Guidon Base Camp and Taqueria los Parientes at Ecusta Trail: Really Good Tacos Served Frighteningly Close to Hwy 64

First Impressions:

If you have ever driven Hwy 64 between Hendersonville and Brevard, you have probably seen the Elijah Gem Mine, an undeniable — but still entertaining — tourist trap that claims the title of best gem mine in NC. It’s been there for years. Recently with the opening of the Ecusta Trail in Hendersonville they have expanded, adding the Guidon Base Camp and a food truck. I was talking about visiting this truck, Taqueria los Parientes, with a colleague I was getting to know, and she asked summarizing somewhat, “Is that the place where you have to stand far too close to the highway? They have really good tacos.” Add in some beer and that pretty much perfectly encapsulates the experience here.

Atmosphere and Service

Service at both the Guidon Brewery Base Camp and the Taqueria los Parientes taco truck is minimal at best. In fact, on my second visit, which was off peak time, I had to find someone to get me a beer. That being said, I never judge places based on standards they aren’t trying to meet. It’s a taco truck and beer bar attached to a touristy gem mine, you should basically expect to serve yourself.

The decor and location are also about what you would expect. Following the lite German theme of Guidon brewery, the base camp has the feel of a beer garden - outside location, picnic benches, music — in a gravel parking lot. The bar, however, is quite striking with a hardwood finish and attractive taps, chalkboards with the available beers. Even now, it retains a faint smell of wood. The bartender I spoke to was kind, and he was able to guide me in choosing the brewery’s best for a taste. All-in-all the location is wonderful: unpretentious, clean, and a great food stop on the Ecusta Trail in Hendersonville.

Drinks

Guidon leans into the traditions of a German-style brewery in North Carolina, and you can taste that in their beers. The focus is on clean, classic styles rather than the experimental flavors you’ll find in a lot of American craft breweries. Germany’s famous Reinheitsgebot purity law shaped that tradition—beer could only be made with hops, barley, and water (with a few exceptions for wheat beers). The result was beer known worldwide for quality, but not exactly for variety.

Meanwhile, the American craft beer boom exploded with creativity—sometimes brilliantly, sometimes a little too much (looking at you, pickle cider). Personally, I’d rather not drink a porter that tastes like peanut butter and jelly, but if that’s your thing, I respect it.

Guidon’s strength is in doing the classics well. Their traditional beers are exactly what they claim to be: straightforward, well-made, and satisfying. And if you’re craving something more experimental, they also keep a rotating selection of outside brews, so there’s a little something for everyone.

Beer One: Pilsner

Their most popular offering, this beer is a very traditional German-style pilsner. It is crisp, clean and quite hoppy, but it does not compare to a contemporary IPA that you can find littering every street in WNC. It doesn’t taste at best like a bouqut of flowers and worst like a literal scraping off a botanist’s floor. It tastes balanced. Great beer for the summer heat.

Beer Two: Kolsch

When I arrived at the base camp, I was hot. I wanted a crisp beer that could quench my thirst without weighing me down. I am all for dark beer, but in the summer, you cannot beat a light German beer. The Guidon Kolsch fits the bill perfectly. Light like the pilsner but it does have the appropriate funky wang that you have a to have with a Kolsch, not as hoppy as the pilsner, but still appropriately German If you like this type of beer, you will like it. Solid.

Beer Three: Hefeweizn

Wheat beers are top-fermented and have a slightly different set of rules under Reinheitsgebot and are a bit more complex than the previous two, but compared to what you would find in most breweries in the area, the hefeweizen at Guidon is simple. It has a bright taste followed by a good/bitter taste that is halfway to a bock flavor. It is a good beer, but if you think of something like Blue Moon when you think of wheat beer, you will be disappointed. This one is far more robust.

Food:

Guidon Base Camp does not serve food. Taqueria los Parientes is a truck that sits in the lot and serves its customers. You order at the counter — cars on 64 whizzing by you at 55 mph — you get a buzzer and retrieve your food later.

From Left to Right: Lengua, Pastor, Cabeza, Campechano

Dish One: Lengua Taco (Tongue)

Man Americans are squeamish about the idea of eating tongue, but not only is it a muscle and less wasteful than throwing it away, it is also one of the most tender and potentially flavorful cuts you can get. I have a special place in my heart for this cut and especially for tacos. At los Parientes, the tongue is well-made. Naturally tender, this moist cut is generally boiled in aromatics, peeled, and then grilled. It pairs well with the onions and cilantro, but in this case was perhaps underseasoned. The onion in the boiling liquid came through, but the only spice I could detect with any strength was in the sauce. The texture was perfect.

Dish Two: Cabeza Taco (Cheek)

Same illogical squeamishness as with tongue, the cheeks are some of the best meat on the cow. Tender, and when braised it absorbs spice and flavor. The cabeza tacos at los Parientes are some of the most flavorful meat that I have ever had. Slow roasted, brimming with spices — cumin, bay leaf, chilis and chili powder — and dripping with flavor, I cannot recommend these tacos enough. Drop the American custom and try somehting that maybe grosses you out. Honestly that’s usually the best food I have had.

Dish Three: Pastor Taco

Formally Pastor refers to meat roasted on a vertical spit — Trompo-style; I did not see such a spit on display and am almost certain it it was finished on the griddle, but that did not affect the quality of the dish at all. The seasoning was excellent — not quite as strong as the cabeza, but possessing some flavor of cumin, chiles, and other spice — perfectly seasoned and crispy from the griddle.

Dish Four: Campechano Taco (Steak and Sausage)

Formally, a campechano refers to a mash-up of different meats, usually served in a tortilla. Most often, it’s a pairing of lightly seasoned steak — sometimes suadero — with a sausage such as longaniza or chorizo. At Los Parientes, the balance of flavors is excellent: the steak’s mild savoriness tempers the bold, smoky spice of the chorizo. In my case, however, the steak was a bit dry — a common issue at food trucks when a particular item doesn’t see high turnover.

Value

These days everything is expensive, and most likily things are going to keep moving in that direction, but the food at Taqueria los Parientes is about what you would expect,perhaps a tiny bit higher, which can be accounted for it sittitng at a tourist trap

Expect between $3.50-$4 for a taco with other items such as a burritos, quesadillas etc to be about 2-4 dollars off what you would see in a sit-down restaurant in town.

The beers at Guidon are basically exactly standard for WNC, about $6.

Final Verdict

Tucked away off Highway 64, Guidon Brewery Base Camp and Taqueria Los Parientes might require a little bravery to reach — it sometimes feels like you’re one distracted driver away from becoming part of a semi-truck’s grill. But trust me, the reward is worth it.

Taqueria Los Parientes serves up some of the best Mexican food in Hendersonville, and their cabeza is a standout — rich, tender, and bursting with flavor. Pair that with a pint from Guidon, where the beer leans traditional German (a refreshing change in the Western North Carolina craft beer scene), and you’ve got a meal worth seeking out.

The venue itself is warm and welcoming, and now that it sits just off the newly opened Ecusta Trail, it’s an ideal stop for a post-ride or post-walk bite. Just be ready to dodge a few cars on your way in — it’s part of the adventure.