Valley Greek Festival

ALL I WANT IS MEAT FROM THE CONE!  For years we have heard this at the Festival.  This year, Chris and Bucky made the cone dream a reality for many Gyro enthusiasts in the San Fernando Valley.  We all dedicate one weekend a year to the festival, well kind of two as last year we were out at another church helping, but are all in for the Festival.  For us, it is another great excuse for us to work together, laugh together, fight over how to cut meat and enjoy the growth of a community that most of us grew up in and some of us fell into.  Festival is a great reminder of one of truths that echo through this blog.  It really doesn't matter what you are doing, it matters who you are doing it with.

 I know you look across that line, see Mary, Frankalicious, Peter the machine Karagianis and the beautiful Mark Schultz.  All are related in some way to the Order of the Taco.  The support and love for our late friend, wife and sister Krissy still hangs in the booth as a reminder of the love that we have for each other.  King's flags and jersey's line the booth as we prepare to watch two games in three days in the booth so that we don't miss rooting on our favorite sports team.

I was serious.  With the help of Tony Iokiam getting us power and Bucky/James IT genius and of course sling box, we did not miss a minute of hockey action.  We love our church's community, but we really don't like to miss games.  Any chance that as many of us are together as there were, we have to take advantage.  A great part was the loud cheers and chants from us and the great reception from the Festival patrons as we yelled GO KINGS GO!

Yes, I brought tortillas and made Gyro tacos for the grew before we got going.  We had onions, we had gyro meat, I brought the tortillas, cilantro, lime, hot sauce.  WIN!  We had a little pre-festival taco feast for those of us working the Gyro booth.  The tacos were delicious, the company was better.

Yes, there were many more tacos made, but this is all that was left by the time I got my camera.  We have hungry Tacoteers pining for some tacos.  The grilled onions with the cilantro and lime were pretty much to die for.  Yes, we are generous, yes we share, we even had a guy come by the booth looking for hot sauce.  I may have pulled some sauce out of my bag and shared...

You bet your pita bread that is my brother Paul cutting some more Gyro Meat!  Look at a skilled craftsman on his task.  FYI, it is darn hot in front of those machines.  There were many booths at the festival, but the one that had the hottest chicks.

Melissa, Nikki and Evie.  Three amazing woman working the Greek Market and doing the cooking demonstrations.  It was a favorite spot for me because they were the ones making and serving the Greek Coffee!  It helped keep me awake.

Like I've said over and over, the community is great.  The way everyone binds together for each other, our church and the faith is pretty fantastic.  It is a phenomenal nod to our Greek Culture and I'm lucky to be a small part of it.

This story was more about the people than the tacos.  I'm lucky to be a part of such a great community with great people, friends and Tacoteers.  I really had to think about this blog and the gratuitous good bye photo.  Today it is Mike.  It sums up what a great guy, excellent Nouno and amazing friend he is.  We've been working the festival together since we were little kids.

Lots of great people in the photo, but look at the winning smile from Mike.

Stay Excellent Everyone!

Rincon Taurino, Panorama City, CA

They say "the truth will set you free."  Well  my friends, it did.  I was asked by a very good friend, someone I hold dear on where to go for some tacos.  He asked for the best around the area.  I could have told him a more "convenient" place, but I sent him here.  To one of my favorites, a favorite of everyone in The Order of the Taco, Rincon Taurino.  The beauty of this majestic story is that he caught me off guard and asked me to go with him.  Adam is a great dude.  He has been married for a bit and has a great wife.  They are a great fit.  It was awesome listening to him tell stories about the two of them.  Adam is one of those guys that it doesn't matter how long we go, which is never too long without talking, it is like we never missed a beat.  He is super close with our entire family.  He is so great to my wife, kids, brothers and parents.  He is a part of our family that we are lucky to have.  We always enjoy when Adam shows up.  He lives in San Diego now, has for a while.  Like I said, I was really excited when he text me he wanted to stop by, I was even more elated when he said he wanted to go Tacoteering.  Below is a picture of the two of us.  Adam is the one who doesn't look like me:

