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Trejo's Tacos: Recipes and Stories from LA

Description:

From the legendary actor and L.A restaurateur comes a cookbook featuring 75 badass recipes, from lowrider donuts and award-winning vegan cauliflower tacos to a sweet and spicy brisket inspired by Danny's mom's barbacoa.

Throughout Danny's life, sharing good food has always been essential--whether it was home-cooked meals made by his mom while imagining the menu for their dream restaurant or whipping up post-wrap celebratory tacos for his Hollywood friends.
Now, with his own restaurant empire growing, Danny shares his favorite recipes for bold, fun, and versatile Mexican food by way of L.A. You'll come away with the know-how and skills for cooking slow-braised pork shoulder with bacon and chiles for unbelievably flavorful carnitas, turning spiced fried chicken or Mexi-falafel into tacos and burritos, and how to make cotija and chile mashed potatoes that will impress all your friends (especially when served with brisket!).
The book also includes stories about Danny's lifelong love of food, from the meals his mom made when he was growing up in the San Fernando Valley to a map of his favorite restaurants and hangouts in Los Angeles, how his time in prison led to his acting career and opening a restaurant, and his journey of becoming an AA/NA counselor. Like Danny's restaurants,
Trejo's Tacos is generous, hospitable, and symbolic of L.A.'s vibrant Latino culture.


Review

From the legendary actor and L.A restaurateur comes a cookbook featuring 75 badass recipes, from lowrider donuts and award-winning vegan cauliflower tacos to a sweet and spicy brisket inspired by Danny's mom's barbacoa. Throughout Danny's life, sharing good food has always been essential--whether it was home-cooked meals made by his mom while imagining the menu for their dream restaurant or whipping up post-wrap celebratory tacos for his Hollywood friends. Now, with his own restaurant empire growing, Danny --From the Back Cover

How does a man known for playing merciless, shirtless, tattooed, gun-toting, vengeance-thirsty, knife-throwing tough guys become the face of a restaurant group selling award-winning tacos, authentic
barbacoa, and kale salad? I say this a lot and Trejo’s Tacos is proof of it: It’s not how you start. It’s how you finish.

While I play “the bad guy” in movies, I’ve been a lot of things over the years, including a boxer, a bodybuilder, a drug counselor, and, for a while, a real bad guy—which is how I ended up in San Quentin and Soledad state prisons in the 1960s. It was in prison that I got clean and sober. That was just one chapter in my story—since then, I have been in over three hundred movies, became a father to three kids, and acquired a collection of lowriders, vintage cars, and motorcycles. I still go to the penitentiaries, but now I’m on the other side of the bars as a drug counselor. I’ve traveled around the world at least ten times for my job, but I always come back home to Los Angeles. My life today is very different from what it was in the 1960s. I used to rob restaurants. Today I own eight of them. And we keep growing, with restaurants from Pasadena to Hollywood and LAX to Woodland Hills.

But back to where I started. Home for me in the 1950s and ’60s was a mixed bag to say the least. I grew up in Echo Park long before it became a hipster neighborhood. My family moved to Pacoima in the northeastern corner of the San Fernando Valley, where the sprawl of the L.A. grid glitters until it goes dark against the Angeles National Forest When I wasn’t in prison or getting into trouble, there was always home, and I was always welcome. Even more important than home was Mom, who, no matter whether I was being good or bad, would cook the best food. I loved it. Trejo’s Tacos exists because of that love.

My mom was a killer cook. Back in the 1950s in working-class Latino families—heck, in most working families—it went like this: At the first of the month we would have these elaborate, unbelievable meals: chicken mole, carne asada, and enchiladas stacked high like they do in Texas, where my mom was from. But then by the end of the month, when the money was running out and the rent was due, the dishes wouldn’t have proper names. Mom started making food with whatever we had left in the cupboard. We’d ask, “Ma, what is this?” She’d say, “It doesn’t matter. I just mixed it, you know.” The next night we’d ask and she’d say, “It’s out of the cupboard.” The next night she’d say, “Just eat it. It’s good for you.” And it always was.

These meals are some of my best memories of growing up. We would also have chorizo and eggs for breakfast. Nopales. Chicharrón she’d cook in a green chile sauce and then mix with eggs. Migas stewed until the tortillas were soft.

