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!!!

Tom's Tacos, Torrance, CA

Seeing "The Original" on here throws me off a bit.  Tom's is a Tito's rip off.  It is hands down a carbon copy print almost of the infamous Tito's.  One of their big claims to fame is Tito's with no lard.  Let me remind you that there is a huge debate out there if lard is really "bad" for you.  I stay out of it and stick to flavor and service.  One way or another, this place is a pretty good option if you are in the market for a good hard shelled taco.  I know what you are thinking, "I rarely want one, I enjoy street tacos just like the guys in the Order of the Taco."  Every once in a while, these places have a time and a place.  I also figure that it was a Tuesday, so why not branch out on a "Taco Tuesday?"

We'll zoom in a bit more on the menu in a moment, but want you to get a good visual of the restaurant.  The guy behind the counter has to be Tom.  I don't know if I've met a nicer or cooler dude.  He was awesome to every single person that came near the restaurant.  His attitude alone made me enjoy the meal that much better.  He invited us in, as he did everyone, and thanked us and invited us back.  Really cool dude.  Great community support displayed in the restaurant which I enjoyed seeing.  

Little bit closer up on the menu.  You can see the awesome simplicity and honing in on the specialty.  Love it!  They keep it simple with the cups, decor, everything.  I think that it all fits perfectly.  I can't say enough good things about all of that.  

RATINGS:
BEEF: 2, this was hard to give a 2 to.  It wasn't horrible, but just not that good.  It was a bit too blah for me.  Lacked the flavor, lacked the fun.

CHICKEN: 3, so this was about to be a 4.  I am sticking with a 3, because of the style of taco as it is not a true street taco which is the focus, as if you didn't know.  The chicken was pretty good.  It tasted great in the taco, looked great and I thought it was an impressive option.  If you stick with this when you come in, you will be a happy person, if you are looking for this type of taco.

SUPER NACHOS: 3, what a generous, filling, good portion.  The flavor was not too bad.  It was pretty average, a Chili Colorado type of flavor going for itself.  The cheese is pretty cool and the beans are runny, but again, this is the place we chose and they deliver on their niche.  

SALSA: 3, it would not get a 3 many places, but for this place, it is perfect.  The flavor matches what they are doing and it is good for dipping and goes well with their style of tacos.

Not a powerful force of a spread, but good just the same.  The salsa is alright, nothing to write home about, but it was a cool touch.  The nachos were surprisingly big and the portions were generous all the way around.  They know who they are and I really like that.  They don't try to do anything that is off the reservation or different.  The food is not bad, I would go again, stick with the chicken tacos and be quite happy, that is if I'm not overwhelmed by my burning desire for street tacos.  

Thanks to all for reading, trying to get some good taco diversity here and make sure you see and know all the options that are out there for you.  Southern California is a taco lovers paradise, don't miss out on all the flavors and things that you can try.  Don't be silly and not recommend your favorite place/places to me.  I want to go, I want to try, I want to enjoy with you or tell you about how great it is!  We are fortunate for our SoCal Tacos, take advantage with me.

Today's goodbye/gratuitous photo is of my daughter Eleni.  She is currently four, about to turn five.  I took her to school since Melissa was volunteered at the Church this fine morning.  We got there a few minutes early and walked through the rose and prayer garden at her school.  It was a blast for both of us.  We took a bunch of photos of here running through the garden, by the fountain and up on the bridge.  It was a really nice time.  She told me stories, made plans for us to go to the park, it was one of those moments that I was so fortunate to enjoy.  

Stay Excellent!

Tacos Michoacan, Chino, CA

A couple of years ago I drove out to Chino and bought a whole hog for Christmas.  On the way back stopped by this place for a bit, yes tacos before 8am.  They were delicious.  As we have decided a whole hog is the way to go again this year, I knew I had to come back.  Breakfast tacos are great, at least these kind are.  They are just like lunch and dinner tacos only you get to eat them for breakfast.  Cilantro, onions, meat, salsa and tortilla.  I remember this place being so good, I remembered correctly.  I'll spare you the picture of the hog I'm smoking, but if you are doing the right thing and following the Order of the Taco on Instagram, you've already seen a photo.

Place has like 5 different names.  I stuck with the name on Yelp so you can find it when you are in Chino.  There are a few places that look good, but this place wreaks of street credit from the outside and I had a great Tacographic Memory from last time.

Kitchen is small and unassuming.  They produce what they need to.  The service is second to none.  The guys working there were crazy nice and cool.  They really invited us into their place and treated us like family.  Zacatecas maps and literature over the walls.  It is that awesome sense of pride that people have of their heritage that I love to see.  It is so cool to have and hold on to that pride.  They had different roasted salsas which are traditional to that part of Mexico.

