Corner of N Soto and Alcazar, East Los Angeles, California

"True love is your soul's recognition of its counterpoint in another."  How about a shout out to the movie Wedding Crashers for predicting the Tacoteering adventure that I got to be a part of in East LA the other night?  Damn, they nailed it on this one.  That cone alone proves that true love does exist.  That cone was, well part of the tastiness.  I can't help it, I can't fight this feeling, I have to show you another beauty already...

OMG!  I'm freaking out just trying to write this thing.  This place was that good.  No, is that good.  I have not been able to stop talking about this place, I mean, yeah, it was that righteous.  Enough is enough, lets start the story, so you know how we got here, why we got here, aside from taco love, and let you know how all of this went down, you will then see the ratings, wrap up and goodbye/gratuitous photo.  

This is a well fed cast.  Everyone knows Josh, Nicole is the girl next to him, I'm obviously the large, bald, bearded Tacoteer in the middle.  That hot guy next to me is Yellow Chocolate, who everyone should know by now, then Amelia is sporting that big smile that she takes everywhere and I'm telling you, I don't think it ever leaves her face.  

Meet the two first timers.  Amelia and Nicole.  See the excitement for just the horchata.  That isn't even the tacos yet.  I'm a lucky dude to work with these two crazy gals.  They are two great people who can always bring a smile to your face and they are strong willed enough to endure watching Big Hungry eat all day when she is in the office.  They really are talented great people and I'm so full of joyfulness to have them as friends.  Anyways, they have been on me about us all going Tacoteering.  I mean, you know I always want to.  We made these plans a couple of weeks ago, confirmed last week.  A few days before, they wanted to go and they wanted a place with margaritas.  I was down.  I have been wanting to do a write up on El Cholo for sometime, so that was going to work out just fine.  I was on the phone with them early in the day as I was training for a new restaurant opening at LAX and they said they were ready to ditch the margaritas and wanted a real, true Tacoteering experience.  I was so happy that I did the dance of joy from Perfect Strangers.  Sadly, no one did it with me, so I looked even more ridiculous.  I was excited to see what kind of Tacoteers my friends would be, and they sure did not disappoint. 

How did we get to our destination?  The van.  We carjacked Melissa's van right from the front yard and drove the Silver Sled to taco bliss.

This place powers it up in a very cool way.  These guys kicked it old school on this night keeping the place lit from the car.  They are all over it and made sure that the place was very inviting.  

When we got there, they were still setting up.  They did a pretty amazing job getting set-up so fast.  While we wait for them to set-up, let me tell you a bit more about them.  So, I have heard of these guys.  They are like semi-underground in the taco community.  They have a Facebook page, but it doesn't always seem to be up, which is honestly really cool.  I have attached the link to the blog.  Worth checking out.  I wanted to go here.  I've been waiting for the right time.  When the girls said they wanted somewhere different and cool, this was the only place on my mind.  I was a bit nervous that they wouldn't be there, it was rainy and they don't really have "hours of operation."  Anyhow, we decided to go and I told the girls I'd get them from the office.  I was obviously even extra psyched that Phil and Josh were going but was bummed some other folks, like Big Hungry didn't make it.  She was working out with her new trainer to bulk up.  

Oh good, they are set-up now.  So, they are on the corner of North Soto and Alcazar.  Often they are across the street from where they were on this evening.  It amazed me how much meat is coming off that tiny grill.  These guys work their tails off.  We also noticed that they enjoy a quick burrito if the line sort of dies off.  Aside from the gill, there is the cone that is pictured in the beginning and the large pot with the meats staying nice and hot stewing in their juices.  They don't just do a great job of flavoring and seasoning, but also of keeping the food hot, fresh and continuing the marinating, flavor process.  

The creation of their mulitas.  These little mules were pretty amazing.  I did not partake as I had for sure had my fill, but I can assure you that my next trip will include one of these.  They looked amazing.  Nicole scarfed one, but who could blame her?  They kept that grill hot and made sure those tortillas were a bit crispy.  Just another great option to showcase the diversity of these guys.  

