[revisit] manny’s tj tacos

Manny’s “TJ” Taco’s used have a cart/business down in Normal Heights back in the day. Jake and I discovered it and took our friend, Chris, there on his first visit out here. The next year Manny’s was kicked out of their spot and moved to a full-time catering business. Occasionally, Manny’s “TJ” Taco’s will do public events around town to sell tacos and we had not seen him out and about in quite awhile. But recently, by the luck of the draw when Chris was out here visiting, Manny’s did another public event! He did his setup at a local Fall Carnival at an elementary school in Mira Mesa.

manny-tj-tacos-sign

manny-tj-tacos-sign2

Part of the proceeds from the Fall Carnival helped to benefit the school. We had to buy tickets to get food so it seemed weird to buy over 40 tickets to get food for four of us.

bacon-wrapped-hotdog

One of the first bacon wrapped hot dog’s I ever tried was from Manny’s. The hot dogs they use are really thick and juicy and have the bacon wrapped around it. The bacon gets nice and crispy and adds a bit of flavor to the hot dog. You have the option of getting grilled peppers and onions on top, too.

plain-tacos

The three offerings they had at the Fall Festival were (from left to right) carne asada, adobada and pollo asada. The meats are cooked fresh and freshly grilled mini tortillas.

three-tj-style-tacos

There were multiple options on the side for the tacos, including guacamole, different salsas, onions, and cilantro. They make their own salsas which adds an extra bit of freshness and flavor to these street style tacos. The seasonings and flavors of the meats they have are really excellent. I only had the carne asada and adobada that evening. Their carne asada is really excellent – it gets almost little crunchy bits from the grill but maintains juiciness and flavor as you eat through the taco.


The adobada is also quite excellent. It’s not super crazy spicy, but instead a bit spicy but with a whole lot of flavor. Manny’s adobada is one of Jake’s favorite’s in town.

Jake and I are thinking of hiring Manny for some catering next summer if we can get enough people together for all you can eat tacos! You can learn more about Manny’s “TJ” Taco’s catering options and follow him on Facebook for more public events so you could check out his tacos.


4 thoughts on “[revisit] manny’s tj tacos

  1. I remember when TC was in elementary and we would go to her school’s fall festival. we and two other families would bring a huuuuge platter for the taco man because we would literally order THIRTY, thus pissing off the people behind us in line because they had to wait. Hey, we were prepared too. Paper towels, hot sauce, tongs! haha!

    1. Hi Faye! This one is only grilled. I don’t know that it gets deep fried, or at least, it’s not traditionally deep fried. This is also the base for the “TJ” style hot dog, which is a bacon wrapped hot dog with various topping such as mayo, ketchup, mustard, grilled onions and peppers, pico de gallo, etc etc (every place does it a little different). You should try one if you get the chance!

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