Editor’s note: This story first ran as a paid feature in EAT magazine.
There are few places in the Vail Valley where you can score a meal for less than $10, much less one that features made-from-scratch, fresh ingredients. It’s no mystery why Rocky Mountain Taco, a food truck located next to the Vail Brewing Company in EagleVail, has become a hotspot for juicy tacos, steaming burritos and tasty salsas.
Three years after opening its windows, Rocky Mountain Taco has been named Best Burrito, Best Mexican, Best Takeout, Best Worker’s Lunch and Best Festival or Event Food in the Vail Daily’s Best of Vail polls. Owners Dan Purtell, Chris McGinnis and Jose Reza met in the kitchen of another local restaurant, where they had long dreamed of opening a food truck. Purtell is particularly proud of the truck’s popularity among the local Hispanic community. That mark of legitimacy is partly thanks to Reza’s wife, Noemi, who shared home recipes from Chihuahua, Mexico, for everything from the marinade for the carne asada to salsas for the truck’s menu.
Don’t miss the Alambre, featuring a trifecta of grilled steak, crispy bacon and chorizo, or the pork carnitas, which are slow cooked for a full day before being paired with avocado and tangy pico de gallo. Vegetarians aren’t left out, either, with the shockingly satisfying Hippie Crack, a nod to Purtell and McGinnis’ southern California skate park roots, featuring potatoes, a medley of grilled peppers and spicy crema sauce. Besides their brewery digs, check out their second location at the Westin Riverfront bus stop, the perfect place to grab a breakfast burrito before hopping onto the gondola.
If you go …
What: Rocky Mountain Taco, a welcoming food truck.
Where: 41290 US-6 | EagleVail
Cost: $5-$8
Signature dish: The “world’s most best taco.”
More information: 970.401.4443 | rockymountaintaco.com