My dad didn’t share our enthusiasm for food. He’d come home from work and he would just eat. My dad was the Mexican Archie Bunker. He had five brothers. If they made baseball cards for these guys, they would all read “Position: Macho.” Back then the thinking was that your wife should stay home and cook. Only in families where the guys couldn’t make it on their own did the wives have to work. So when I would say, “Mom, let’s open a restaurant!” and we’d talk about what our restaurant would serve and how it would look, my dad would bark: “Why do you need a restaurant? You’ve got a fully functioning kitchen with a freaking O’Keefe and Merritt stove right there!” (O’Keefe and Merritt stoves were big in the 1950s and now they’re collector’s items—if you don’t believe me, just check eBay.) “Both of you can go in there and cook whatever you want.” And so there went that dream.

When I was twelve, my life took a detour when I started hanging out with Uncle Gilbert, my dad’s youngest brother. He was my hero—he taught me how to box, and it turned out I was a natural. He was also the guy who got me into drugs and robbing people. We were literal partners in crime. It got to the point where you weren’t quite sure if you robbed people to support your drug habit or did drugs to support your robbery habit. Through it all, my mom was always there for me, in the kitchen cooking up carne asada or chilaquiles, no matter what. When I was out partying with my friends, we’d all show up in my mom’s kitchen, sometimes at one, two o’clock in the morning. First, my mom would bawl me out for being out so late. Then she’d make us something to eat with a big smile on her face, thanking God I was home. That kitchen was always a safe haven, a place where I could stay out of trouble.

But I never stayed out of trouble for very long. I ended up doing time for armed robbery and drug dealing. In Soledad and San Quentin I put my boxing skills to good use and became a lightweight and welterweight boxing champion, so I would always eat well. Sometimes I wouldn’t even need to go to chow—people would just bring me food. On Saturdays we’d have what we called “spreads,” which are kind of like prison picnics, as much as they could be in a place like the pen—a sort of celebration of life, mostly for the guys that didn’t get visits because they had a falling out with their family, or their wife or girlfriend left them. We took care of each other—we’d all get together and everybody would bring something. Sort of like a potluck. You know that scene in
Goodfellas with all the guys sitting around cooking and eating this big Italian feast? It wasn’t quite like that. Some guys would bring noodles, some guys would bring loose bread, or chocolate, another guy would bring some smuggled-in hooch or homemade pruno, the booze you make by fermenting sugar and cafeteria scraps. We’d all sit out in the yard and have a picnic.

I was in and out of prison for eleven years, and toward the end of that time, I got sober. I remember it clearly. It was Cinco de Mayo, 1968. I made a vow to get clean and to dedicate myself to helping others. When I got out a year later, I started working with ex-cons and other guys who were trying to get and stay clean, too. I worked construction and became a drug counselor. One day one of the guys I was helping stay clean asked me to go visit him on the set of a movie he was working on. This was the mid-’80s and there were a lot of drugs on set and the guy wanted me to be there and help keep him from using. So I go down to the set and I’m watching them film the movie—it was called
Runaway Train and Eric Roberts was the star. The movie took place in a prison, so I felt right at home. In a weird twist of fate, the screenwriter happened to be my old pal Eddie Bunker, who did time with me in San Quentin. He recognized me (I kind of stand out) and remembered that I was a boxer. Eddie hired me to train the movie’s star, Eric Roberts, how to box. The director of the movie, Andrei Konchalovsky, liked the way I looked and cast me as a fighter. That launched my career. From there I started getting roles—you know, for the characters you see listed in the credits as “bad guy #1,” or “scary guy #2,” “tough guy #3,” you get the gist. I eventually worked my way up to Razor Charlie in Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s From Dusk till Dawn, Trejo in Michael Mann’s Heat, and Machete in everything from Spy Kids to Machete Kills.