Here is a picture of the menu at an angle.  Simple and sweet.  They don't make a ton of different meats, but hit some good varietal highlights.  I did see a couple of burritos go out and they looked solid.  Enough with the small talk, lets get to the ratings.
RATINGS:
CHORIZO: 2, sad, sad.  Mine was OK, really a 3, but my brother's was burned.  It was not tasty at all.  I have to go 2 for the inconsistency.
CABEZA: 2, I did not care for this.  I thought that it should have been cooked a little bit more.  It was almost barbacoa like, but not great.  I thought it lacked flavor and could have cooked just a bit more.  This is coming from someone who likes steaks extra rare.
PASTOR: 4, I loved it.  Hit heavy with spices and seasoning.  Some might think it to be too much, I really thought that it was on point.
POLLO: 4, this is really good.  Really damn good chicken.  It was not overpowering, but well seasoned.  Not overcooked, but obviously cooked all the way through.  Juicy, tasty, nicely done.
CARNITAS: 4, texture could not have been better.  It was a bit crispy, but soft.  Very flavorful meat here.  It is some good stuff and you should try it.
ASADA: 3, this is some solid stuff.  Really good, but nothing that goes above and beyond.  I enjoy the flavor, I enjoy the taste, texture was on point.
SALSA: 4, this was so close to a 5.  If it had some heat, just a bit of a kick I would have bumped it to a 5.  Tasty stuff though.  Nice smoky flavor, but not overpowering, good flavor from the chilies, I just need the heat.  They did have two other salsas, they both fall under the same rating and explanation.

I enjoyed that instead of radish on the plate, they went cucumber.  It was refreshing and tasty.  Don't get me wrong, I love the radish, I enjoy the radish, but a cucumber change was nice for this trip.  I love when there are different salsas and they pair them with the appropriate meat.  It is such a nice touch.  They give you the option, I obviously told them to go for it.  They take pride in their food.  It did take a little longer, but was worth the wait.  They really want to make sure that it comes out the proper way.  The meat here is fresh people, it is obvious.  I was caught off guard by the chips and salsa that they brought out.  Didn't expect them and they were pretty stellar!

Thank you to everyone for reading.  Thanks for sticking around.  Please continue to tell others and share in the adventures.  I hear that the Order of the Taco might go Wings as a group.  Yeah, sounds pretty epic to hear we might go rogue for a day!  Stay tuned, I'll keep ya posted.  Don't forget to find us on Instagram and Twitter.  There are some delicious taco pictures that make it on there.  Well those and some of the crazy antics that I'm up to.

Today's gratuitous, goodbye photo is of the sign above the restroom.  Really love this sign.  I remember seeing it last time and have seen it before, but it just makes me laugh.  Hope you enjoy!

Stay Excellent!

JR Tacos, Happy 1 Year Birthday Anastasia Eleftheriades

Each story has a different time, a different perspective pending on who the person is telling the story and how the people reading it view it.  This blog, to many is about a birthday party for a sweet young lady and a taco truck from an excellent family that is tied back to our community at Saint Nicholas.

Yes, there is a photo bomb from my oldest son Alexander.  He was spinning around in his wheelchair and I didn't catch that he was in the picture until later.  The set up is for JR Tacos.  Raul Meza helps work at our church in Northridge, CA.  He also runs a great taco truck and does parties at people's houses.  This is not the first time this year that I've had the opportunity to eat his great food.  They do it all.  They show up with the food, cook it onsite, have the paper products for you to use and it is a great little set up.  Contact information will be at the bottom of this blog in case you are ready to use him for a shin dig or party that you have going on soon.

To me, much of this story starts with that amazing father swimming with the birthday girl.  George Eleftheriades and I met many years ago at summer camp in Greece.  We were at Ionian Village together in the summer of 1994.  We were inseparable out there.  We shared a bunk, would sneak out of the cabin at night and go to the beach.  We were able to sneak beer back to the camp and stay up too late while suffering the headache consequences the next morning.  George and I took every adventure even hiding in other people's hotel rooms and running around the hotel when we were told we had to go to sleep.  It was a great time in both of our lives.  Sadly, summer ended, and so did our time at Ionian Village.  George went back to Brooklyn, I came back to Los Angeles.  It is hard when you are that young, awkward age to have a friend, grow so close and then it is like you will never see them again.

