Audio By Carbonatix
Every time I talk to out-of-town friends about Los Angeles, they tell me about how they “came to Los Angeles once” and marvel at the griminess of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, gripe about the 405, then fly home thinking the city is overrated.
When I ask if they hunted down a proper street taco, they usually confess they hit the first tourist cantina within walking distance of their hotel.
To an Angeleno, that is like judging Italy on microwave pizza. Real LA tacos live on sidewalks, beneath freeway underpasses, and under a jungle of string lights where an al pastor trompo spins beside a boom‑box. For at $2 to $3 a taco, you’ll get two delicious corn tortillas, a rainbow of squeeze‑bottle salsas, onions, radishes, and limes.
Locals joke that there are more taqueros than gas pumps, and the gas pumps often host a taco truck just to keep the math honest. Tacos, to me at least, are an entire food group that belongs on the pyramid. I can’t imagine a late-night meal without.
I love spicy food, and I love feeling energized while doing so. So when the maker of 5‑hour ENERGY® announced their first-ever Spicy Cinco De Mango Extra Strength energy shot, the first thing I could think of was “I wonder what tacos will taste best with it?”
BUY NOW VIA 5-HOUR ENERGY – $17.99 AND UP
So I set out to go eat some delicious spicy street tacos over the course of a few days around Los Angeles, even though I could probably go an entire month eating at different taco stands in Los Angeles and never repeat a stand. I had $100 to offer as a tip/prize to the winner.
One 5‑hour ENERGY® Spicy Cinco De Mango shot of caffeine, a wallop of B‑vitamins, and a mango‑habanero flavor that starts sweet and finishes like a habanero smack to the lips. It’s a tad bit unhinged, just like committing yourself to finding the best street taco spots while sitting in bumper-to-bumper Los Angeles traffic.
Fuel in hand, challenge accepted.
With $100 up for grabs, I set out to find the LA taco that could go toe-to-toe with the sweet heat of 5‑hour ENERGY® Spicy Cinco De Mango. Five stops and way too many napkins later, I found it: a sidewalk stand on the West Side serving juicy al pastor with a lava-orange salsa so smoky and spicy it felt like it was brewed in a volcano.
That salsa was the perfect match for 5‑hour ENERGY®’s mango-habanero burn. It perfectly complemented it. A Michelin-star chef couldn’t come up with a better flavor combination.
So, who got the Benjamin? Hit play and find out. Then do yourself a flavor: grab the limited-edition Spicy Cinco De Mango shot while it’s still on shelves at 5HourEnergy.com.
Because life’s too short, and you’re too hot, for bland.
BUY NOW VIA 5-HOUR ENERGY – $17.99 AND UP
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to dianose, treat, cure, or prevent any diease. Individual results may vary. See 5-hourENERGY.com for more information.