So some thirty years and three hundred movies later I’m working on a movie called
Bad Ass with a producer named Ash Shah. He provided much better craft services—or “crafty,” as the movie industry calls on-set catering—than most producers. There were always fresh salads, vegetables, and grilled fish. I like to eat clean and Ash saw that I appreciated the healthy spread. One day we’re eating dinner and he asks me outright, “Danny, why don’t you open a restaurant?” At that moment I almost heard my mom speaking. I felt chills course through my body. But I didn’t really take it seriously, so I just joked, “Sure, and I’d call it Trejo’s Tacos!” I was kidding, but Ash wasn’t. Six months later Ash came to me with a business plan. And it was a great plan. Over the years we’ve learned a lot of things about cooking a new kind of L.A.–Mexican food and we want to share it with you. --Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From the Back Cover

From the legendary actor and L.A restaurateur comes a cookbook featuring 75 badass recipes, from lowrider donuts and award-winning vegan cauliflower tacos to a sweet and spicy brisket inspired by Danny's mom's barbacoa. Throughout Danny's life, sharing good food has always been essential--whether it was home-cooked meals made by his mom while imagining the menu for their dream restaurant or whipping up post-wrap celebratory tacos for his Hollywood friends. Now, with his own restaurant empire growing, Danny shares his favorite recipes for bold, fun, and versatile Mexican food by way of L.A. You'll come away with the know-how and skills for cooking slow-braised pork shoulder with bacon and chiles for unbelievably flavorful carnitas, turning spiced fried chicken or Mexi-falafel into tacos and burritos, and how to make cotija and chile mashed potatoes that will impress all your friends (especially when served with brisket!). The book also includes stories about Danny's lifelong love of food, from the meals his mom made when he was growing up in the San Fernando Valley to a map of his favorite restaurants and hangouts in Los Angeles, how his time in prison led to his acting career and opening a restaurant, and his journey of becoming an AA/NA counselor. Like Danny's restaurants, Trejo's Tacos is generous, hospitable, and symbolic of L.A.'s vibrant Latino culture.

Reviews:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great recipes

M. · 9 September 2025

Great recipes and and nice change for tea

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique and fantastic

C.F. · 26 August 2020

Best cookbook and not just mexican! I own several mexican books and this is by far the best. Firstly all the ingredients are easy to source in the UK either from the super market or online (such as Mexgrocer or Bolo).Secondly the explainations are great. The recipes are a good combination of complex and simple so you can "grow" with the book but also means even for experienced cooks you will find something.Finally it has many unique dishes such as tofu tacos, roasted cauliflower and bacon cheeseburger tacos.Highly recommended!!

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book

A.C. · 11 March 2025

Fantastic recipes - the Spanish rice is a revelation in burritos!

5.0 out of 5 stars Stone Cold Classic

S.W. · 30 July 2022

Bought this as a present for my husband with a tortilla press and maize flour and I have to say it gets used on repeat. All the recipes are exceptionally easy and appetising, we haven’t had a duff recipe yet. Also, Danny Trejo is an absolute ledge so why not give him some cash. 🤪

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Mexican cookbook in my collection!

K.L.S. · 21 July 2020

I've been a longtime fan of Danny Trejo, and I love knowing he loves to cook too. This is a great collection of recipes, including vegetarian options, that include ingredients anyone can get. There's a great history of his family and growing up in SoCal, an intro into the ingredients, a bunch of amazing recipes. Great photos are a bonus. And the book is really well presented. The only thing that would make this book better is if Danny came to my house himself to cook beside me! Still, it's the best Mexican cookbook in my collection!

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book

C.H. · 31 May 2021

Great and interesting book. Fantastic recipes and great insight into Trejo's life

5.0 out of 5 stars great flavours

D.S. · 10 June 2023

Truly enjoyed this book of Mexican cooking with great flavours and easy recipes. Easy to follow and delicious. Highly recommended

5.0 out of 5 stars Every recipe is a banger

s. · 18 June 2022

Bought this cookbook after a holiday to Mexico. Every single recipe we’ve tried so far is a banger. And I really need to emphasise this: I don’t mean every recipe is ‘good’ or ‘tasty’. I mean every recipe is out of this world. My only complaint is, as a Brit: it would be useful if there was a uk version with metric measurements (ml, grams, kgs, degrees celcius). I’m forever googling much is a cup. Also top tip: some of the ingredients are impossible to find in uk supermarkets. But they are available on Bolo (most with prime delivery options)

Interessante e bello

G. · 4 December 2020

Bel libro con delle bellissime e buonissime ricette e con una bella storia

Great recipes and a good read

m. · 8 October 2022

Bought as a gift for a home cook. The recipes are interesting and the pictures colorful. The author details parts of his life growing up and this was interesting. A great addition to any cookbook library.