Ahh, the final product in all of it's glory.  Looks righteous, doesn't it?  Please don't try to call this a quesadilla, you are embarrassing yourself, frustrating me and offending the food itself. 

RECORD, most pictures I've ever put in a row on this blog without my whimsical dialogue!  Look how sad she is that she is down to only one more taco at the end.  You can see the happiness exuding from her from the beginning through the first few, then you see the sadness when she only has one taco left.  
BUCHE: 5, where do I begin?  What do I say.  This was delicious.  Some of the best that I've had ever.  It was so good, texture on point, a bit of a bite to it.  Not slimy or under cooked.
SUADERO: 5, I mean, this thing reads pretty similar to the buche.  Really nice stuff here.  This was served so hot and man was it good.
ASADA: 4, slightly above average here.  It was good.  Really subtle flavors, great texture.  Cooked, but not overcooked, hard or chewy.  Really enjoyable.  
LENGUA: 5, holy guacamole this was some good stuff.  It is all that lengua should be with texture and flavor.  They will cut it right in front of you, so if you can't handle that, look away right after you order it.  It is in small pieces, then just shred and melts right into your hot, delicious tortilla.  
TRIPA: 5, write this down, people, best tripas I've ever had.  Yes, you read this correctly, best tripa I've ever had.  It was so good.  It has a slight kick to it, it is seasoned perfectly, it is soft on the inside with a nice sear from the grill.  You will be forced to enjoy this if you put it in your mouth.  If you've wanted to try tripa but you weren't sure if you would love it, this is the place to try it.  Both Josh and I commented immediately from tasting this candy-like treat.  This was my favorite of the protein choices that I sampled on this adventure. 
PASTOR: 5, this ranks with the best.  Put it in the hall of fame.  This is RT good.  This is Tacos el Gordo yummy.  Yeah, aciote, pineapple, clove, chili powder in a symphony of flavors that really made my day.  I want people to go and try this.  I want people to get excited and enjoy this.  You will be happy, you will thank me.  I know I said the tripa was my favorite, this one is tied with it.  I did go back and have a second of one taco, it was this one.  I had to see if it was as good as I thought, it might have been better.  Please try for your tasting pleasure.  
CABEZA: 5, I just love cabeza.  I go nuts for great cabeza, and this was it.  It has become one of my favorite choices when I'm tacoteering.  Problem is so many places it is slimy and lacks the enjoyable texture.  This place was right on point, yes, right on point.  
POLLO: 4, I stole a piece right out of Amelia's taco.  It was good.  Nice flavor, nice texture.  Why is it above a 3?  The flavor was consistent with the rest of the meats, out of this world.  Really nice flavoring on this chicken, you will be pleased.  
HORCHATA: 5, never would have thought I'd rate horchata, but this was creamy goodness.  I think it is a bit more milk than most, and man is it yummy!  It was a great wash down from the delicious tacos.  I shared one with Josh and Phil, not just because we wanted to, but because it felt more romantic for us.  
SALSA BAR: 5, this bad boy was packed with flavor and excitement.  There was a traditional red, green and an avocado.  Nothing disappointed.  They had heat, they had flavor, they were not overwhelming and they were an unreal compliment to their delicious meats.  The cilantro, onions, radish, cucumber and limes were all fresh and everything was cut by hand.  Really impressive set-up and the guys were right there talking you through your decisions in perfect Spanish and English.

I feel as though I've worn you out with the thoughts about this food.  Plain and simple, it was good, damn good.  They do a nice job of giving us some great options, a good variety and the service was great.  The guys working here were joking with everyone and seemed to be having a pretty awesome time.  The  burrito looked pretty amazing, I want to get Jason the Juggernaut here to see if it meets his high standards.  One of the impressive things to me, was looking into the pot where much of the meat was being kept hot.  I unfairly assumed that it was going to force much if not all of the meats to taste really similar or the same, well it didn't.  Food was really good and it all kept it's own distinct flavor and texture.  Again, these guys really do know what they are doing.  Very rarely have we had a place that ranks this high.  NOTHING below a 4?  Pretty impressive.  I loved the fact that as we were eating Josh looked at me and said "I can't find anything wrong with their food."  Phil and I totally agreed that this was a pretty epic meal.  

