The aroma of cilantro and fried meat that makes normal air smell bland; the dopamine bursting inside your brain at the bite of a greased-up tortilla: that’s the magic of a taco truck.

The small yet mighty businesses scattered across Maryland number far more than they may appear. The relatively low cost of starting up a truck has created an economic ladder for families, said Robert Frommer, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, who described himself as the former “point person” for vending and food truck issues.

“[Food trucks] are for people with too little capital and looking to capture the American dream,” he said.

Last week, I decided to investigate for myself and found a slew of taco trucks in Baltimore and its surrounding counties that gave me a new appreciation for the rolling culinary havens.

These feats of engineering that churn out delicious food despite shrinking kitchen space are also beloved community gathering points serving up generations of culture and creativity.

So in honor of the new grease stains in my Subaru, here are trucks offering food so good you shouldn’t even bother packing it away on your passenger seat for the ride home. Eat it hot, fresh and, if you’re anything like me, on the hood of your car.

Tacos El Guero

• 1300 Merritt Blvd., Dundalk

The line of cars backed up in this Dundalk Exxon lot has nothing to do with the gas.

Tacos El Guero is a bright spot among a stretch of graveyards and fast-food chains. The women behind the scenes make their way through a sea of orders from customers ranging from large families to individual day laborers, often running out of more than half the menu by the afternoon.

For my money, the business is the most consistently vibrant and balanced taco spot I’ve found in the Baltimore area. The al pastor creates a dance of flavors between the pork fat and the acidity of fresh sliced pineapple, creating an amalgam of sweet and savory. The texture is near perfect: rich, soft and juicy. The hearty, slow-cooked beef birria tacos are balanced and come with a dipping consommé that brings out the baking spices. Fillings aren’t so thick that they overwhelm the tortilla, and savory grilled scallions atop the dish complete the near-perfect assemblage.

I cannot recommend enough their mango juice — freshly blended and an unmatched palate cleanser after enjoying trays of hot tacos.

Tacos La Michoacana

• 1612 W. Furnace Branch Rd., Glen Burnie

Tacos La Michoacana understands how to run a business.

The brightly colored truck — one of two run by the owners — sits off a busy intersection behind a gas station, in the lot of an old repair shack. After placing an order, you’re given a buzzer that lets you know when it’s ready. In the meantime, sit on a rainbow picnic bench just feet away that overlooks the Burwood Village Center from a hill. There couldn’t be a better ambiance.

At this well-known favorite in Glen Burnie, the birria tacos are crispy. The cheese swims out from under the tortilla and collects in singed black pools that create an extra smoky flavor, which helps account for the relatively low-bodied consommé, despite the obvious collagen. The food is hot — in my case, not necessarily spicy, but fresh off the grill. What’s really magical are the pupusas revueltas with pork. The stuffed masa cakes are floppy, bursting with flavor and accompanied by salsa roja tied in a plastic bag like a goldfish from the fair. The sauce is thin and fruity with a tomato base, offering a needed sweetness and acidity that helps you taste the herbs stuffed within the cheese pocket. A curtido, or pickled cabbage slaw, offered in another plastic bag, is coated with vinegar to create more balance.

El Tucan Food Truck

• 7919 Dorsey Run Rd., Jessup

Owner Elidio Flores said his El Tucan truck has been parked at the intersection of Dorsey Run and Waterloo Road for 10 years.

He attributes the longevity to the neighboring Jessup businesses, including the market under the same name as his truck selling goods across the street. It’s hard to miss his vehicle, which sits behind an auto shop and has turf and straw umbrellas in front. The music is loud, people are eating at tables instead of their car, and Flores serves not just tacos but also buffalo wings and birria pizzas.

I started with an agua de Jamaica, a bright magenta hibiscus tea that’s teeth-suckingly sweet. Then there was the street tacos with lengua, which carry a hearty beefy flavor and a perfectly crisp fried texture. Thick cuts of grilled onions sub in for scallions, offering a savory crunch. The filling is well-proportioned with a relatively small tortilla and an acidic salsa. Here, the carnitas don’t carry much flavor, but there’s magic in the birria. It seemed skinnier at first glance, but the beef is perfectly crisp and well mixed with the cheese and herbs. When dipped in the consommé, you can taste every herb, especially the cinnamon, baked into the meat and sauce — exactly how it should be.

Tacos El Morro

• 5401 Pulaski Hwy., Baltimore

This lesser-known spot in Kresson packs a punch.

They’ve also set the scene: sit at blanketed tables under a carport-like covering filled with flowers. It makes you forget about the auto repair shop feet away, especially once you try the food. The al pastor is unmatched, with large chunks of pineapple that don’t even feel needed because the sweetness is deeply stewed into the pork. The meat is so tender it almost tastes cured, like bacon, and so thinly shaved that it’s as if the owners have the space for a trompo, or a vertical rotisserie, in the back. Every bite is tangy, and it comes with salsa verde and salsa rojo for dripping along the top.

Like El Tucan, the birria is perfectly balanced and not overstuffed, with herbs mixed completely in with the meat and not just decorated on top. The consommé, served in a coffee cup for dipping, has a vibrant tomato flavor instead of cinnamon, which further creates an acidic tang able to cut the fat and grease stuffed in the tortilla. It’s creative, well-prepared and all-around an intoxicating meal.

Mary’s Food Truck

• 7436 Washington Blvd., Elkridge

I didn’t know what to expect when I arrived at Mary’s Food Truck, which is parked on Route 1 in front of a dated motel.

The spot sets customers up with picnic tables on the motel lawn. A large family came and used high chairs as well as the plastic playground set nearby. I’m not sure which of us ordered more food, but I do know that owner Maritza Benítez is serving pupusas unlike any I’ve tasted. Strong hints of oregano come from the filling held together by a structured pocket of masa flour that feels sturdy and packed with pork. She said was inspired to start the business because her friends kept telling her how good her cooking was.

Benítez’s food ranges from Mexican to Salvadoran to Honduran; those flags hang in front of the truck. The influence is apparent: the pupusas come with a curtido so rich in turmeric and vinegar it’s worth eating by itself. Her light salsa roja is loose and tangy and makes the perfect bite when added to her pupusas or her well-textured and chili pepper-lathered chorizo street tacos. Another customer favorite is the pollo con tajadas, fried chicken slathered in a cilantro crema over plantains.

Benítez said the food truck is her attempt to support the health and nutrition of Latino people as well as the larger community.

Banner intern Nina Giraldo contributed Spanish translations for this story.