El Bronco Taqueria, Culver City, CA

I've passed by this place for years.  Yes, years.  It is on the corner of Hauser and Venice.  The little shopping center is kind of ghetto.  Perfect.  Part of it is closed, but not?  Yeah, don't be scared off, it is worth stopping by.  So I finally broke down today.  I bought a car.  No, Dolly is not retiring, but I do need a car sometimes, so I got an Impala.  It is a used 2013, has some miles on her, but I dig it.  I think that it fits me if I have to be in a car and it is not the Red Dragon Van that Melissa is normally driving.  This all day process led us to lunch in the area, obviously we were in Culver City.  I wore out that dealership and negotiated all day.  Alexander spent the whole day with Papou and I.  I did leave to go to work for a bit and came back.  I sent a bunch of work emails, had work calls coming through and everything.  It was great to help bargain.  I am very fortunate to have a great job and work for the great folks that I do.  I mean, I work a lot and I work hard, but I do love the people that I work for and with, especially my Shirley, Ramon.  Anyways, I digress, the car is a good fit, got a great deal.  Alexander and Eleni really like it, Juggernaut is a huge fan and just wants to play in it and probably break it.

So that is the new car.  It is charcoal on the outside and dark leather on the inside.  Yes, that is a Honda license plate rim.  We drove around Culver City in the Prius while we were waiting for them to wrap up paperwork and when we drove in front of El Bronco, I knew that was where we were meant to go.  Great call, again our Taco Destiny brought us to the right place.  Not what I expected in there, but it was perfect for the day.  We ordered a great spread for Alexander and I, Papou stuck with a Chili Verde burrito with cheese only like he normally gets from places that have them.  

This place did not disappoint.  By no means is the place amazing or somewhere that I will go out of to be a regular stop, but it is worth going to.  Very worth going to.  

RATINGS:

SALSA: 3, good, not great.  It was solid.  You get a basket of chips and a cup salsa when you order.  Good stuff.  Really nice that they give this stuff to you when you walk in.  I think it is a good touch, the salsa has some spice, but not too much, in my opinion, barely enough.

CHILI VERDE: 4, Papou liked his burrito, I did get a chili verde taco for me and one for Alexander and we both loved them.  Very good.  Nice rounded flavors, sauce was cooked down, I was very pleasantly surprised.  

PASTOR: 2, probably would have been a three, but this was way overcooked.  Made it too hard and just not very tasty.  It was probably the saddest part of this journey.

LENGUA: 4, Alexander and I both liked it.  Nicely cooked, very good stuff.  It was not best ever, but it was good.  I would order again next time if I go back in.

BARBACOA: 2, yucky.  It was just not very good.  Flavors were not melding together correctly.  The seasoning was off, so was the cooking.  It was all just off.

ASADA: 4, yes, it happens, a four on asada.  It was very good.  Flavors were good and it was not overcooked.  It was really nice, tender and flavorful.  Might have been the nicest thing that I ate. 

Best part of the trip was the people.  Not just the two that I brought with me, who are both amazing family members and two of my best friends, but the folks that work there.  They were so nice, so great to everyone who walked in there.  They were just downright good people and I'm really happy that I went there and got to meet them and eat there.  

Yes, that is my young Tacoteer in training again, Alexander.  The people were nice, the table set up was cool, salt, oregano, red pepper flakes, Tapatio.  Nothing else was needed.  Very cool.  Obviously, my favorite part of the trip was being with Alexander and his Papou.  Thanks to all for the re-tweets, re-posts and referrals to the Order, really appreciate it and we are looking forward to a phenomenal New Year!

Happy New Years all, Stay Excellent!