Una experiencia fabulosa y muy fácil de seguir.

R.F.D.R. · 30 June 2025

Es mejor de lo que pensaba, muy recomendado.

Great recipes, fun read.

S.M. · 11 June 2025

A lot of great recipes, easy to make, no special tools or exotic ingredients. Also just a fun book to read.

Top

A.K. · 23 June 2025

Sehr schönes Buch. Für mich hätten noch mehr Taco Rezepte drinnen sein können. Aber ok. Die Rezepte sind sehr verständlich geschrieben.

Trejo's Tacos: Recipes and Stories from LA

Product ID: K1984826859
Condition: New

4.8

AED16091

Price includes VAT & Import Duties
Type: Hardcover
Availability: In Stock

Quantity:

|

Order today to get by 7-14 business days

Delivery fee of AED 20. Free for orders above AED 200.

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Imported From: United Kingdom

At BOLO, we work hard to ensure the products you receive are new, genuine, and sourced from reputable suppliers.

BOLO is not an authorized or official retailer for most brands, nor are we affiliated with manufacturers unless specifically stated on a product page. Instead, we source verified sellers, authorized distributors or directly from the manufacturer.

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BOLO operates in accordance with the laws and regulations of United Arab Emirates. Any items found to be restricted or prohibited for sale within the UAE will be cancelled prior to shipment. We take proactive measures to ensure that only products permitted for sale in United Arab Emirates are listed on our website.

All items are shipped by air, and any products classified as “Dangerous Goods (DG)” under IATA regulations will be removed from the order and cancelled.

All orders are processed manually, and we make every effort to process them promptly once confirmed. Products cancelled due to the above reasons will be permanently removed from listings across the website.

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Trejo's Tacos: Recipes and Stories from LA

Product ID: K1984826859
Condition: New

4.8

Trejo's Tacos: Recipes and Stories from LA-0
Type: Hardcover

AED16091

Price includes VAT & Import Duties
Availability: In Stock

Quantity:

|

Order today to get by 7-14 business days

Delivery fee of AED 20. Free for orders above AED 200.

Returns & Warranty policies

Imported From: United Kingdom

At BOLO, we work hard to ensure the products you receive are new, genuine, and sourced from reputable suppliers.

BOLO is not an authorized or official retailer for most brands, nor are we affiliated with manufacturers unless specifically stated on a product page. Instead, we source verified sellers, authorized distributors or directly from the manufacturer.

Each product undergoes thorough inspection and verification at our consolidation and fulfilment centers to ensure it meets our strict authenticity and quality standards before being shipped and delivered to you.

If you ever have concerns regarding the authenticity of a product purchased from us, please contact Bolo Support. We will review your inquiry promptly and, if necessary, provide documentation verifying authenticity or offer a suitable resolution.

Your trust is our top priority, and we are committed to maintaining transparency and integrity in every transaction.

All product information, images, descriptions, and reviews originate from the manufacturer or from trusted sellers overseas. BOLO is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an authorized retailer for most brands listed on our website unless stated otherwise.

While we strive to display accurate information, variations in packaging, labeling, instructions, or formulation may occasionally occur due to regional differences or supplier updates. For detailed or manufacturer-specific information, please contact the brand directly or reach out to BOLO Support for assistance.

Unless otherwise stated, all prices displayed on the product page include applicable taxes and import duties.

BOLO operates in accordance with the laws and regulations of United Arab Emirates. Any items found to be restricted or prohibited for sale within the UAE will be cancelled prior to shipment. We take proactive measures to ensure that only products permitted for sale in United Arab Emirates are listed on our website.

All items are shipped by air, and any products classified as “Dangerous Goods (DG)” under IATA regulations will be removed from the order and cancelled.

All orders are processed manually, and we make every effort to process them promptly once confirmed. Products cancelled due to the above reasons will be permanently removed from listings across the website.

Description:

From the legendary actor and L.A restaurateur comes a cookbook featuring 75 badass recipes, from lowrider donuts and award-winning vegan cauliflower tacos to a sweet and spicy brisket inspired by Danny's mom's barbacoa.

