Taco Madness: blue corn ghost chile tacos, Momo's carnitas and best in show ...

Taco Madness: blue corn ghost chile tacos, Momo’s carnitas and best in show ...

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The melt-in-your-mouth carnitas taco from Carnitas el Momo. (Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)

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Romulo ‘Momo’ Acosta’s Carnitas el Momo at Taco Madness on Saturday at Grand Park. (Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)

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Mexicali’s blue corn ghost taco with guacamole, salsa, parsley and ghost chile hot sauce. (Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)

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Mexicali Taco Co. served a blue corn ghost taco with ghost chile hot sauce. (Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)

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Waiting around the hot sauce tables for tacos at Taco Madness (Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)

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The Guerilla Tacos trucked parked at Grand Park on Saturday for Taco Madness. (Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)

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A tostada of ahi tuna and crab topped with avocado from Guerrilla Tacos. (Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)

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The pork shoulder taco from Guerrilla Tacos at Taco Madness. (Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)

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Clockwise from top left, the boar taco, pork shoulder taco and sweet potato taco from Guerrilla Tacos. (Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)

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The crispy fried golden beet taco and the sweet potato taco (foreground) from Guerilla Tacos. (Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)

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Blue skies over the Tacos Arabes de Puebla truck at Taco Madness at Grand Park. (Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)

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Mariscos Jalisco served its seafood tacos and tostadas at Taco Madness. (Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)

By Betty Hallock

April 5, 2014 8:30 PM PT

Blue skies and the aromas of caramelized pork drew crowds to downtown’s Grand Park on Saturday when some of Los Angeles’ best taco makers gathered for L.A. Taco‘s annual Taco Madness fest.

Long lines snaked around the Guerrilla Tacos and Mariscos Jalisco trucks. The intrepid trekked to the top of the hill for Mexicali Taco & Co.’s blue corn ghost chile tacos. And the in-the-know headed straight for the carnitas of Romulo “Momo” Acosta, hoping for a taco of just his pan drippings.

The finalists for Taco Madness 2014’s Groupon-sponsored online tournament were Mariscos Jalisco and El Coraloense. And the winner? Mariscos specialist El Coraloense.

But this year’s judges’ pick for “best in show” was Acosta’s Carnitas el Momo, known for the Guanajuato-style carnitas.

The Guerrilla Tacos menu from chef Wes Avila included wild boar, pork shoulder, fried golden beet and sweet potato tacos as well as a tostada of ahi poke, stone crab and avocado. Guerrilla’s tacos of seared roasted sweet potatoes with squeaky Oaxacan cheese and crispy-fried pork shoulder with pork skin and tangy tomatillo salsa did not disappoint.

For the first time at the fest, Los Originales Tacos Arabes de Puebla represented the Pueblan taco arabe with its thick pan arabe tortilla wrapped around marinated pork. And fans of Mariscos Jalisco of Boyle Heights faithfully waited for their crispy-fried shrimp tacos and ceviche-topped tostadas. Mexicali Taco & Co.’s blue corn tortillas topped with pork, guacamole, salsa, parsley and its ghost chile hot sauce drew fiends of the spicy.

But not to be missed were the tacos of Carnitas el Momo, which has a stand in South L.A. and a truck parked at Melrose and Vermont, on weekends only. The carnitas -- tender, melt-in-your-mouth pork cooked in its own fat in Acosta’s copper pots -- is served plain-and-simple on tortillas. They stand alone. As do any and all other pork parts, including stomach, loin/rib meat and those migajas, or pan drippings ... [dreamy gaze].

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