Los Tres Hermanos, Van Nuys (South of Saticoy)

Each story sure is different.  Alexander, Eleni and I went out the other day.  The Juggernaut was sick and I wanted to get the other two out of the house.  What else would I do with them?  Yes, we went Tacoteering.  We were driving down Van Nuys Blvd.  I don't really know why, but we were.  We pulled into a parking lot with some taco place.  As I was helping Alexander out of the van, I asked him if he was excited to eat at the place, he told me it looked fine.  We all know that means that he's not psyched.  I asked him if he wanted to go somewhere different.  We looked across the street and saw this place, Los Tres Hermanos.  He, as I'm sure you can tell he chose to go across the street.  We got back in the van and went across the street.

Place is interesting.  You order at the counter, they give you a number, they bring you your food.  Ladies working there were a bit rude, but whatever.  Inside of the restaurant is nice.  Really nice decor, not too over the top.  So the place is alright.  Nothing too amazing.  The best part of the day was the company that I had.  Two young Tacoteers that are ready to build on a great Tacoteering career.

Alexander and Eleni were on it.  Yes, all that food was for them, and they finished every morsel of it.  Look at the sheer excitement that they have about Tacoteering.  I too was excited.

RATINGS:
BEAN DIP: 3, what you expect.  Not too runny, not really thick.  It was solid.
JALAPENO SALSA: 1, this is my favorite if you don't know. It was separated and runny.  Here is what happened, they didn't cool the oil and jalapenos enough, so when milk was added, it caused it to separate.
SALSA VERDE: 3, decent, didn't blow me away, but I'd eat it if it was there.
SALSA ROJO: 1, disgusting.
SERRANOS:  5, they had serranos on the salsa bar and they were perfect.  Fried, but not overdone.  Spicy, texture was right on and they were delicious.  I was impressed.
BUCHE: 2, not crispy, not cooked enough.  It was chewy and lacked that great flavor that you can get from delicious buche.  Bummed...
POLLO:  2, no flavor, not cooked very well.  It was not raw, not really burnt, but not right, yes, I will pass on future endeavors.
ASADA: 3, not too bad.  I mean it didn't get me excited, but I liked it.  Keep up the solid asada work.
MACHACA: 3, again, nicely done.  I like what they were doing, it is what you'd expect, but won't blow your mind.
ADOBADA: 4, yes, the pastor was on point!  Nicely done.  It was good.  Rich flavors, you could taste some clove, cumin, chili powder.  Nicely marinated and cooked enough without being over done so it was still tender.
CHICKEN FINGER: 4, fried well, good breading and they came out hot with some good french fries.  Perfect for a Tacoteer that has a daughter that will only take a couple of bites of some of the more adventurous tacos.

Yes, you read that correctly, I rated the chicken fingers.  Eleni ate a couple of bites of tacos, but really stuck to the chicken fingers.  Alexander and I also tried the chicken fingers.  Eleni fed me for much of the meal, very excited to pick up the tacos for me.  It was nice being waited on like that.  I don't often have pretty girls that want to give me attention.  Alexander tried everything.  He had at least a half taco of each kind of taco that we tried.  We are working on him getting a solid palate for the rating system.  I know that he is quickly on his way.  This is a picture of our spread:

We find ourselves here at the end of the year.  Will there be another post before the night ends?  I don't know.  I have two more to write, one is from today.  Did some great Tacoteering earlier with Papou and Alexander in the Culver City area.  Here's the thing, thank you.  Thank you to everyone who has read this or any blog.  Thank you for re-tweeting, re-posting, emailing, telling friends.  It is great to see where The Order of the Taco has gotten.  We are working on merchandising and trying to really get the word out about what we are doing.

Thank you again to everyone, please continue to re-tweet, re-post and tell your friends to read all about us.  Happy New Year, Stay Excellent Everyone!

Taqueria Jalisco, Los Angeles, CA

The twists and turns of life continue as they do for everyone.  Work is so busy for everyone this time of year.  I am very included in that this year.  Many things going on.  Busy, busy, busy.  I needed to clear my head.  Just unwind for 20 minutes.  I did.  Today I did it at Taqueria Jalisco.  I was driving from Built to Home Office in Culver City.  I took a slight detour down Washington.  A little North East of La Brea there is a place, can you guess the name?  I'd never heard of this place, I was driving down the street and saw it, pulled over, parked and went in.  Neat joint.  Sort of.