How do I really describe this place.  I mean it is a top 5 all time.  It is a beautiful place full of deliciousness that should be enjoyed.  It is also right next to an ice skating rink which gives this location some great Order of the Taco street credit.  I have a huge frustration with RT.  They have a burrito created by one of the greatest taco eating minds of our times.  The Buck Monstrosity has what he calls the Perfect Burrito.  I insist on calling it the Bucky Burrito.  It is so fantastic.  My struggle going there is that I always want a Bucky Burrito, but I feel like I'm missing out on some of their other great meat options.  Here's the thing, this trip, we were going to get tacos, but we had to get tacos because it is the weekend and on the weekend, they make their barbacoa.  Yeah, that is a lock for us.  So the Bucky Burrito has milanesa and pastor.  I'm not giving away anymore.  You have to take The Buck Monstrosity their and pay for lunch yourself.  If he feels that you are worthy, he can tell you how to make the burrito.  Yeah, it's like that.

So there is the menu.  Looks bigger then it is.  Pretty simple, pretty to the point, pretty much just fantastic.  Their beverages are made in house, they really do it all the right way.  Decor in this place is second to none.  I love it.  It literally yells: "come eat tacos!"

If that doesn't scream "eat tacos" then I don't know what does.  They have the games for the kids, maximizing space to make money, I love this joint.  This place is the whole package which is what makes it so special.  The food here, like I said is second to none.  They do everything right in front of you, so you know that it is fantastic.

Yes, that is a head that was cooked and they are getting the meat off to serve to you.  It really is a place that you need to go and experience.  It is really fun to watch them work.  They are all very nice and will talk to you about what they are doing and explain why and how.  I love that.  It is educational and a great place for the kids to learn how to cook.  It is important that we use the whole animal when cooking.  There is important minerals and vitamins in all the parts that we need to stay healthy.  These guys get it.  One of the most attractive things for me to see in the world is here:

Yes, that is their delicious Pastor.  Lets jump into the ratings, shall we?

RATINGS:
SALSA: 4, I like this stuff a lot.  They serve you with two.  They are both a 4.  They could be a 5, but they lack the complexity.  They really are the most basic thing that they do here, but obviously they do it pretty damn well.
ASADA: 4, its good.  Its above average.  Its asada.  They really do go above with the perfect cooking.  It is cooked all the way through, but it is super juicy.  Super tender and tasty.   The flavors are on point.
BARBACOA: 5, yeah, this stuff is just done right.  A goat explosion of tenderness and flavor.  It is one of, if not the best barbacoa that I've had.  It is only available on weekends.
BUCHE: 3, just average.  I think it should be slightly more crispy, but it is good stuff.  It is tender and fresh.
SUADERO: 5, holy moly.  Theirs really is top.  It is just good old fashion deliciousness.  Adam loved this stuff.  It was so on point when we were there.
CABEZA: 4, I'm a huge fan of theirs.  It is made right and good every time.
PASTOR: 5, this is a 5 with an exclamation point.  The only place that I've found that really compares is Tacos el Gordo in Chula Vista.  Theirs is off the cone, a little spicy and downright great stuff.  It is so good, you need to finish reading this and head over there to try this stuff.

Consistency is the hallmark of a great restaurant.  My employees are so tired of hearing me say that, but this place proves its true.  I've gone to and rated a number of places that on any given day can be a 5, but are often in the 2's and 3's.  They just didn't bring it those days.  These guys bring it every day, every shift, every hour.  I've never had a meal and been disappointed here, which is part of why they are in the "big 5" of all time for The Order of the Taco.  I've been to a few of their locations and they've all delivered.  I took a picture of their napkin just so you can see where their locations are in case you are going to go by today, take pictures and email them to me, tell me what you think:

Yeah, I know fancy right?  So, if you have feedback about my pictures, let me know.  I was really bad about them when the blog first started, but have really tried to make them better.  Really have them illustrate the story much better then my mindless jabber.  I have started to play with the backgrounds, colors, make them "vintage" or the other named lights and things to try to make it more exciting.  I'm always open for some feedback, so bring it on!

