This is the taco truck that all others aspire to be: crispy, crackly carnitas, spicy asada, and a slapped-together shack in which to eat them; tacos so aggressively good that you can’t help but understand why they had to be put on wheels and sent out into the world.

The torta is an often overlooked and difficult to master piece of Mexican cuisine and Zocalo nails it. Every. Single. Time. The options are varied and wild, the fixin’s are smooth and complimentary, and the bread is baked fresh daily along with the rest of the tantalizing baked goods the shop offers.

This is the newest addition to the Hue Ky Mia Gia family, but that doesn’t make it amateurish. The dishes are interesting and perfectly executed, the flavors are round and comforting, and the portions are perfect. If you haven’t heard about the butter chicken wings yet, go find out for yourself. If you have heard about them, why aren’t you in there right now?

To eat at Dragon’s Crawfish is to tap into an atavistic part of yourself, where hands are for smashing and teeth are for gnashing. Fresh, local, seafood by the pound floating in a soup of butter and spices turns the civilized part of your brain off like a light in the dark and suddenly you are a slurping, cracking neanderthal in a bib and all is well. Get in there early, as this place sells out fast.

Nhu Thuy’s duck salad is arguably one of the most authentic, under-appreciated Vietnamese meals in Tacoma. Earthy duck over a bed of tangy cabbage, like a verse out of a Bob Dylan song. Simple, genuine, earth-shattering.

It says "deli" over the counter, but don’t walk in looking for swiss and provolone. Think full roasted ducks and chickens with heads on, side of rice. Chicken feet and pig parts, roasted, steamed, and waiting. Pre-made bahn mis for the faint of heart.