As a Latina who eats a lot of Mexican food, to say that I love tacos is an understatement. To say that Taco Tuesday is my favorite day of the week is also a huge understatement. As soon as I wake up in the morning, I start thinking about what type of tacos I’m going to make or have and where I can find the best deals in town.
I recently revisited Max’s Tacos since I hadn’t been there in a while and as always, I was completely satisfied from beginning to end. Tucked behind the Empire CarWash building near the drive thru, Max’s Tacos is strategically placed in one of the busiest corners on the northwest side of Bend at Empire and Third Street.
Owners Silvia Arzate and Humberto Riuz happily greet their customers from their tiny kitchen inside the taco truck, while son, Fabian Ruiz takes the helm at the ordering window. Lunchtime is busy for both the car wash and for Max’s. As the line starts to get longer, I jump in and instantly my mouth starts watering.
Not only does Max’s offer authentic Mexican street food like tacos, burritos (breakfast and lunch) and tortas filled to the brim with different offerings of beef (asada and pastor), chicken, shrimp, pork, lengua, chorizo (Mexican sausage) and slow cooked birria — it has some other unique offerings like Nacho and Birria (topped) fries, or what I like to call them, “frachos.”
Looking over the menu, I decided to go outside the box and get the Birria Fries and boy were my eyes bigger than my stomach! Let’s start at the bottom…fresh french fries are buried in what I can only guess is a full cup of melted cheddar cheese, then on top of that are mounds of slow cooked, perfectly seasoned beef birria. Colorful pico de gallo and freshly made guacamole bursting with onions and cilantro are atop this insane mountain of food and I absolutely can’t wait to dig in. Half way through, I knew I couldn’t finish it, so I rushed home to give the rest to my husband. I guess that’s why they call it “shareable.”
While I was dying to speak Spanish to Silvia or Humberto, Fabian, who works full time for his parents, answered a few questions for me while I was waiting for my food.
the Source: How long has Max’s Tacos been at this location?
Fabian Ruiz: Since February of 2024.
tS: What’s the best selling item on the menu?
FR: The breakfast tacos are really killing it right now, we sell a lot of them.
tS: What about lunch and dinner?
FR: Probably the taco combo plates and the beef options.
tS: What is new for 2026?
FR: We’ll be open seven days a week from now on.
tS: I heard a rumor that you offer tamales at the holidays.
FR: It’s not a rumor, we sell tamales at the holidays.
Well, now you know where I’ll be for the next holiday.
Max's Tacos
Mon-Fri 9am-6:30pm Sat 9am-5:30pm
20425 Empire Ave, Bend
This article appears in the Source January 29, 2026.
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