I'm a huge fan of the self service prep area.  You can choose your own adventure with the lime, cilantro and onion ratio.  These guys have a fantastic set-up.  They give you four amazing salsas that are all full of flavor and pack a little heat, but not too much.  They want you to enjoy the flavors but not get eaten alive if you are a wimp.  If you want some spice in your life, they have peppers and onions there for your enjoyment.  The fresh cucumber and radish is an appreciated touch that fits in nicely with what they are doing.  
I was thinking, we took and showed a bunch of pictures of Amelia eating, but what about Nicole?  Did she eat?  Did we get food action shots there?

You bet your buttons we did.  

One more shot of this awesome crew of people, it is actually a separate picture from the one above, taken by a very great person who was there eating tacos with her husband.  Good man Charlie Brown, take her for tacos, she will always appreciate.  

Well I can't say thank you enough to the Tacoteers of this adventure!  This was such an epic trip.  The tacos and the company was amazing on this one.  It is great to have new folks, especially cool ones like Nicole and Amelia but it is also so awesome to have shared so many great adventures around the world with Josh and Phil.  These guys are pretty fantastic and they are chefs.  They know food and we always break down how things are made, why and what we would do differently, which in this case is bring more cash to take food home for the family's to try.  I cannot wait to go back to this place and try it again.  I just want to bring more and more people with me.  This place is totally worth checking out.  As always, thank you for reading, re-posting, re-tweeting and telling your friends if you like the blog or telling your enemies if you don't.  The publicity is appreciated either way!  

Today's goodbye/gratuitous photo is a thing of beauty.  The look of true excitement as someone is biting into their taco.  That raw childhood innocence as you are about to indulge in deliciousness inside of a tortilla.  The anticipation of all of that goodness is so exciting for anyone and everyone.  If you really want to break down the excitement, look at the left of the photo.  Josh is excited for Nicole.  It is fantastic to see not only the eater, but the audience anticipating the excellence of a bite.  If you were wondering from the old commercials "where's the squirt?"  We found it, it is right behind Nicole being drank by some guy enjoying these most excellent tacos.

STAY EXCELLENT!!!

Taco ethnography: North African tacos at Los Originales Tacos Arabes de Puebla; Chef Farid Zadi

This was just the site.  This is not where we ate.  I mean, I wanted to, but we were there to eat Chef Zadi's master creation.  He was making North African Tacos and the brave Tacoteers that were with me had to try.  Mike, Dara and Charlotte Phillips, Nikki D, Melissa, Alexander, Eleni and the Juggernaut went down to Boyle Heights and had to see what these flavors were all about.  We were delighted not just by the tacos, but by the overwhelming amazing personality of a great guy, Chef Zadi.  If you are not following this guy on Twitter, it's time to start.  He sets up camp all around LA and delights palates with unparalleled flavors and original cooking treats.  When we found out he was doing tacos, there was no resisting.  We were introduced to flavors that were different then we were use to but so delectable.  One of the great things about Tacoteering is how I get the opportunity to try so many different styles, flavors and things in so many places.  The thing that makes that even better, like I've said many times is the people I get to do it with.

It matters more who you are eating with than what or where you are eating.  This adventure was a huge win on all three fronts!  Especially the who part!!!  Eleni is a bit too much like her father and did not want to be in the photo.  She was standing behind me rubbing my back as I took this photo of everyone.  No, we were not near or in a prison, just in the beautiful Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles in East LA.  It is great to see these smiling happy taco full faces.  I again must say that I'm lucky to have such amazing friends with me.  Mike and Nikki are two of my oldest and closest friends and everyone in this photo represents what a great family I get to be a part of.  The enthusiasm that we all have doing things together is great.  We all just really have fun together and enjoy all the adventures we get to go on, whether it is volunteering at the church for festival, going to a party at someone's house or a late night Tacoteering adventure in East LA.