I went in, the guy working there was rude.  Really rude.  He was young and i guess felt important with that register in front of him.  I tried to act like I was impressed.  The menu is solid.  Lots of stuff, but really not too much.  I think a good variety and very clean for the area.  The place looked nice.  They have all sorts of things, and lucky for me, more meats then they display on the menu.  I was very happy when I asked if they had lengua and the answer was yes!

So that is the whole menu.  No pricing on there, but the tacos are only $1.26 a pop, so I don't think that they are being stupid here. Pictures were typical, the food looked good, but no stylist was used in making these photos.  Pretty simple.  Oh yeah, if you didn't see the little cardboard sign, which is always my favorite, cash only.  Yeah, I know, the place is pretty cool.  I obviously liked it.  I mean, how could I not like it?  Small, quaint, cheap, tacos, smelled right.  I was happy that my Taco Destiny took me here.

You can see back there while they are working, which is great.  It is easy to see what is going on back there and they do it all right.  They are quick to make the food.  There was only two people back there working, and they were making it happen.  Meat was kept hot and they did a great job of getting food out quickly.  Pretty steady flow of folks the entire time that I was there.  It was nice to see a place busy like that.  I like seeing these smaller places packing in the people in.  Dine in and carry out both seemed to be thriving.  What did I really think?  It was just ok.  I mean the food was, well, ok.  The salsa bar was unimpressive.  Salsa was just alright.  Salsa were ok, not great.

See, not much to say.  So the onions come into the restaurant and are either pre cut or they use a stamp, not a knife.  I would venture to guess that it is not a knife and not pre cut, because the tomatoes for the pico are also an exact 1/4 of an inch.

RATINGS:
ASADA: 3, not bad, not great.  Seasoning was alright.  Not too much, but had some flavor.
CARNITAS: 2, it is me.  They fry it.  It is just fried pork.  That is all that I can say.  Not bad, but I like the flavor of the slow roast.
LENGUA: 2, mine was way overcooked.  I mean it was mushy and falling apart.  I don't know if it was supposed to be shredded, it really was bad.  Don't eat it.
BUCHE: 3, lightly salted, crispy.  I liked it.  They do a nice job of getting the flavor, texture was on point.  Didn't blow me away, but was not bad.
PASTOR: 3, bit of a cumin overload.  Good stuff, but not great.  I thought it was alright.  I wouldn't go out of my way for it, but this stuff isn't bad.
SALSA VERDE: 2, I love lime, but this was way overload.  Points for being made in house, but just not amazing.
SALSA ROJO: 2, lime overload again?  Yeah, that is what I'm saying.  Smoky, but not bad.  It wasn't horrible, but still not a 3.

Question that is on your mind, should you go there?  Not a horrible idea.  It really wasn't bad.  Stop by and check it out if you are in the area, but don't go out of your way.  It is a "3" of a place overall.  Not bad, but nothing great, have I said that enough ways?  I'm just starting to ramble a bit here, so I'm going to sign off.

Thank you so much for reading and checking the blog out.  Please do tell your friends, Stay Excellent!

Paco's Tacos, Near LAX

Yeah, I know, you've seen this place too.  I've driven by a bunch of times never gone in.  We were going to go to old faithful El Tarasco but opted for something new.  Somewhere I have not written about.  So, I went here, to Paco's.  HUGE mistake.  This place, well, yeah, it sucks.  I don't know how they were as busy as they were, and they were not that busy.

Here's the good.  They make their own tortillas, that is cool and they are delicious.  I did not have a drink, but the bar looked pretty cool and the drinks looked good.  The company was nice.  My dad was with me and we got sometime to chat and enjoy some one on one time.

