Michigan’s Best Local Eats: Loaded street tacos are the stars at Zilantros food truck

HUDSON, MI – Zilantos specializes in cooking all the favorite Mexican street foods.

The food truck has been run by Carlos and Lina Alvarez since 2016. They were searching for a caterer for their daughter’s Quinceanera but couldn’t find a good-quality Mexican caterer. So they decided to launch their own catering business.

The food truck came into the picture in 2022, and Zilantros is best known for serving up popular street foods, Carlos said.

“Street food that you would find in Mexico basically on every corner,” Carlos said.

One such dish is the street tacos, which come with a choice of chicken, steak, shredded beef or marinated pork topped with onion and cilantro. Two tortilla shells are used to keep it from getting soggy, Carlos said.

Zilantros also offers loaded options with cheese is melted onto the shell. The only thing not on the tacos are sour cream, lettuce and tomatoes, since that’s not the street-food style, Carlos said.

“We have a unique taste. We try to keep it as original as possible,” Carlos said. “One of the most important things we focus on is that everything is fresh. Everything is made the same day, from cutting the onions to marinating the meat.”

Street corn is also popular. While most places make this with mayonnaise, Zilantros makes it with their own sour cream-based ingredients instead. Cheese and Tajin are then added, he said.

“We try to innovate a little bit different than everybody else,” Carlos said.

The burritos are also different than what most people would be used to, he said. Zilantros’ burritos are filled with the meat of your choice, cabbage and tomatoes.

The cabbage comes from a family tradition on Lina’s side. Her dad would add it to his burritos to make them stand out from others, Carlos said.

Zilantros strives to make its food something everyone could enjoy, including by replacing tortilla shells with other items. Shell-less burritos and tacos are usually made out of hardened cheese on the grill and are popular with people who are on Keto diets or can’t eat gluten, Carlos said.

Zilantros serves most of Southern Michigan, including Lenawee, Hillsdale, Washtenaw and Jackson counties.

Locations, schedules and updates on where to find the food truck can be found on Zilantros Facebook page and Instagram.

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