THESE PRETZELS ARE MAKING ME THIRSTY!  If you don't get the reference, just ignore and keep on reading, I feel bad that you don't, we're about to go back to your regularly scheduled programming...George and I just understood each other.  We were the same age, well, we still are, we had fun and similar struggles, challenges and shared a similar cultural background.  We decided that we would keep in touch.  Prior to the days of blogs and Facebook, we wrote letters and mailed them back and forth.  We would very regularly for years write letters.  I was lucky enough to go to NYC the next year, we got to hang out, it was great.  We continued to write letters, got on the phone a few times, but as I said, there was no Facebook or Twitter or chat stuff that there is now, we lost touch.  I will say that years later I tried finding him on Facebook, Google all those search engines.  I really looked to see if I could find him when I was in New York so much.  I would think back to the great friend and guy that he is.  I'm fortunate to have many wonderful connections and people that have been in and are in my life, but I always do want more and hate losing one of the greats.

Now that you know some of the back story, you are probably wondering how I ended up at George's daughter's first birthday party 20 years later.  About a month ago as I was at church enjoying the Divine Liturgy.  A family walked in and began speaking to Dara, Mikey, Melissa and saying hi to the kids.  I glanced over and continued to ignore people, like I do.  As they kept talking, I looked back over and began staring at this guy.  It became an uncomfortable glare.  Dara and Melissa asked me what was wrong, but I was rendered speechless.  He than walked around over to where I was holding his beautiful daughter and asked me my name.  Before I could answer he was trapped in a bear hug that had to have been uncomfortable to anyone who was watching.  His wife, Belinda, Dara and Melissa were all quite confused.  After all this time, he had moved to Los Angeles and is living less than 10 miles from me.  What a great thing to have each other back in our lives.  It is great that after all these years, it is like no time has gone by, we have similar interests and will get to raise our children together.

That story is much of what I will remember of this party, but I know you Taco Enthusiasts want to know all about the adventure of the tacos and the party, I must give the people what they want!

What a great turnout of people excited to celebrate one year of life for such a sweet girl!  A few beers, some great people and tacos really made this hot afternoon great.  It was nice meeting so many people that shared the love for a great young lady with a wonderful family.

There is my sweet goddaughter Charlotte who made it to the party.  The question is, is Sophie State sleeping on the job, or is it just creative timing on this Tacoteer's part?  I will let you be the judge of what is going on here.  As you can see, many of us are watching to make sure that Charlotte is in good hands.  Was she dehydrated?  Can't be, there was a ton of water going around to make sure everyone stayed good on this hot summer day.  We don't know what the excuse for this is, but if you see her, feel free to ask her what was going on here.

Look at the sweet birthday girl and her mommy!  They are trying to beat the heat and are getting ready to eat some amazing tacos.  How can you not want tacos for a party?  I mean, even at one year old Anastasia knows that tacos are the best thing for a party.  How do you not know?  Why are you not having a taco truck at your party?  Maybe these ratings can help motivate you to do the right thing.
RATINGS:
BEANS: 3, refried beans, they can be pretty amazing, but these are pretty average, but I think exactly what you would expect for a party and a truck like this.
RICE: 3, good old Mexican Style rice.  The Juggernaut ate the heck out of the rice.  It was well flavored, not too salty, but brought some goodness to the meal.
SALSA VERDE: 2, this was the saddest part of the taco experience for me.  It really was so mainstream that it did not excite me.  It is probably good for the party scene, but I felt that it lacked the depth and flavor that is needed for a great salsa verde.  Maybe some more cumin and citrus would have brought a smile to my face.
SALSA ROJO: 3, pretty standard goodness right here.  I like it much spicier, but like I said, party salsa, the masses must eat it.  It is good stuff, you will like it, layered flavors, nice smokiness.
POLLO: 4, that is amazing to me for a truck to get above a three.  This was really tender, really flavorful, nice color to it, but not over seasoned.  Cooked all the way through, but so darn juicy.  Just enough chili powder and a hint of garlic really made this a surprise treat on a hot day.
ASADA: 3, exactly what you would, should expect.  They did a nice job, it is textbook truck asada here my friends.  You know what you are getting.
PASTOR: 4, would this get a 4 off a truck if I'm food trucking?  No.  Would it get it if in a restaurant?  No.  But for what this is, it was great.  Nice hints of clove, aciote cooked to tender perfection.  The texture was great on this one.  I was surprising pleased.  I will warn you that it was a little greasy, but that just made it better for all of us who enjoyed it!

Great spread here, yeah I got two pastors and two asadas to start!  Well worth it.  They let you go through the line, add some lime, cilantro, onions radish and salsa.  Makes it a nice little choose your own adventure.

Here's a picture of a young Tacoteer in his natural habitat.  He is carefully examining the tortilla and has a mixture of rice and pollo ready to be placed in before he skillfully attacks that taco.  If you don't know who that is, it is my youngest son, Jason the Juggernaut.  He is great and adventurous in eating as long as his big sister doesn't talk him out of it, which she commonly does!  He went through a couple of tortillas, a little chicken, but a ton of rice!