As for the rest of the story, well, lets just jump into the ratings:
CHIPS: 2, they were just not very good.  Tasted like they came out of an old bag from Vons.
SALSA: 3, not bad, what you would expect.  They just get a little seasoning happy.  I love a twist on flavors.  They add clove.  That is cool, but too much clove, not cool, too bad dude, you could have been a 4.
TORTILLA: 4, they were good.  They were not amazing.  Amazing is many other places I've been to, but they were above average.  I think that they handle the dough a little too much and it caused them to be a little less fluffy then they could have been, but they were still above average.
ASADA: 1, this might have been the worse asada I've ever tasted.  It was horrid.  Really, really, really horrid.  Tough, chewy, no flavor, nasty.
PASTOR: 2, eww.  Yeah, that is my description.  Way too much aciote, too much clove and too much seasoning in general.  Again overcooked.  Don't eat it.
HARD SHELL BEEF TACO: 3, this is one of the things that they are known for.  Well, I'm sad to taste that.  It was ok.  Typical three.  Not great, not bad, not much of anything that I'm thinking about ever again in my life.
CHILI RELLENO BURRITO: 2, if you don't know, I'm a huge relleno burrito fan.  I love them.  This thing was full of broth, celery and more celery.  The pepper was not cooked correctly and the inside was not good.  They screwed up a huge favorite of mine.  Come on people, you can do better, I would think.

So there is the burrito and the taco, yeah, you can see all of the celery.  Plenty of cheap cheese that they try to mask their flavorless food under.  NOT FOOLED.  Here is the skinny on the place, it is super pricey.  You are going to drop some bucks in this joint and the service is horrible.  It might be one of the places you can go for the worst service imaginable.  They were slow, unattentive and down right rude.  While taking our order, another waiter walked up to ours, handed him someone else's check and he didn't say anything to us, walked away, processed then came back to us and asked if we wanted anything else.  Yeah, not a fan.  I love the way that they couldn't refill chips or salsa without us flagging people down over and over.  NOT IMPRESSED.

The food is all over seasoned.  They love clove and cinnamon.  They are fans of aciote.  They just drench cheap product in seasoning and spices and think that the consumer will be fooled.  We did not go rogue here.  We ordered a hard shell taco (supposedly one of the things that put them on the map), Paco's Burrito (chili relleno) and Paco's Plate.  The beans are just ok, the rice is junk.  Yeah, junk.  It is just not very tasty.  Use broth, fake broth instead of tap water?  I don't know, but they need to figure this out.  This place has been around so long, maybe it's resting on its laurels.  I can assure you I will try to avoid even driving by.  I really was just disappointed all the way around.  This is Paco's Plate:

So this turned into a burn.  Me just burning away on some place.  I do apologize that these just happen.  It was just junk.  The plus side is that I got to spend a bit of time hanging with just my dad.  It was fun to be with him.  I'm sorry that I feel like we got ripped off, I'm sorry that we had to endure that horrible meal.  I'm glad that you folks too the time to read.  I'm glad that I got to take my Order of the Taco tattoo tacoteering. Here is the link to their website in case you are bored:
http://pacoscantina.com/
This is my dad, in case you didn't know him:

I appreciate everyone who read and took the time to hear about this experience.  Please tell your friends to follow, I'm going to start getting some Order of the Taco gear going soon.  Party on everyone and Stay Excellent.

The Great San Diego Crawl of 2013 Part 4, the final part of this trip...

It is the last blog of the San Diego Excursion.  Four chapters sums a good part of the day, but cannot describe the great times that we had.  The pictures shown do no justice to all that we saw, did, experienced.  Yeah, good times.

Smiles like this, from Nate:

Bites like that, from Mike:

They just don't fully illustrate the story...

So, we are driving back up.  We get to Bucky's and Peck and Paul jumped in the Honda and shot towards LAX, or did they?  We have a "Whatsapp" for The Order of the Taco.  It is awesome.  We share messages, thoughts, stories, articles, everything.  It is a very entertaining thing.  I digress, yes, you should know this by now.  So Paul and Peck are in "such a rush to get to LAX."  I got the rest of the story from the pictures and from my dad.  They went to El Tarasco, an Order favorite.

