When we heard about a new food truck called Tits N Tacos rolling out of Huntington Beach, we groaned. The menu includes oh-so-charmingly-named items such as Hooterlicious (a buffalo chicken taco) and Pussy Galore (their fish taco, natch). Classy. We have to admit our expectations weren't the highest.
But turns out, the luxe lonchera isn't the drunken invention of a couple of Surf City bros. It's run by a rocker chick named Dani Rose, who has a great, homegrown grill-to-wheels story.
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Rose, formerly the lead singer of a band called Eye for an Eye, was booking acts at the recently-closed punk rock venue Doll Hut in Anaheim (a place for “the misfits, the tattoos, the outcasts,” she says) when she noticed a man who'd come by late at night selling tamales for the hungry, partied-out masses. Armed with a culinary degree and a love for street food, she followed his lead, bringing in her own barbecue, gathering some girlfriends, and making sizzling tacos for show-goers.
“One guy was like, 'What's on the menu, tits and tacos?” she recalls. “The name stuck. Everyone thinks it's just so cute.”
She gave the business a pin-up theme and for the logo, she was inspired by the iconic 1940s bomber girl. “I told my designer, 'Put that bitch on a taco!” Rose says. She named her tacos after women–the Joan Jett is a Philly cheesesteak taco made with seasoned steak, nacho cheese, sauteed onions and green bell peppers; the Peggy Hill, a Tex-Mex creation with chicken, roasted poblanos, cilantro, onions and a housemade crema, served with lots of limes. Soon, Tits N Tacos upgraded a New York City-style push cart, which Rose named “Big Red,” and started catering at house parties, bar mitzvahs, kids' birthdays and a weekly Taco Tuesday night at The Library Gentlemen's Club in Westminster.
They recently got a snazzy truck, which you can find parked at locations such as The Observatory, Santa Ana Artists Village and Huntington Beach art venues. The truck often stays open late, until 1 or 2 a.m., “hooking up everyone who needs to eat,” Rose says.
She calls her female, tattooed-and-pierced team “the scallywags crew.”
“The asphalt is our sea and the truck is our ship and I'm the captain,” Rose says. “And we deal with a lot of drunks.”
Today, Tits N Taco's most popular items are the Nikki, a jalepeno popper taco with verde salsa, a jalapeño queso blanco sauce and cotija cheese, and Daisy Duke, a pulled pork taco. Prices are insanely cheap–tacos are just $2 each–and Rose wants to keep it that way.
“I don't believe in the whole gourmet food truck trend,” she says. “I'm keeping it for the people. I'm sticking to why I started this whole company to begin with.”
The taco facing the other direction 🤣