Throughout Danny's life, sharing good food has always been essential--whether it was home-cooked meals made by his mom while imagining the menu for their dream restaurant or whipping up post-wrap celebratory tacos for his Hollywood friends.
Now, with his own restaurant empire growing, Danny shares his favorite recipes for bold, fun, and versatile Mexican food by way of L.A. You'll come away with the know-how and skills for cooking slow-braised pork shoulder with bacon and chiles for unbelievably flavorful carnitas, turning spiced fried chicken or Mexi-falafel into tacos and burritos, and how to make cotija and chile mashed potatoes that will impress all your friends (especially when served with brisket!).
The book also includes stories about Danny's lifelong love of food, from the meals his mom made when he was growing up in the San Fernando Valley to a map of his favorite restaurants and hangouts in Los Angeles, how his time in prison led to his acting career and opening a restaurant, and his journey of becoming an AA/NA counselor. Like Danny's restaurants,
Trejo's Tacos is generous, hospitable, and symbolic of L.A.'s vibrant Latino culture.


Review

From the legendary actor and L.A restaurateur comes a cookbook featuring 75 badass recipes, from lowrider donuts and award-winning vegan cauliflower tacos to a sweet and spicy brisket inspired by Danny's mom's barbacoa. Throughout Danny's life, sharing good food has always been essential--whether it was home-cooked meals made by his mom while imagining the menu for their dream restaurant or whipping up post-wrap celebratory tacos for his Hollywood friends. Now, with his own restaurant empire growing, Danny --From the Back Cover

How does a man known for playing merciless, shirtless, tattooed, gun-toting, vengeance-thirsty, knife-throwing tough guys become the face of a restaurant group selling award-winning tacos, authentic
barbacoa, and kale salad? I say this a lot and Trejo’s Tacos is proof of it: It’s not how you start. It’s how you finish.

While I play “the bad guy” in movies, I’ve been a lot of things over the years, including a boxer, a bodybuilder, a drug counselor, and, for a while, a real bad guy—which is how I ended up in San Quentin and Soledad state prisons in the 1960s. It was in prison that I got clean and sober. That was just one chapter in my story—since then, I have been in over three hundred movies, became a father to three kids, and acquired a collection of lowriders, vintage cars, and motorcycles. I still go to the penitentiaries, but now I’m on the other side of the bars as a drug counselor. I’ve traveled around the world at least ten times for my job, but I always come back home to Los Angeles. My life today is very different from what it was in the 1960s. I used to rob restaurants. Today I own eight of them. And we keep growing, with restaurants from Pasadena to Hollywood and LAX to Woodland Hills.

But back to where I started. Home for me in the 1950s and ’60s was a mixed bag to say the least. I grew up in Echo Park long before it became a hipster neighborhood. My family moved to Pacoima in the northeastern corner of the San Fernando Valley, where the sprawl of the L.A. grid glitters until it goes dark against the Angeles National Forest When I wasn’t in prison or getting into trouble, there was always home, and I was always welcome. Even more important than home was Mom, who, no matter whether I was being good or bad, would cook the best food. I loved it. Trejo’s Tacos exists because of that love.

My mom was a killer cook. Back in the 1950s in working-class Latino families—heck, in most working families—it went like this: At the first of the month we would have these elaborate, unbelievable meals: chicken mole, carne asada, and enchiladas stacked high like they do in Texas, where my mom was from. But then by the end of the month, when the money was running out and the rent was due, the dishes wouldn’t have proper names. Mom started making food with whatever we had left in the cupboard. We’d ask, “Ma, what is this?” She’d say, “It doesn’t matter. I just mixed it, you know.” The next night we’d ask and she’d say, “It’s out of the cupboard.” The next night she’d say, “Just eat it. It’s good for you.” And it always was.

These meals are some of my best memories of growing up. We would also have chorizo and eggs for breakfast. Nopales. Chicharrón she’d cook in a green chile sauce and then mix with eggs. Migas stewed until the tortillas were soft.

My dad didn’t share our enthusiasm for food. He’d come home from work and he would just eat. My dad was the Mexican Archie Bunker. He had five brothers. If they made baseball cards for these guys, they would all read “Position: Macho.” Back then the thinking was that your wife should stay home and cook. Only in families where the guys couldn’t make it on their own did the wives have to work. So when I would say, “Mom, let’s open a restaurant!” and we’d talk about what our restaurant would serve and how it would look, my dad would bark: “Why do you need a restaurant? You’ve got a fully functioning kitchen with a freaking O’Keefe and Merritt stove right there!” (O’Keefe and Merritt stoves were big in the 1950s and now they’re collector’s items—if you don’t believe me, just check eBay.) “Both of you can go in there and cook whatever you want.” And so there went that dream.

