Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Taco Crawl 2011

The Great Taco Crawl returns for the 2011 edition. The group was bigger, the locations a bit more spread out, the tacos still great. We embarked on our adventure on a sunny Sunday afternoon on the 21st of August.

As mentioned, this year the locations required more carbon emissions (sorry earth). Last year we mainly stayed in the Highland Park-Eagle Rock area. Also, last year we, for the most part, just consumed your average sized smallish tacos that you get from trucks. The 2011 version of the group consisted of Matt, Rob, Allison, Ben, Lela, Mike (for half of it), Andrew, Anthony and myself.

The first stop was Flor del Rio, Birrieria. We arrived at about 11am. Delicious stewed goat tacos. I over ordered 3 plates of meat accompanied by cups of aromatic heavenly broth.



Seriously, that broth alone was ace. I could taste the layers of flavor. I think there was a hint of star anise or cinnamon. The meat was great too. Tender and infused with the spices built in the broth. The lovey ladies working the joint brought out fresh chopped onion, cilantro and lime wedges to add as we pleased. There was also tortillas and a red salsa for heat. We finished the three plates because the motto for this day was "No taco left behind." A great start to the crawl. Very good.
Our second destination was picked for their shrimp tacos, Mariscos Jalisco. This was my favorite taco of the crawl. When you get your taco it just looks like a deep fried pocket, topped with generous portions of avocado and covered in a beautiful red salsa. When you bite into it you discover that the shrimp inside are succulent and fresh tasting. The exterior is crunchy, the salsa provides nice flavor without overpowering the shrimp and the avocado adds a nice creaminess. This taco is a genius creation, expertly constructed . Ben also ordered a half dozen oysters. They were huge and very fresh, I could smell and taste the ocean. This truck kicks major ass. I wish they were closer to my place of residence. Must return as soon as possible. Muy bueno.



The third stop was located in a car wash parking lot, don't judge the tacos based on their location. Tacos Los Güichos does carnitas. Today they had rib, buche and another cut that I can't remember. All of the cuts of meat are fried in a giant metal pot of goodness. The bubbling pot of meat had me in a trance. I had the rib tacos. These tacos were big and tasty. What stood out for me were the many accompaniments. I topped our order with pickled onions and habañero peppers, which were very very hot. They also had a large and nice selection of salsas. Those who had the buche were raving on it's fine texture and flavor. The rib carnitas were good but I should of had the buche, dang. Good.



Next we visited the great Ricky of Ricky's fish tacos. We returned to this epic establishment because it was the favorite from last year and most of this year's crawl crew had never experienced the greatness. We all had the fish tacos, except Mike he also had a shrimp. Of course the tacos were great. It's still the best fish taco I've had in LA. You can read some more here when we visited last year. One thing was different with Ricky's, the crowds are bigger. Get here early. Very good.



Stop numero cinco was across town. Tinga the newish fancy taco joint. This spot is hip and offers a nice selection of tacos. Tinga is a small establishment with a nice ambiance. The group ordered two types of tacos, potato and cochinita pibil. The potato tacos were nice, they included green and red peppers and a sprinkle of cheese. The potato was mashed and appeared as if it was finished on a griddle. The cochinita pibil tacos were SPICY, topped with pickled onions and a chipotle sauce (fire in sauce form). These tacos packed a punch, a knockout punch. The table was hurting, they burned so good. Much sweat and tears were shed for this taco. The flavor was great, just don't let them touch your lips while placing them in your mouth or you'll be feeling the heat for a while. Very good.



Our next stop was an old favorite and another from last year, Cacao Mexicatessen. You can read about it on last year's post here. Some people on the taco crew were newbies to this Eagle Rock jewel. Plus they have so many types of tacos. I've barely scratched their taco menu surface. On this occasion I went with the squash blossom taco. I must admit, it was my least favorite taco on the crawl. It consisted mostly of poblano chile strips and was pretty spicy (which was not a bad thing). I was expecting an abundance of squash blossom goodness, but was sadly disappointed. Everyone else in the group very much enjoyed their orders. Next time I'll stick with the exotic meats and bacon tacos. I still love you Cacao.