Before I sign off, three things.  First, thanks Adam.  You are the man.  I'm so glad that we got to hang out and got to go Tacoteering.  I appreciate you and your friendship.  I'm glad that we brought tacos home for Melissa, she loved the tacos!  Second, look for the Buck Monstrosity.  If he is there, buy him a Bucky Burrito and he will tell you what is in it so that you too can enjoy some burrito perfection.  Lastly, a gratuitous Adam shot for the road:

Yeah, the look of a taco eating champion.  It was his first time Tacoteering people, give him a round of applause!

Thanks for reading, please continue to tell your friends, re-tweet, re-post, read these things.  Stay Excellent!

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.

Lucha Libre, San Diego, CA

Yesterday morning Dolly, my beard and I rode down the 5 to beautiful San Diego for the next 9 to 12 Days.  Ramon and I are going to be opening a The Counter here in the San Diego Airport.  The ride down was nice, settling in here wasn't too shabby.  I've been sent a lot of places over the years, San Diego is one of the better ones.  I have these views from the room's patio:

San Diego also is the resting place of the Great Buck Monstrosity.  If you don't know, I'm a huge fan of The Monstrosity.  I will get some great tacos with him prior to my exit of this fair city.  In case you want to say hi to the Monstrosity and you are not sure if you've seen him, I'll provide a picture below.  The hot chick in the picture is his lovely wife, so don't stare at her, just say hi, uncomfortably shake her hand and keep walking.  The hot dude in the picture is the Monstrosity.  You can call him Mr Bucky, Mr Monstrosity or sir when you see him:

Now that you know where I am, what I'm doing and who I'm with, please get all of your Ron Burgundy jokes out of the way.  I know, most of you have never been to the great city of San Diego, saw it on a movie and you feel a connection.  It's deep, its meaningful and I'm glad that you get to share that bond.  

So on a suggestion, since we didn't have much time yesterday, we hit up Lucha Libre.  I love the WWF or E or whatever letter they put after it now, however a Mexican restaurant with a fake wrestling theme, again, movie connection here, is not for me.  I will apologize in advance for the photos below.  First, they are not to scale, second, they are just not good.  I don't have a good reason why, they just suck.  

Yes, that is a blurry picture of the menu board.  I know, I thought the same thing and I did say it to Ramon, "why are we here?  The menu is way too big."  Size does matter, in this case, we do not need a fancy board with a bunch of crap on it.  Do what you do well and own it.  The taco world is a simple world.  This place is, I'm guessing busy and does pretty well, but not great judging by the comments made by folks around us and the lack of real pop while we were there.  So the girl working the register is great.  Full of attitude, no excuses, she was pretty damn funny.  You know the type, nice girl, great personality, all her friends like her, maybe she drives a Camaro, I don't really know or care.  There is a lot to choose from.  They have all the "clever" names associated with each burrito, taco and other assortment of stuff that they have.  I'd go through them with you, but I don't think you care, if you do, sorry, I really don't.  Ramon and I ordered a spread of stuff and were really disappointed in the pricing.  This place is priced way too high.  Yeah, not cool.  We figured we'd divide, conquer, judge, leave.  FYI:  rolled tacos means cheap ass taquitos from the freezer section at your local super market.  Don't misunderstand me, those have their place, but not in a taco joint calling them "rolled tacos."  We made our way to the salsa bar.  This was the highlight of this trip.  What a treat.  I almost smiled thinking of their salsas.  

Nice variety, great flavors, some things off the grid, I dig it.  Great use of cucumber in salsa.  I need to incorporate more cucumber.  My father in law does a great job of that, me falling short, but not for much longer.  Watch as I caught Ramon in action.  He skillfully puts salsa into a plastic 2 oz souffle cup.  Remember folks, he gets paid to do the at The Counter:

A true master of his craft in his cute little Ninja Turtles T-Shirt.

So as we look around the restaurant we see all sorts of colors.  I mean bright ones, with wrestling masks and pictures and of course like 8 photos of Ron Burgundy.  This place is a "themed" restaurant.  The only theme I look for is great product.  For this I was let down.  

We chatted, ate the nasty chips, again cheap super market chips and enjoyed it with the most excellent salsas.  Really loved the salsas.  We compared and contrasted them, some were better then others.  We did avoid eye contact with everyone in there.  Lots of yuppies.  Finally, not too long, the food came and we jumped right in.

Lets cut the crap and get to the rankings.