I will say that it was great to have both of my little brothers there with us on this trip.  Paul was on round one, Peck was in town for round two and that made it better.  I mean, I don't cuddle with them like I do Brandon, or talk to them with the same fever I do Mike, but their presence was most excellent.  So yeah, they went to El Tarasco, if you haven't been, it's in Manhattan and a few in the surrounding area, please check it out.

While they are eating alone, without the group, we got cigars together, made sure the hot tub was ready and watched the sunset from Casa de Monstrosity:

Yes, we parked the Red Dragon so that it could face the sunset and watch...

Alright, so we regroup at Bucky's, have a couple of beers and decide we are going to get wings, things and of course, more tacos.  Where to go, where to go.  We weren't driving the exhausting six miles to the last two places on the list.  We did the impromptu thing we'd been doing all day and went to Tonlin's.  What is this place?  Taco place in a liquor store?  Umm, yes!  

If you ask me, I'll tell you that all those things on that sign are done in the same store, and you can sign me up for more.  The place is unique, really it is.  Their flavors are unique.  So here are some shots.
The store front:

The Menu:

The Wall between the Liquor Store and Taqueria:

The food was great.  Tripas were a 5, nothing else went below a 3.  Only warning that I have is that everything comes with pinto beans, I liked it.  I didn't think I would, but it was nice.  Their salsa bar is a 4:

What a spread.  It was all really good.  Nice flavors, spicy.  I dig it.  I enjoyed the whole thing.

So we get all the food back to the house.  The spread was second to none:

Yeah, we were ready to chow the heck down!  We did.  We enjoyed every bit of that food.  The tacos, wings, fries, everything.  It was so good.  I enjoyed every bite I had.  We went to the backyard, some smoked cigars, some got in the Jacuzzi.  It was a great way to unwind as we all told stories about the day, yelled at the TV, just enjoyed each other's company.  Were we done?

No!

We piled into the van and we went to this great dive bar.  The clientele was fantastic.  Pool tables, fake shuffle board, wood trim, you can close your eyes and imagine.  It had a "smoking section."  I loved this place.  The guys played a little shuffle board, I really just sat around watching people.

There was some great people in there if you hadn't caught the drift.  A couple in their late 40's were arguing, she says she is more orally inclined then her friend and wanted to show the guy.  We laughed listening.  Some girl who was disproportional just below her neck, pronounced just as much on the right and left side of her chest was all over the bar.  She was not attractive.  She still had "her old nose."  She was running around screaming how it was her birthday and nobody cared.  She was right, no one in the bar cared.  She was grinding on a support beam to the bar and thought it was a guy.  Really entertaining.  Nate and I caught up with some guy in an Alabama shirt as he was drowning the sorrows of the loss to Auburn.  Needless to say great end to the day.  Did it end right there, pretty much, though I will say that Nate sang us all to bed.  He is not the best singer, but I appreciate his efforts and moxy.

We went back to Bucky's, everyone picked a spot and went to sleep.  I had to take off my socks:

Yes, I wore those socks all day.  They are my taco socks, don't act like you're not impressed.

At the end of the day, I appreciate everyone on the trip and everyone who reads.  This thing is a ton of fun.  I'm glad we have a logo, coming to a shirt near you.  I thank everyone who has read, will read or is reading.  Please tell your friends, foes and acquaintences.  Extra special thanks to the dudes that went on the trip with me, Mike Phillips, Chris Randall, Nick Thomas, Nate Lee, James Anastasios, Mark Chan, Brandon Begley, Paul Zaferis and Andrew Zaferis.  

This is my thanks for reading face!

Stay Excellent Everyone!