Chef Zadi is a master of his craft.  He was working the line, telling people what the tacos were all about and where they came from.  He was in full teacher mode and it was great that he also had his wife and two kids there.  They were helping, working and having fun.  Seeing families that are together like that is so cool.  I loved seeing them all gathered around.  The chef was working his pans, seasoning his meat and making sure that everything was served correctly.

As busy as he was, he took the time to talk to Alexander and all of us.  He shared his passion, his vision, his knowledge and his taco genius with all of us.  He was telling Alexander about where he grew up, where his family is from and how he is able to bring so many flavors and cultures together all on one plate.  It was such an amazing experience for all of us, especially these young, growing, impressionable minds.  All three of my kids, including the stand-offish younger ones gave him three hugs and a kiss before we left because he was so warm, inviting and wonderful to everyone.  It really was a treat and the icing on the cake for a great Tacoteering adventure.

RATINGS:
CAULIFLOWER: 3, I know you are thinking it would be higher, but it was good.  It did not blow my tongue away with uniqueness.  I am a big cauliflower fan, so I was excited to try his cauliflower version.  For sure not bad, for sure I'd love to eat it again, but not unique enough to gain a higher rating from me.
POLLO: 5, is this my first pollo 5?  It was really good.  Flavors that I'm not familiar with, tenderness that was unmatched.  Really impressed me the way that it looked, tasted, smelled and how it all came together.
LAMB: 5, yeah, I liked it that much.  Melissa liked it, but did not love it like I did.  I really felt like he just harnessed in so many unique flavors and shot them onto taco excellence.  There was a hint of almost gaminess and that just made it even better, raw good flavors that were not overdone, but not spices were not underutilized.
SHAKSHOUKA: 5, I'll be totally honest, I did not know how to rate this.  I had not heard of it, tried it or know anything about it until I read this article about his set-up for tonight.  Shakshouka is a spiced pepper, tomato, egg and onion mixture.  It sounds so basic, easy and normal, but it was something special.  We all really enjoyed this.  It was tasty and fun.  It was so unique to my regular Tacoteering and I'm so glad I am now acquainted with it.
SALSAS/SAUCES: 5, this is a slam dunk 5.  The avocado sauce was thick and different with a nice sweet flavor.  His mild sauces were both balanced with a delicious, rich explosion of flavor.  His two spicy salsa were super duper good.  His orange habanero is one of the three best salsas I've ever eaten and I kept running back for more.  It was hot.  Super, spicy hot and so damn delicious!

Yeah, that is a spread!  Great looking food.  They really packed those tortillas with meat.  They also were using a really nice sweet corn tortilla.  The texture on it was amazing.  The variety of sauces and salsas were most excellent.  We had to try a bit of everything of course and I was impressed that Alexander ate and tried everything.  Who knew we are all such fans of shakshouka?  Yeah, I know, didn't know I loved this stuff so much!  Creative flavors, passion, talent.  Chef brought it all together.  There was some delightful marinated cucumbers, freshly chopped cilantro, hand chopped diced onions and an unbelievable, tasty slaw!  It was not toppings for your tacos, it was a necessary supplement to a great meal!

Thank you everyone for reading.  Thanks for the follows, re-posts, re-tweets and sending to your friends and families!  Don't forget to find me on Twitter and Instagram, both are just Order of the Taco!

If you are looking for Chef Zadi, check out his website at www.chefzadi.com.  Hunt him out, eat his food, support a master of his craft!  He sets up around LA, find him, it is a great date night or family outing that is something a little different then just going out to dinner or to some crazy big venue.  It's a casual fun time and if you are crazy enough not to be obsessed with tacos, he does all sorts of foods on different weekends and at different times.

