By Alexys DeMaria
Nestled away in an unassuming shopping center on Harbor Boulevard is a largely overlooked and delicious vegan Mexican restaurant. As Orange County’s first and only vegan taqueria, Vegan by El Zamorano provides hearty meals at an affordable price.
The menu is expansive, providing a wide array of proteins. Keep in mind that all the food at El Zamorano is vegan, so all proteins are meat alternatives. Customers can choose from asada, al pastor, chorizo, chicken, hibiscus, cauliflower, mushroom, fish and potato tacos or burritos. There are also specialty burritos available such as California and chile relleno. Tortas and combo plates are also available with similar proteins.
I waited for my meal while drinking an agua fresca. The restaurant rotates flavors and makes their agua frescas daily. I chose the cucumber agua fresca that perfectly complemented the rest of the meal; it wasn’t overly sweet and tasted fresh.
My food came out fast, and I started with my asada torta that was $13.50. I cannot emphasize enough how massive this torta is. The bread was delicious and fresh, and filled with lettuce, tomato, guacamole, refried beans and their vegan carne asada. This is the best vegan torta in this area, and El Zamorano excels at providing delicious vegan Mexican food all week. The vegan meat was expertly seasoned, smoky, juicy and the texture was spot on to real meat. Every ingredient tasted fresh and perfectly balanced.
I then moved on to my al pastor taco for $3.50. The handmade tortilla was stuffed with their vegan al pastor, and then topped with cilantro, onion and red salsa. The taco was super delicious and the al pastor was perfect, not too salty or spicy, which sometimes happens when seasoning meat alternatives.
For people not a fan of meat alternatives and would rather stick with vegetables, El Zamorano offers cauliflower, mushroom and hibiscus as a protein option. The mushroom burrito for $13 was huge and filled with tons of sautéed mushrooms inside. While the vegetable options are delicious, I believe the meat alternatives are so outstanding that they shouldn’t be overlooked, because the texture and flavors are absolutely spot on.
El Zamorano also offers several weekly specials that make vegan food even more affordable. Their Taco Tuesday special gives two tacos for $6, and their Torta Thursday special means a free agua fresca with every torta purchase. The restaurant also offers breakfast burritos on weekends until noon, or when they sell out, which they often do.
Whether you are trying out meat alternatives or sticking to veggies, Vegan by El Zamorano has options for anyone who wants delicious Mexican food. For budgeting vegans, El Zamorano provides filling, flavorful food for an affordable price.
