Diamond Springs Taco Man

Ingenuity is the motivator that drives some street vendors. The lack of a mobile catering trailer doesn't stop them. They use materials that are readily available to construct a "street legal" vending outfit.

This vendor's taco cooker fascinated me Monday. The cook placed a convex cooking pan over a propane burner. The burner sets inside the drum. He cooked ground beef in the hollow of the cooking pan and used the hump to warm tortillas. I didn't see how he drained the grease from the ground beef.

My only concern with the set up is ease at which cross-contamination could occur. The first time I walked by the booth, the cook was warming torillas in close proximity to raw ground beef. I think a better approach would be to use a flat griddle to warm the tortillas. With care it was a good set up.