Today's goodbye, gratuitous photo is Alexander and the Chef.  He spent a great deal of time speaking with and joking with him and I know it was an unbeatable experience for Alexander.  Great thank you to Chef Zadi!

Stay Excellent!

Huraches al Pastor, Southern California Local Farmer's Markets

The relentless pursuit of taco excellence has found me at the Farmer's Market.  I've tried this place a few dozen times.  They are over at the Northridge Mall on Wednesday nights, they hit a few of the Farmer's Markets in the Los Angeles area.  They were over on Victory this morning.

These guys do a few things.  They are big into catering, they will tell you that when you are ordering.  I don't know how they do catering, but I'm sure it is not bad.  I will say that they are a bit pricey for catering.  We tried some tacos and of course hooked up their huraches.  They make the tortillas, which is pretty cool  This is a pretty awesome hurache.  The tortilla is a bit thick, but it doesn't overpower the flavorful meat that they have.  They really do add to the ambiance of the Farmer's Market.  You can smell the grill the whole way around.  They have some pretty decent salsas and their grilled onions are on point.  They accompany everything with a nice cilantro and onions with diced tomatoes and cactus.  Pretty cool.  It really gives a nice texture, especially with the huraches.

RATINGS:

ASADA: 3, it is solid.  A little too much salt some days, but consistently good and they did a nice job today.
PASTOR: 3, this is no cone.  It is good though.  They do a nice job of getting all the right flavors and cook it very well.  You won't be blown away here, but you sure won't be disappointed.
POLLO: 2, it isn't bad, don't get me wrong.  It is just really bland.  It doesn't look like it will be, but it is.  They need to add a bit more flavor to get up to solid and next to the rest of their stuff, this is for sure not their best.
RED: 3, good, not amazing, but solid.  I like it.  Not too smoky, they do well with it.
GREEN: 2, too sweet.  Just not great.  Worst of their salsas.
BRIGHT GREEN: 4, this is an avocado salsa that is great.  I call it bright green so that they lay person can decipher when they walk up.  Great flavor, nice spice.  This is a for sure, you don't want to miss.
TACOS: 2, the meat is good, but they are just ok as far as tacos go.  They won't wow you and make you crave them late night.  Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't keep walking.
HURACHES: 4, this is the real deal folks.  This is almost gooey goodness.  The thick but light tortilla grilled to perfection, cheese that is soft and melted nicely into the meat and tortilla.  Couple it with solid meat and some of that great avocado salsa, yeah, this is a winner.
SERRANO: 5, these are the best.  Really, let me tell you...so, they have these fried serranos, with a touch of salt, yum yum, give me some.

The taco score suffered because the hurache is that much better.  I would say go by get one of each to try more meat and together they will fill you up for at least a meal and a half, if not two!  The folks that work there are really nice and pretty darn cool.  I like chatting with them and talking about food.  They know what they are talking about.

Whatever today has for you, enjoy.
Whether it's your birthday, I have a few friends with birthdays today, sorry I'm not celebrating with you.
Working a festival, some close friends are selling Gyro's in downtown LA, sorry I'm not there to help.
Enjoying football in a bar or on your couch, I'm jealous.
Or if you are working, I feel your pain today!

As always, I'm trying to find the traditional and non traditional places and hope you are enjoying the reads.  Please tell your friends, and don't forget, I still haven't decided on a logo design yet, looking for some help there!  Thanks so much for reading, Stay Excellent!!!

Cook's Tortas, Monterrey Park

I was asked a bit ago if I like Tortas.  Well, I thought that was a really stupid question, of course.  So one of the fabulous people I get to work with is Ramon.  Ramon knows what he is talking about.  He made some pretty amazing salsa and asada last week for a few of us and I held him in high regard before, but higher regard after.  At the end of our meeting the last night, he asked if I wanted to get some tortas on Friday.  You'll never guess what I said...this took us to Monterrey Park, CA.  Southern part of East LA.

