Politics and tacos don't mix on L.A. streets

By Peter Henderson

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In Los Angeles, they're circling the taco wagons.

A Los Angeles institution, taco trucks roam the City of Angels selling juicy burritos and spicy $1 tacos filled with pork, beef cheeks or tongue, goat and almost any other meat that can be wrapped in a tortilla and dabbed with hot sauce.

The problem is, some don't roam enough. County supervisors last month sparked a save-the-taco-truck movement by raising penalties for caterers parking in one place for more than an hour to up to $1,000 and six months in jail.

As ubiquitous as hot dog stands in New York, L.A.'s taco trucks offer cheap and filling meals.

The new rules, the result of lobbying by restaurants and some residents unhappy with mobile rivals, only affect trucks outside city limits -- areas where about a tenth of L.A. County's 10 million people live. But a media and Internet blitz has led to widespread political indigestion.

Food fans aiming to push back the changes and keep all of L.A. county a taco haven counterattacked with Taco Truck Night, a campaign to show public backing for the vendors, on May 1.

Tanya Scheer, 26, and Dio Marin, 34, showed up for the impromptu demonstration of support, following the suggestion of the saveourtacotrucks.org Web site.

Chewing on burritos tinged red from chilies, the pair enthusiastically described how they often pulled to the side of the road on their bikes late at night for a quick snack.