Pilsen-Style Carne Asada Tacos for a Crowd
August 22, 2026 · Chef Lucia
Hand-pressed tortillas, charred beef, and salsa built to order. The taco spread we bring to offices out of our Pilsen kitchen — scaled for fifty.
A taco bar is the most forgiving thing to feed a crowd — everyone builds their own, dietary splits disappear into toppings, and it scales cleanly. Here's ours.
The meat
Skirt steak, marinated overnight in:
- Lime juice, orange juice
- Garlic, cilantro stems, cumin, smoked paprika
- A little beer (whatever's in the kitchen)
Grill hot and fast — 3 minutes a side over real flame. Let it rest, then slice against the grain into strips people can grab with tongs.
Plan 5 oz cooked per person. For fifty, that's about 18 lb raw.
The tortillas
Hand-pressed if we can, otherwise good quality store-bought corn. Warm them on a comal and stack in a cloth-lined basket — cold tortillas crack, warm ones fold. Figure 3 per person.
The salsa triad
Every taco bar needs three:
- Salsa verde — tomatillo, jalapeño, cilantro, lime. Bright and herbal.
- Salsa roja — roasted tomato, guajillo, garlic. Deep and smoky.
- Pico de gallo — fresh, raw, the cooldown option.
The toppings bar
- Chopped white onion and cilantro (the classic)
- Crumbled cotija
- Lime wedges, lots
- Avocado or guacamole
- Pickled red onions
- Elote off the cob (the crowd favorite)
For vegetarians
Grilled poblano and mushroom tacos, seasoned the same way. Same salsas, same toppings — nobody feels like an afterthought.
We run this as a drop-off buffet with a chafer for the meat, a warmer for tortillas, and a cold rail for toppings. It's our most-ordered Mexican spread. Build your order and we'll bring Pilsen to your office.