When I was twelve, my life took a detour when I started hanging out with Uncle Gilbert, my dad’s youngest brother. He was my hero—he taught me how to box, and it turned out I was a natural. He was also the guy who got me into drugs and robbing people. We were literal partners in crime. It got to the point where you weren’t quite sure if you robbed people to support your drug habit or did drugs to support your robbery habit. Through it all, my mom was always there for me, in the kitchen cooking up carne asada or chilaquiles, no matter what. When I was out partying with my friends, we’d all show up in my mom’s kitchen, sometimes at one, two o’clock in the morning. First, my mom would bawl me out for being out so late. Then she’d make us something to eat with a big smile on her face, thanking God I was home. That kitchen was always a safe haven, a place where I could stay out of trouble.

But I never stayed out of trouble for very long. I ended up doing time for armed robbery and drug dealing. In Soledad and San Quentin I put my boxing skills to good use and became a lightweight and welterweight boxing champion, so I would always eat well. Sometimes I wouldn’t even need to go to chow—people would just bring me food. On Saturdays we’d have what we called “spreads,” which are kind of like prison picnics, as much as they could be in a place like the pen—a sort of celebration of life, mostly for the guys that didn’t get visits because they had a falling out with their family, or their wife or girlfriend left them. We took care of each other—we’d all get together and everybody would bring something. Sort of like a potluck. You know that scene in
Goodfellas with all the guys sitting around cooking and eating this big Italian feast? It wasn’t quite like that. Some guys would bring noodles, some guys would bring loose bread, or chocolate, another guy would bring some smuggled-in hooch or homemade pruno, the booze you make by fermenting sugar and cafeteria scraps. We’d all sit out in the yard and have a picnic.

I was in and out of prison for eleven years, and toward the end of that time, I got sober. I remember it clearly. It was Cinco de Mayo, 1968. I made a vow to get clean and to dedicate myself to helping others. When I got out a year later, I started working with ex-cons and other guys who were trying to get and stay clean, too. I worked construction and became a drug counselor. One day one of the guys I was helping stay clean asked me to go visit him on the set of a movie he was working on. This was the mid-’80s and there were a lot of drugs on set and the guy wanted me to be there and help keep him from using. So I go down to the set and I’m watching them film the movie—it was called
Runaway Train and Eric Roberts was the star. The movie took place in a prison, so I felt right at home. In a weird twist of fate, the screenwriter happened to be my old pal Eddie Bunker, who did time with me in San Quentin. He recognized me (I kind of stand out) and remembered that I was a boxer. Eddie hired me to train the movie’s star, Eric Roberts, how to box. The director of the movie, Andrei Konchalovsky, liked the way I looked and cast me as a fighter. That launched my career. From there I started getting roles—you know, for the characters you see listed in the credits as “bad guy #1,” or “scary guy #2,” “tough guy #3,” you get the gist. I eventually worked my way up to Razor Charlie in Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s From Dusk till Dawn, Trejo in Michael Mann’s Heat, and Machete in everything from Spy Kids to Machete Kills.

So some thirty years and three hundred movies later I’m working on a movie called
Bad Ass with a producer named Ash Shah. He provided much better craft services—or “crafty,” as the movie industry calls on-set catering—than most producers. There were always fresh salads, vegetables, and grilled fish. I like to eat clean and Ash saw that I appreciated the healthy spread. One day we’re eating dinner and he asks me outright, “Danny, why don’t you open a restaurant?” At that moment I almost heard my mom speaking. I felt chills course through my body. But I didn’t really take it seriously, so I just joked, “Sure, and I’d call it Trejo’s Tacos!” I was kidding, but Ash wasn’t. Six months later Ash came to me with a business plan. And it was a great plan. Over the years we’ve learned a lot of things about cooking a new kind of L.A.–Mexican food and we want to share it with you. --Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From the Back Cover