Here's the deal, the place is fantastic.  They have great tortas, no tacos or anything else.  They stick with what they know, and for this, I thank them.  It is nice for people to do what they know how to do.  Side items were all over the place.  I would never had expected the sides that they have, but was happy that they have them.  Tabbouleh that was out of this world, delicious macaroni salad, I mean you would be shocked.  Everything is made from scratch.  These guys really put some time and thought into making food great.  The celery and pineapple water was second to none in the beverage world.  Menu is great, huge chalkboard that guides you to what you are looking for.

The menu is really cool.  They options are torta limitless.  I mean there is no way that you don't find something that you really want.  There is cool stuff all over the place.  No matter what your fancy, you will find that kind of torta.  Ramon and I maximized our lunch today.  We ordered two tortas and split them.  We got the Ranchito which was excellent.  Chorizo, Asada, napolito salsa, beans, spicy guacamole and queso fresco.  What a delicious treat.  This thing was loaded with creaminess, a mild spice and plenty of flavor.  It was just down right yummy.  The other one we ordered, yeah you guessed it, La Diabla.  Holy moly this was delicious.  I loved this thing.  Spicy, yes, but I honestly expected a bit more of a kick.  I would order it again in a heartbeat.  Chicken, chile de arbol, jalapeno, habenero, guacamole, cheese, beans.  I'm missing it so much just typing about it.

Rating this is a bit different then tacos, but lets give it a shot, I mean, that is what I do right?
ASADA: 3, it was what you'd expect, good, nothing amazing
CHORIZO: 4, this stuff was tasty.  Really good.  Ground up, not not too much, spicy, but super flavorful.  You need to try it, mixed with asada, they both just get better.
CHICKEN: 5, yes, you have read that correctly.  It was so soft, it melts in your mouth.  I mean that was a WOW piece of chicken.
SIDES: 4, they were good, but they were just so unexpected.  They do a nice job and side items are strongly recommended.  Above and beyond.
SALSA:  can't rate as they were all on the sandwich, sorry, I think they would have exceeded the three mark...
RESTAURANT: 4, with only tortas on the menu, they can't get a five.  People like a bit more option.  They get a 4 because they make these so damn well and that is all that I need when I'm in there!
TORTAS: 5, you'd be hard pressed to convince me that there is a better place to get a torta.  They do it well.

Needless to say, you might be reading this thinking, "I don't normally drive past the Atlantic exit on the 60 freeway."  Let me give you friendly advice, do it.  It is so worth it.  If you are USC, you are about 10 miles away and can get there in minutes.  It is a great place, with great food.  They are slightly slow, but you are getting made to order great food.  We really enjoyed the time and the meal.

Ramon gets a very special thank you for being a great friend, excellent co worker and all around awesome dude.  He is a tri-athlete, has a big smile and great family values folks.  He currently lives in Carson, but is probably moving back to West Covina.  Ramon, thanks for the time today brother, it was great.  I'm sorry that I have to call you "chubby bunny," you'll know who it is from...

Thanks again to everyone for your help and thanks for the suggestion from readers.  I will hit them all, it just takes some time.  Thank you for reading, please keep telling your friends and getting the word out.  Don't forget to send Logo Designs, we need something for The Order!  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!

Guisado's, Boyle Heights

 We start this one by explaining what Guisado is, aside from the name of this place.  Lets start personal.  Guisado is something delicious.  Guisado is a style of cooking.  I fell in love with Guisado Style cooking when traveling through Texas.  Specifically when I was in San Antonio.  They had some amazing meats that were made in the style of Guisado.  Technically it means that it is sauteed with garlic, onions and tomatoes.  It is almost like a stew, but much better, and I like stews.  Many dishes made in stews and cassaroles are referred to as Guisados.  Guisados in Boyle Heights takes it to another level.  By another level I mean leaps and bounds beyond anything this guy could have imagined.  As the members of the Order recapped our epic outing, Guisados ranked one for some of us and ranked in the top 3 for all of us.  The hardest part about writing about this place is having to split off the owner's brother's business.  They are tied together, but too much information, so please check out the blog that I do on Carnitas Uruapan Market & Deli.