What a great day and what a great adventure.  It was wonderful getting to spend time with Anastasia and everyone excited to celebrate her birthday!  Proud of this sweet one year old.  Thank you to everyone for reading, telling people, re-tweeting, re-posting and indulging me as I go back in time with stories of childhood friendships that transform into the amazing relationships that they are today.  I do encourage everyone to eat more tacos, you are missing out if you are not eating them regularly already!  To find JR Tacos:
PHONE: (818) 730-9417
EMAIL: rmezatacos@gmail.com

Today's gratuitous photo is a photo of George and I from years ago at Ionian Village.  I'll let you guess who is who, the only hint is that I did not have my beard with me then! Thanks for reading.

STAY EXCELLENT!!!

Salvador Rodriguez Catering, I was in Chatsworth, he's from Compton

I was struggling on how I wanted to start this one off.  I was trying to find the right things to say.  We have an amazing tight nit community.  We have a group that enjoys spending time together.  We share in each other's successes, we help each other when we need.  There was a slew of nice, sweet things I wanted to say about the Saint Nick's community.  Instead I'll tell you a little more about the birthday boy himself.  Trumbo.

Trumbo, more known to all of us as Trevon is a great dude.  Always full of life, always a man that I've looked up to for his free spirit fun loving attitude.  A guy who literally turns his Jacuzzi into a smoky pool to entertain the kids that are at his birthday party.

So that card above was made by my daughter Eleni.  She was trying to write Trevon, but it looks like Trumbo so I enjoyed calling him that.  My kids love Trevon.  They get excited to see him everywhere.  He is the voice of the Valley Greek Festival every year on Memorial Day Weekend, and my children imitate him for weeks afterwards and try to be just like him.  He has taken Alexander to comic book stores, which is so cool because I am not a very patient person and have never been in one myself, but Alexander loves it and thinks it is awesome.  I've known Trevon and his whole family my whole life and I'm very lucky and grateful that he has been in my life for all this time.  His daughter Mia was the flower girl in my wedding.  She's kind of mean to people now, but that just entertains me and we all know her mom is one of the toughest smartest people around and is always a few steps ahead of this young lady who's almost done with high school.  Below is a picture of some of the things that Evie made and brought.  She is so crafty and awesome.

Trevon and his kick ass wife Jen have a most excellent back yard.  They do movie nights through the summer.  For Trevon's birthday, it was Empire Strikes Back!  Prior to the movie starting, he had Weird Al singing, I love the song and on the big screen, it was super cool.

Here is a photo of the set up that he does and then he is generous enough to invite many of us over to get to watch movies on this screen.  Last year he did a Ghostbuster's night just for my daughter Eleni who loves Ghostbusters.  She still does, we watched it today!

Here's a quick shot of some of the great folks who were there celebrating Trevon's birthday!  I can't say that I have anything but love and admiration for everyone in this photo.

Speaking of love, let me show you a photo of this dude cooking.  He was a very nice guy, he grills onions which were crazy good and also grills whole fresh jalapenos, yeah, I did eat three.  They were so damn good!  Pinto beans instead of refried, I go back and forth, these pinto beans may not have been as good as my cousin Lisa's, but they were solid.  Rice was fine, it was good rice.  This guy is a hard working good dude.  His food is good overall, but he is just a really nice guy.

Yeah, pastor just gets me excited.  Enough chatter, lets get down to business.
RATINGS:
ASADA: 3, it was great, I enjoyed it, it got better the longer it sat.
POLLO: 3, this I teeter tottered as a 4.  It is really good.  Tender, wells seasoned.  Something to talk about, I mean, heck, I'm still talking about it.
PASTOR: 4, yeah, it is that good.  After it sat for a bit, it got even better, it was so well seasoned, so well cooked, the care to this meat was amazing and it melted away on your tongue with the happiness that only seasoned meat can bring.
SALSA ROJO: 4, this spicy goodness was smoky and had a little twang from a pepper and I am not sure which one.  That intrigued me!
SALSA VERDE: 3, pretty run of the mill, good, heavy lime flavor.

If you are looking for a truck for a party I recommend this guy.  He also does carnitas and I hear that it is off the chain.  I do have another truck that I recommend, email me for their info, I have to go to another party that they are at and get some photos, do some rating and do some writing.
Contact info:
Salvador
Spanish: (323) 353-8303
English: (323) 240-4719

I really enjoyed chatting with him and watching him work.  Dude is a master of his craft!

Thank you again for reading.  Tonight's gratuitous goodbye photo is nothing short of awesome.  It is of the man, the myth, the legend, Trevon Kezios.  This is a photo of him heckling the captain of the boat on the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland.  Trevon not only is that guy, but he pulls it off and it is one of the many reasons that everyone who meets him loves him.  I am very thankful to have been invited to his birthday celebration.  Very Happy Birthday to an amazing dude.

Stay Excellent!