The Great San Diego Crawl of 2013 Part 3

After I park the van, I walk up to the taqueria that I told you about in part 2.  The group is gathered around as I cross the street.  They all have a shit eating grin on their face.  You know the look.  Big smile, squinted eyes.  Yeah, borderline mischievous.  As I'm approaching the group, Bucky says "we have an idea."  I said "yes."  They looked at me confused.  I said "whatever the idea, I say yes, lets do it, I'm all in."  I figure at this point, the day is about to take its twist, turn for the crazy.  Nate gets a bigger smile and says, "are you sure?"  I said I was and they told me that I needed to get a tattoo.  I nodded my head without a flinch and reiterated, "yes, I'm down like Charlie Brown."  There was only one reaction caught on camera that really summed up the feelings of the group.

Yes, we told Brandon he could shave my leg.  Peck again has a confused look on his face.  We go to the tattoo parlor next to the taqueria.  No dice, few hour wait, we are giving up and going to hit a bar then head up to the next taco joint.  Luckily, the guys suggested their sister shop which was just a few blocks up.  We go to the orange store front and introduce ourselves.

The best part of the day was listening to Bucky, Mark and Nate explain the tattoo we were going to have put on me.  A pig that is inside a taco.  "We want a bewildered look on his face."  Nate then says, "imagine if you were in a taco and about to get eaten."  The artist, nodded his head, said, "got it" then came back with this:

So the logo was born.  We now have a logo for The Order of the Taco.  There is one addition and that is an earring.  A pig, with a scared, bewildered look inside of a taco.  Is there a better fit, I think not.  Mark and I looked at each other and said "perfect." So yeah, that drawing led to this:

 

As I was lying there getting this impromptu tattoo, the guys sat there wondering what to do:

They walked up the street and saw this awesome guy who is a forever friend of the Order, Brian.  As they are doing that, more magic happened.  Bucky and Chris made a sweet old lady on a motorized cart cry.  Let me tell you something, in this case, they cannot still serve a purpose.  Unless you take the laugh factor into consideration.

She is going by and almost takes the guys out.  They don't say anything, this is of course their story and she whips by them, almost goes up on two wheels and goes around the corner.  Obviously after she cusses them out for obviously being rude and talking trash.  She comes back later, Chris takes the dive out of the way and Bucky engages her in a game of chicken.  Yeah, this man has no fear.  She comes back and apologizes.  The Order is sure that she heard them talking trash about her after encounter 1.  She comes back crying and apologizes, saying that they are nice and that she overreacted and has had a bad day and most people are so mean.  Here's my take on this story, there is a reason that winners write history.  Yeah, I said it, we got to write the story, so we are the innocent nice guys that were victimized by an older, very heavy woman on a motorized cart.  

So many of our members, and I mean most of them don't have tattoos.  They don't realize that they take time.  So they came back and regrouped to find out the next step in the day.

James's face says it all:  "I need a beer."  The group went up the street and hit up a great local place.

They all had a great time and James is so much happier now:

Yeah, so everyone is enjoying a few cocktails, having some fun, getting more hungry for more tacos.  I continue to lie there and get inked.  I was enjoying myself.  Artist said it was the first time anyone has ever not moved at all and his first pig inside of a taco.  He is a great guy, from the Philippines.  His family lives in the mountains and was not effected by the devastating hurricane that hit his country recently.  

The tattoo was done, and I went to meet the group.  I was of course passing on a cocktail as we had to get to driving.  Tattoo is perfect:

Yeah, I dig it.  The guy did a great job and I look forward to going to see him again for another tattoo in the future.  Seriously, it was a great time.  I'll save up some cash and maybe get "The Order of the" put above this bad boy.  Yeah, I know, it's not for everyone, but it works for me and it represents how anything can happen with me and these guys and we will always have fun.  It is a testament to my appreciation to all of these guys and how much they all mean.  This is my Neverland.  It is a made up world that I control and imagine all that I want to imagine and it just appears.  These trips are a fantasy for me.  A fantasy of fun.  Just great people hanging out, enjoying a great time.  I lover "Order" and I'm glad she's on my leg.  I never would have believed that I would do something like this and don't have the intention of doing it again, but I have no regrets for this tattoo.  I've been pining for some new ink anyways.  We ran into the artist right after the tattoo, he went on break:

We all headed towards the cars from here.  Paul and Peck were heading North to LAX, Peck had to catch a flight back to Denver, Paul needed to get some rest, the rest of us went to Casa de Monstrosity to catch a beer there, regroup and get some more tacos so that we could enjoy the Kings game and the USC/UCLA Football game.