The original list for this year consisted of 11 stops. Like last year, it changed. This is an organic process. You can never predict the factors that go into a crawl. Sometimes as you are driving you see something that looks interesting. Or as you are about to go to a second or third seafood place you realize that you need immediate variety. Sometimes you hit the wall sooner than anticipated. On this epic day we had experienced big tacos, very spicy tacos and long distances of travel. When arriving at our seventh spot we were sure that it wouldn't be the last of the day, we were wrong (Although Andrew was physically and mentally prepared for more).


This truck is located in East LA, Tacos Cuernavaca, their specialty, tacos de cecina (jerked beef). When I was placing our order I mentioned to the gentleman behind the window that we were on a crawl, eating our way through the east side of LA. We ended up getting a bunch of food on the house. This truck rules. The gentleman just kept pushing food out of his window and it was greatly accepted and appreciated. No tacos left behind. All of the food was tasty but the star was the cecina. The meat, a thin cut had a nice spiced profile with some char marks for added flavor. The taco also had a red salsa that was not too spicy. Good stuff. The amount of grub that we received at this truck put an end to Taco Crawl 2011. High fives all around. This year was a monster success, I had a great time, until next year.



The stops:

-Flor del Rio, Birrieria (restaurant) - 3201 E. 4th St., Boyle Heights
-Mariscos Jalisco (truck) - 3040 E. Olympic Blvd.
-Tacos Los Güichos (trailer) - Southwest corner of Slauson and Avalon
-Ricky's (stand) -
1400 N. Virgil
-Tinga (restaurant) - 142 S. La Brea
-Cacao Mexicatessen (restaurant) - 1576 Colorado Blvd.
-Tacos Cuernavaca (truck) - Whittier Blvd. & Eastmond, East LA

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Song of the day

The Attack of Matt








Watch your back.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

The 1st Annual Taco Crawl!

Recently I embarked on a journey of taco goodness with 3 other friends, Matt, Rob, and Jorge. There were no parameters for the first annual taco crawl. I suppose the only parameter was that we had to eat tacos. No problem. I compiled a list of spots that would start in Los Feliz then lead us to Highland Park and Eagle Rock, with maybe some additional stops along the way. The first spot, which was not on my list but should have been was the obvious taco stand located down the street from my apartment. A spot that I, former roommates and many friends have frequented over the past seven years. Ginas Taco would get this crawl started.


Rules were never established for this crawl and when I compiled the list I made it up of a few spots that I've visited. The majority of this list was compiled of places that I've read about, heard of or that I just wanted to eat at. I also wanted variety on the list and variety is what we got. At Ginas Taco I started the crawl with a cabeza taco, it was a good primer for the day ahead.

Following are the highlights. All of the tacos were enjoyable but some really stood out.

After enjoying our first fish taco of the day at the Best Fish Taco in Ensenada we had to check twitter to locate our next stop. We walked a few blocks to Ricky's Fish Tacos. His set up is simple and unassuming. Two deep frying pans plus a couple of chairs and tables. We each had a fish taco, the batter crispy and delicious. The fish moist and a portion big enough to engulf the tortilla. Ricky tops the taco with a fresh pico de gallo and cabbage. On the side there are bottles with cream and salsa for you to squirt as you please. This is a spectacular taco. Plus Ricky is a really nice guy. I will return to try the shrimp version.



Next we stopped at our first taco truck on this trip. Los Paisas on Figueroa, next to the big lots. I had a tripa (intestine) taco. I was asked if I wanted the tripas crispy and of course I said yes. I ordered it with a green salsa. Good.

The fifth stop was Metro Balderas. I had the al pastor taco . I don't know if their "al pastor" is cooked on a spit because the kitchen is not visible. Regardless it was very delicious. Not too spicy with chunks of pineapple. The taco had a perfect balance of sweet and savory. Very good.