Guisados is on East Cesar Chavez Avenue in Boyle Heights.  Place is great.  It sticks out just a bit with a super cool contemporary look for the area.  The place is nice, clean and fun.  They have a short line with tons of boiling pots in the background.  They even go as far to make Tinga.  A chicken dish I often struggle to find, but love to eat.  FYI, their's is by far the best I've ever had.  Armando takes his food really seriously.  We jumped in on his mini taco samplers.  You can pick any six of their tacos and they make them mini tacos which were great and a perfect way for all of us to try everything.  A true treat at this place, the fish taco.  This big piece of fish was amazing.  I mean seriously a great fish taco that I did not expect or see coming.  The flavor was on point.  The fish was flaky and good.  They do make  things affordable here, but do not do things the cheap way.  They have an extensive menu with many different meats and their mole sauce was one of the best that I've ever had.  It was subtle, sweet, spicy and flavorful.  I really appreciate the culinary prow-less that this family has.  As if the food wasn't great enough, they had a beverage that you need to get in on.  The Armando Palmero.  This twist on a classic was stellar.  Armando is the name of the owner, that is where the first pun came in.  It has lemon water mixed with some Jicima.  Yeah, you need to try this when you go.  What a great refreshing beverage to compliment amazing food.

What set this place apart?  Well, I really think a lot of that has to do with the tortillas.  What a great part of the food.  We were reminded more and more through this trip, a tortilla is like a fork.  You just need it to eat sometimes.  Their tortillas will be spoken of more in my next blog, but are unique and delectable.  Armando has two restaurants.  One is in Boyle Heights, the other is by Chavez Ravine near Dodger Stadium.  Armando has such a commitment to excellence that he only takes about 20-25 pounds of masa at a time.  Yes, he will run back and forth from the bakery to make sure that he is only serving the freshest product that he can.  The masa is craftily made by his brother Eddie especially for Guisados.  If this doesn't excite you, you need to reevaluate your priorities.

Guisados will be getting another visit from me.  The great service, excellent food and just down right cool vibe in there is worth checking out.  They know how to match a sauce to a meat and that is often lost in translation on these taco crawls.  I can't say thanks enough to the owners and staff of this place.  They embraced, welcomed us and thanked us for putting them on the excursion.  They taught us so much and really made us guests in their home.  Thanks for reading and please check out the blog later today that will be an extension of this visit which was next door at their bakery and includes a tour of the back and Masa 101!  Stay excellent!!!

My Taco/Dusty's, Garvanza, CA

Have you ever eaten tacos out of a tree?  Yeah, we have a high level of commitment, and we're not afraid to show it.  So what was to be our last stop of the day yesterday was My Taco.  It is in Garvanza, CA.  I have to be honest, I didn't know who, what or where Garvanza was until we got there.  High expectations for this place.  We went in and ordered some tacos.  The chick working behind the counter all but asks us to leave.  She was not very happy having the eight of us come in.  Are we big loud dudes, um yeah, you've seen our pictures.  We were there on official business and would have appreciated some better treatment, especially with all the food that we were ordering!  We had lamb tacos, potato tacos and pastor tacos.  If she couldn't see our taco passion, she was blind.  I mean really blind.  I was quite excited by their salsa bar.  It was pretty and they had fried jalapenos on there, score...

Needless to say, we went outside and waited for our food.  Waiting outside led to loud talking, pretty obnoxious behavior and of course they had one of those claw machines and as a team, we were determined to win something.  Twenty something dollars later Paul was the winner.  It was a sweet victory and Buck, his Boston Terrier, loved the blue elephant that Paul brought to him.

When our food arrived, we were told that they didn't have enough room for us, which was only kind of true and told us that they packed our food to go.  We got the message, we got it loud and clear.  Good news, they got our message too!  We took over the tree/bush that they had in front of the restaurant and started to attack.