RANKINGS:

ADOBADA: 3, not bad, not good, but not bad.  Seasoning was good, meat was ok.  I would eat it.  I wouldn't be psyched, but I wouldn't feel force fed.

ASADA: 2, I don't know what they were thinking or if they were.  It looked like asada but, yeah, it sucked more then a high school cheerleader with daddy issues.

TACO de PAPA: 1, can anyone say freezer burn?  Yeah, this was more awkward then me in a bikini.  

NACHOS: 4ish, they were layered nice with the right stuff on there, but the stuff on there was just ok.  Yeah, I want to like them to be a true 4, but the are probably closer to a 3.

POLLO con MOLE: 2, mole was too sweet, but good.  Chicken was too tough.  Morale of the story is they know how to make sauce, that is it.

FRENCH FRY TACO: 1, I still don't know why Ramon ordered this, but it is a waste of time rip off. This thing was cheaper then a Tijuana hooker, avoid.

SALSA: 4, fell short of a 5 because some of them kind of sucked. Overall, they were good.  You should check them out and pick what you liked.  Best flavors of the trip.

"GUACAMOLE:" 0, have I ever given a zero?  I don't believe in them.  1 is the lowest.  Quotation marks.  Yeah, this stuff was not made with real avocados.  It might have been guacamole flavored toothpaste.  I'm really not sure.  I have some little zingers to describe, but they are just way too inappropriate and I don't want to deter any readers.  Don't let them put this on your plate, anyone who reads this deserves better.

Not a huge fan.  Lots out of bags here.  I mean it really kind of sucked.  Ramon's company kept me a float.  I know San Diego has some amazing spots and that is going to happen.  This was just a poor choice by blinded mice.  We will prevail.  We will enjoy the taco greatness that SD has to offer.  Thanks as always for reading, until next time, Stay Excellent.

Carnitas Uruapan, Boyle Heights

Each story is a different tale.  It is communicated in the same way, but maybe a different style.  This will be told with many pictures, but few words that will describe how amazing this part of our excursion was.  The story is about a great man by the name of Eddie.  Eddie owns a bakery in the Boyle Heights part of Los Angeles.  This is no ordinary man in an ordinary bakery.  This culinary genius makes the world better one corn kernel at a time.  Eddie met us as we were raiding his shop one and two at a time to buy pastries that were all to die for.  Eddie being the great guy that he was struck up some conversations with us.  He began asking what we are doing in the area.  James, a founding member told him we were on a crawl through East LA and around and how we have the blog going.  He asked to talk to me to learn a bit more.

After a brief conversation, he asked a really silly question.  "Do you think you and your buddies would like a tour of my bakery and a lesson on Masa 101?"  I mean really?  Yes!  What kind of a person would pass this up?  I gathered the troops and we went in the back of his bakery as he broke down the process for making great Masa, and just to make sure you really understand, this is amazing stuff.  It was so neat as he walked us through each bit of the process.  I will not go into all of his trade secrets, they are his, but I'm sure if you were in the area and he had a minute, he'd give you 10, he's just that great of a man.  FYI, he's also a huge Dodger fan, which is a big plus for all of us!

Corn is started in here about 600 pounds at a time.  Yes, 600 pounds.  This is soaked and cooked to more then double its weight.  Really cool to see.  It is then moved over to another part of the phase where it cooks some more and gets ready to be mashed.

From here it is put into a special masher.  Tamales and tacos tortillas are made from there.  Yes, tamales.  Listening to Eddie talk about his tamale wrapping parties brought tears to this masa loving guy's eyes.  It really made me weep.  He spoke of all the different kinds of tamales and how to make them.  We discussed cooking processes and the whole deal.  It was one of the best parts of the trip that you just won't hear about unless you take the time to read this blog.

Eddie provides the masa at about 20-25 pounds at a time, which is about five times a day to Guisados' two locations.  One is next door in Boyle Heights, the other is right by Dodger Stadium.  You really need to check out Guisados and check out this bakery and say hey to Eddie from the Order of the Taco!  Eddie can be found at:
2102 East Cesar E Chavez Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90033
(323) 265-2474
Thank you so much for reading, please tell your friends, STAY EXCELLENT ALL!