, wasn't available.

What to write home about: Don't miss the fish tacos. Fresh-grilled white fish comes topped with bits of cabbage and a mild green salsa. The mulita — a quesadilla on steroids — is also yummy but a bit on the greasy side.

The setting: Given what you expect from a taco truck, this place is deluxe. It looks like the owners went on a lawn-furniture and landscaping binge at the Home Depot next door. Dine at patio tables on neat patches of gravel, shielded by bushes and trees from the hubbub next door. The plastic iguana attached to the trunk of a tree is a bonus. Online reviewers had some complaints about slow service, but it wasn't crowded or slow for this meal.

Summing up: Two adults got very full on a mulita, a tamale, chips and salsa, two helpings of tacos, a dinner plate and beverages for just $23.79. I may need to cook up a home-improvement project to justify more trips to El Camión.

Warren Cornwall: 206-464-2311

or wcornwall@seattletimes.com