From the legendary actor and L.A restaurateur comes a cookbook featuring 75 badass recipes, from lowrider donuts and award-winning vegan cauliflower tacos to a sweet and spicy brisket inspired by Danny's mom's barbacoa. Throughout Danny's life, sharing good food has always been essential--whether it was home-cooked meals made by his mom while imagining the menu for their dream restaurant or whipping up post-wrap celebratory tacos for his Hollywood friends. Now, with his own restaurant empire growing, Danny shares his favorite recipes for bold, fun, and versatile Mexican food by way of L.A. You'll come away with the know-how and skills for cooking slow-braised pork shoulder with bacon and chiles for unbelievably flavorful carnitas, turning spiced fried chicken or Mexi-falafel into tacos and burritos, and how to make cotija and chile mashed potatoes that will impress all your friends (especially when served with brisket!). The book also includes stories about Danny's lifelong love of food, from the meals his mom made when he was growing up in the San Fernando Valley to a map of his favorite restaurants and hangouts in Los Angeles, how his time in prison led to his acting career and opening a restaurant, and his journey of becoming an AA/NA counselor. Like Danny's restaurants, Trejo's Tacos is generous, hospitable, and symbolic of L.A.'s vibrant Latino culture.

Reviews:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great recipes

M. · 9 September 2025

Great recipes and and nice change for tea

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique and fantastic

C.F. · 26 August 2020

Best cookbook and not just mexican! I own several mexican books and this is by far the best. Firstly all the ingredients are easy to source in the UK either from the super market or online (such as Mexgrocer or Bolo).Secondly the explainations are great. The recipes are a good combination of complex and simple so you can "grow" with the book but also means even for experienced cooks you will find something.Finally it has many unique dishes such as tofu tacos, roasted cauliflower and bacon cheeseburger tacos.Highly recommended!!

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book

A.C. · 11 March 2025

Fantastic recipes - the Spanish rice is a revelation in burritos!

5.0 out of 5 stars Stone Cold Classic

S.W. · 30 July 2022

Bought this as a present for my husband with a tortilla press and maize flour and I have to say it gets used on repeat. All the recipes are exceptionally easy and appetising, we haven’t had a duff recipe yet. Also, Danny Trejo is an absolute ledge so why not give him some cash. 🤪

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Mexican cookbook in my collection!

K.L.S. · 21 July 2020

I've been a longtime fan of Danny Trejo, and I love knowing he loves to cook too. This is a great collection of recipes, including vegetarian options, that include ingredients anyone can get. There's a great history of his family and growing up in SoCal, an intro into the ingredients, a bunch of amazing recipes. Great photos are a bonus. And the book is really well presented. The only thing that would make this book better is if Danny came to my house himself to cook beside me! Still, it's the best Mexican cookbook in my collection!

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book

C.H. · 31 May 2021

Great and interesting book. Fantastic recipes and great insight into Trejo's life

5.0 out of 5 stars great flavours

D.S. · 10 June 2023

Truly enjoyed this book of Mexican cooking with great flavours and easy recipes. Easy to follow and delicious. Highly recommended

5.0 out of 5 stars Every recipe is a banger

s. · 18 June 2022

Bought this cookbook after a holiday to Mexico. Every single recipe we’ve tried so far is a banger. And I really need to emphasise this: I don’t mean every recipe is ‘good’ or ‘tasty’. I mean every recipe is out of this world. My only complaint is, as a Brit: it would be useful if there was a uk version with metric measurements (ml, grams, kgs, degrees celcius). I’m forever googling much is a cup. Also top tip: some of the ingredients are impossible to find in uk supermarkets. But they are available on Bolo (most with prime delivery options)

Interessante e bello

G. · 4 December 2020

Bel libro con delle bellissime e buonissime ricette e con una bella storia

Great recipes and a good read

m. · 8 October 2022

Bought as a gift for a home cook. The recipes are interesting and the pictures colorful. The author details parts of his life growing up and this was interesting. A great addition to any cookbook library.

Una experiencia fabulosa y muy fácil de seguir.

R.F.D.R. · 30 June 2025

Es mejor de lo que pensaba, muy recomendado.

Great recipes, fun read.

S.M. · 11 June 2025

A lot of great recipes, easy to make, no special tools or exotic ingredients. Also just a fun book to read.

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A.K. · 23 June 2025

Sehr schönes Buch. Für mich hätten noch mehr Taco Rezepte drinnen sein können. Aber ok. Die Rezepte sind sehr verständlich geschrieben.

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