California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton mocked for misidentifying a ‘street taco’

Polls have shown California voters have been largely disengaged from the upcoming election for governor, but over the weekend one candidate managed to capture the public’s attention – and ire. Steve Hilton, the British political strategist seeking the state’s top office, drew derision after posting a video outside a southern California location of the fast food chain Del Taco while holding the hard-shell tortilla concoction that he referred to as a “street taco”. Steve Hilton. Photograph: Steve Hilton via X “We just did a great town hall here in Barstow,” Hilton said in a video shared on social media in which he could be seen holding a “Barstow street taco” that he had bought from a “historic location”, the “original Del Taco”. His description drew swift criticism in the state where tacos are practically the official dish. “The first Del Taco was in Yermo, and that’s DEFINITELY not a ‘street’ taco. Signed, the guy who wrote the book about the history of Mexican food in the United States,” Gustavo Arellano, the Los Angeles Times columnist, said in response. Another person wrote that Hilton’s description was “instantly disqualifying”. But Hilton was quick to defend himself, stating that the business called it a “Barstow street taco”. He added that his running mate, the lieutenant governor candidate Gloria Romero, took him to the location where she worked as a teen. “Not everything in life has to be turned into a political argument!!” he said. …