Here is half the group in the "Red Dragon" heading North to regroup, there is much more to this story, but that is for the next blog.  Part 4 is coming soon.  Thanks for reading, Stay Excellent.

The Great San Diego Crawl of 2013 Part 2

Welcome to part 2.  Well, where were we, ahh, yes, we were at Tacos el Gordo in Chula Vista.  So what happened?  Well, some good eating as I said:

Yum, yum gimme some!  My mouth is watering just looking at this food again.  I mean, the picture does it no justice.

So what went down at Tacos el Gordo while we were eating?  It started with James.  Yes, James.  I don't know how, but he found a very broken chair and tried to use it in mid air.

He took the chair on a tour and we found it quite entertaining.  We also lost Mark.  Where was he?  Well, he was in line.  He was in line long after we had all ordered, paid and eaten.  Mark Chan and his camera were waiting for food for much longer then anyone in the history of this restaurant.  If you look closely, Mark is in the bottom of this picture finally eating as Mike stares at him judging.

I can't tell you how proud we all were seeing Mark finally get up to the front to order like a big boy.  He did really great.

After Mark finished eating, James was done playing with his chair and we all gazed upon the beautiful cones of meat, we went back out to the cars.  We jumped in ready to head North to San Diego.  The Chula Vista chapter is closed.  How will the rest go?  According to plan?  Will there be a stop at a church like last trip?  Are we going to see some crazy guy sweeping the sidewalk with his hands?  The answer is no, but there is many more things to happen, so lets get into what really did go down.

Our next stop is Tacos el Rey.  We were pretty psyched about this place.  It moved not long ago so many people thought that it was closed down.  I called to make sure and was ready to roll.  This was supposed to be our most expensive spot.  We were all ready to go.  We were all ready to enjoy more tacos.  Truth be told I was super hungry.  I was pacing myself and by the time we were heading this way, I was really ready to eat.  We walk up to find that the place decided, even though they told me they were going to be open, closed for the Holiday weekend.  This did not sit well with me.  I was pretty damn furious.  I run restaurants, you can't just close!  As an operator and a guest, I was really not happy, can you tell yet???

We were deciding what to do when we looked on the sidewalk and saw a little garden that clearly belongs to the restaurant.  It was full of many things, tomatoes, mint, sage, cilantro, peppers, dog piss.  Yeah, I said it, dogs piss on their vegetables.  Don't eat their dog pee-pee vegetables.

Where do we go from here?  Our first curve ball.  Wait, what's that Bucky?  What did you say Mike?

Yes, Andrew is confused by this idea that they have.  I'm good with it.  It is some place a few blocks up.  Great tacos, or were they?  No one that had been there had ever been there during the day, it was always 1 am or earlier in the morning, so how accurate was the judgement?  Next thing we know, we are there.

Part 3 will talk about what happened when we got there, but lets talk about these tacos.  Pretty good.  Pretty much, yes, I would go there again.  Cabeza was a 4.  Salsas were good.  They are a little slow on the service, but they are making the stuff for you right then and it was great.  Mike braved the line as we were distracted with many other things.

What are they conspiring about?  What is going on here?  Yes, that is for the next blog.  They are outside the taqueria plotting, scheming, not really knowing what is about to happen.  A few twists and turns are about to hit us all.  Does Chris think its a good idea?

He does, yes, I think he does.  So, the next blog is coming later, it will explain this:

What is Brandon doing?  I don't get it?  Where are we?  Why are my socks so awesome?

Thanks for reading, Part 3 coming soon, Stay Excellent.