At La Estrella we all decided to go with the shrimp tacos. We didn't expect what we got. What we got were giant tacos with what had to be 10 shrimp per taco, these things were beasts. The batter on the shrimp was spicy and light which was good because the taco was ginormous and too much batter would have weighed it down even more. It came with cabbage, cream, pico de gallo and a red salsa. The shrimp tasted fresh and tender. I could have easily made 3 or 4 smaller tacos out of this massive creature. It was good and satisfying, my belly was reaching it's tipping point.


My Taco provided the second best or best taco out of the crawl (Ricky's and My Taco were my top two). The lamb taco, taco de borrego, arrived with a sprinkle of cilantro and chopped onion. I had a choice of many topping from the salsa bar. But honestly this taco was delicious without salsa, the meat succulent and full of flavor with bits of crispy parts. It tasted as though the meat had been stewed for many hours in spices and other good stuff then grilled right before being placed on two tortillas. I was tempted to order another, but I knew this crawl was far from over. I must return here soon. Drool.



El Huarache Azteca specializes in huaraches but they also make some good tacos. I knew they carried huitlacoche, corn truffle or corn fungus and that is what we were here for. The huitlacoche taco was not very appealing to the eye. The flavor was good though, a smoky, earthy, mushroom-like taste. Although I still prefer my huitlacoche in a quesadilla. Good.


Fortunately for us Kogi was on our path of taco destruction. By this point the crew added another friend, Jeremy. After a brief break we made our way to the infamous Korean taco truck. I've had Kogi many times but I have to be honest, I didn't like their tacos the first time around. It could have been the combination of waiting in the cold for the truck to arrive then waiting in line, then not getting my full order, then walking to my car and finally eating cold tacos. Also the relish/salsa was too overpowering and I couldn't really taste the short rib meat. It was also during the peak of the Kogi rage. I've given the truck many go's and can say that I became a fan, plus I think the tacos just taste better now. For this taco crawl we had the short rib taco and it was delicious, it was like experiencing Kogi for the first time (it was the first time for the rest of the crew). The meat was tasty and the salsa/relish provided a nice kick but was not overpowering. Very good.

Cacao Mexicatessen was a late addition to the list. This place provides gourmet Mexican dishes with such options as duck carnitas, wild boar, rabbit and much more. We all decided to have the bacon enchocolatado tacos. Basically bacon in a chocolate mole sauce on house made corn tortillas with little slivers of jalapeño on top. The bacon was thick and cut into little cubes of goodness while swimming in a spicy chocolaty sauce. These were more on the spicy side. Splendid little morsels of flavor. Muy bueno.



By the end of this crawl I was just handing off my barely consumed tacos to my fellow comrades. The last stops were good but I was just too full to enjoy them.

Below is the final list of locations. The variety of tacos we ate included al pastor (pork), mole & bacon, huitlacoche (corn truffle), cabeza (head meat), lamb, fish, shrimp, lengua (tongue), asada, tripa (intestine) and buche (stomach).

The List

1. Ginas Taco - 470 W Colorado St, Glendale
2. Best Fish Taco in Ensenada - 1650 Hillhurst Ave, Los Feliz
3. Ricky's Fish Tacos - Check his Twitter for location
4. Los Paisas (truck) - 5100 N Figueroa Street, Highland Park
5. Metro Balderas - 5305 N. Figueroa St, Highland Park
6. La Estrella - 6310 N Figueroa, Highland Park (they also have a truck on York)
7. My Taco - 6300 York Blvd, Ste. 4, Highland Park
8. El Huarache Azteca - 5528 York Blvd, Highland Park
9. Kogi (truck) - Check their Twitter for location
10. Cacao Mexicatessen - 1576 Colorado Blvd, Eagle Rock
11. El Pique (truck)- York and Ave 53 Highland Park
12. Tacos Sinaloa (truck)- Figueroa and Ave 55, Highland Park
13. El Takitaco (truck) - Figueroa St and Ave 51, Highland Park
14. El Taco Sabroso (truck) - 5100 N Figueroa Street, Highland Park