The pastor was great on the first bite, but sucked after that.  I mean this was pastor crisis bad.  This thing was loaded with cloves.  It really tasted like clove and pepper.  I've said this many times before and am sad that I know I will have to say it again, if you don't know how to make pastor, then DON'T!  Their potato tacos were not very good.  And by not very good, they sucked.  They mix some mashed potato with tomato sauce and hope you won't notice.  Sorry, refined pallet here, they suck.  Their salsa were solid.  Very nice job on the salsa bar and having the salsa.  The lamb tacos were good.  Damn good.  It is worth going to try them.  They had a very Greek lamb flavor which sat just fine with us.

As we are eating, one of our esteemed members goes inside the restaurant and realizes that the entire dining room and staff are staring at us attack food that is in a bush.  I almost went in and asked them to tip me.  I mean come on, they got a free show at lunch.  We did enjoy the jokes we were able to make eating in the bush.

As we left, we stopped into Dusty's Bar and Grill.  This place was a treat.  Regulars in the bar, and I don't think anyone except for regulars go in there began making comments.  As we are entering, they start talking about how "big money" was walking in the door and how happy Dusty would be.    The bartender responded saying "I just hope they're not cops."  We ordered our beers, started watching the Dodgers beat down another team, played a little bit of pool and asked the bartender to take a picture.  As she's taking it one of the regulars throws out this smart ass comment about why we would take a picture at Dusty's and wanted to know what were celebrating.  I told him that we were celebrating me being released from prison.  It was amazing how many less comments were made after that!  I got a couple of high fives and they were really cool after that.  I'd recommend Dusty's if you find yourself in Garvanza.  Nice joint, dim lights, great bartender.

Thanks for reading, keep following and tell your friends!  Stay Excellent.

El Atacor #1

El Atacor, what a treat.  So we had planned on going to the original which is at 3520 Figueroa.  On our way, we pulled over to at another location of theirs, listed as #11.  When we walked in, the girl lied to us and told us that they were out of their famous potato tacos.  We left the place and got back into our cars to head to the planned original location.  As we are sitting in the cars, we got stuck.  Stuck staring at a very strange interaction between two people.  A man drops to his knee as if he was proposing.  She leaned down and kissed his head.  He then began to use his hand to sweep the ground, or was he looking for something.  I'm going to tell you, I really don't know what this dude was doing.  We had to wonder, was he proposing, apologizing for sleeping with her sister, did he just feel the need to talk to her when on his knee, was he really upset with how dirty the sidewalk was and wanted to clean it with his hand for her?  Seriously it was impossible for us to look away.  We spent 9 minutes watching this couple.  As if it couldn't get any more strange this dog's head pops out of her over-sized purse.  It was just weird.  We finally drove off, but we couldn't stop talking about this for the rest of the day.  Shame on us for not taking any pictures of this.

We drove down the road to the restaurant, went in and ordered 8 taco de papas and two tacos with pastor for us to share all of this.  Our bill was $8.71.  I really was pretty sure that they did not charge us correctly.  The food was FANTASTIC.  The Pastor was on point.  Nice flavor, some spice to it.  I really enjoyed it.  Their salsas were great.  Nice flavor, great texture.  These tacos de papas were stellar.  They were one of the best things that we ate the entire day.  We went and ordered another round of the same thing so that we could be sure that everything tasted as good as we thought.  Much to my surprise, $8.71.  Place is legit.  If I had to do this one over again, I'm saying if I could go back in taco time, I'd order the plate of taco de papas and sprinkle the pastor meat over them for ridiculous, delicious bites.  I will be going back, and that is going to happen to my mouth.

The pictures above are a clear illustration of the hard work and dedication the Order has to let you know where to go and where not to go.
Go check this place out if you are North of downtown LA, totally worth it!  Thanks for reading, I'll catch ya soon!  Stay Excellent!!!