Las Equipales, Sylmar, CA..a must eat

I'll start with the address:
Las Equipales
15963 Yarnell Street
Sylmar, CA
(818) 833-2902

If you are not careful, you will drive right by this place, maybe even multiple times.  Just a warning.  You don't want to miss it.  Homemade tortillas, fantastically flavored meats, yeah this place has it going on.  Word from the Taco Wise, go early.  We got there 30 minutes prior to close and they did not have their adobada.  Still had their famous, handmade tortillas.  It made me very sad they didn't have the pork I was so craving.

So Brandon and I have been talking that we just need to get out and go somewhere.  I've been scouting places everywhere and this place keeps coming up.  I have read about it, looked at what they have, the whole deal.  I called, asked questions, I wanted to make sure that I was going to the right place.  They were very nice on the phone and even cooler in person.  Brandon and Allison are so damn cool.  They are recently engaged and I am so excited to see them tie the knot.  Great people, great couple.  Knowing people like them is great.  Getting tacos with them is amazing.  I of course have been telling Brandon about this place over and over.  I know you read it before, but homemade tortillas!  Yeah, they were obviously really tasty.

So when you walk in, there is a small area with tables and guys and gals working hard behind the counter, they know what they are doing.  These folks are masters of their craft.  We ordered our food, a nice little spread.  I again will cry that I was sad for no pork.  Just a great reason to go back another day.  I mean, I need no reason other then how awesome this place is.

Slightly to the left, you can see them hard at work pounding out the tortillas.  I mean, handmade deliciousness.  There are great places that make their own, but this place hit the spot.

They use old school restaurant ways, I really enjoyed watching them work.  It was really cool seeing them do what they do.  They all seem to enjoy working with each other and enjoy working there.  I think that really helped the experience.  Just nice folks there.

Chips and salsa were a great start.  Chips were thick good and crispy.  Salsa was smoky and good.  Ratings are coming up soon, so I don't want to give away too much.  Brandon has been spoken about in a number of my blogs.  He is a great dude, his fiance is awesome.  They are fun loving, Dodger loving people from great families.  I've said it before, I'm lucky for the friends that I do have.  I can't say enough that it's not what you eat, but who you eat it with.  I will say though, this place is righteous.

This is Brandon's face of, really?  Will you stop taking pictures and talking and let us eat already?  Allison is looking for her knife, some chick looked at her funny, Allison wanted to throw down.  I caught Allison in a quick less aggressive photo right after that.

Doesn't she look nice.  Allison too, not just the chips.  She's really a cool chick, if you didn't get that from my earlier comments.  But seriously, if you can't tell, she liked the chips.

Yeah, I'm getting excited right now just looking at that.

Get Excited...
RATINGS:
SALSA: 4, smoky, flavorful, nice tomato flavor.  I loved it.  I thought that it was just really nice stuff.  There was the salsa for the tacos and a separate one for the chips.  Both were yummy in my tummy.
TORTILLAS: 5, delicate, but firm, soft, but strong.  These things are great.  You need to go and try these soon.  You will be thanking constantly.
POLLO: 4, yeah, way above average.  This stuff is really good.  Moist, nice, eat it, you like it.
BIRRIA: 4, shredded beef goodness.  Yes, very good.  Flavorful, little bit of clove in there.  I found it to be nice.  So often you get over boiled beef that is just not good, well readers, that is not the case there.
ASADA: 5, perfect.  I need say no more.

ATTACK:

Yeah, we totally attacked.  Stuff was good, day was fun.  I needed that day.  We all have so many things going on, so many pressures, this was a great afternoon of distraction.  It was great to hang out with two great friends and eat such great food.  I'll probably write a part two about this place.  I'm going back, I'm going to have their adobada and their carnitas and more of their asada.  Thanks for reading, please tell your friends and of course, Stay Excellent.

A Curvy Journey, a Story of Tacos and Friendship

One photo on today's blog.  Last night was a different kind of a journey, what a great outcome.  Brandon, an original member, is a great friend.  I think to the day that I met Brandon.  We hit it off the second we laid eyes on each other.  We knew we would be great friends.  Brandon is an upstanding friend, an amazing brother, great son and one heck of a great friend.  Brandon and I hang every chance that we get.  We will just sit around, enjoy a cigar, go for a swim, hang at a random Dodger game we are both at, point is, any chance we get, but I again repeat myself.  

Brandon asked me to do some Tacoteering this week.  Why not?  Great friend and some tacos?  Yeah, I'm in.  Well, one thing after another has been delaying and preventing.  So much that things were coming up and I was on my phone on the freeway, on the way to Brandon's house.  Did I almost cancel?  Yeah, I almost did.  I mean, it is crazy busy at work, there is a ton going on outside of work and situations arose that needed attention.  I pulled up to Brandon's place, parked the bike and he was in the doorway.  I saw him and knew, I wasn't cancelling.  We chatted.  We spent a few minutes just exchanging pleasantries of life.  True small talk.  With the impending list of things I had to do, we jumped in his Audi and headed to Sylmar.  We had a specific place in mind.  We got there pretty fast, which was great, I was damn hungry.  Anyways, the place was closed and had been taken over by the sometimes over developed Carnitas Michocan.  Here is my thought on that place.  It can be a 10 or a 2.  Some of them are so good.  Some of them suck more then a drunk cheerleader at a college party.  We were not going to chance it.  We started driving and talking.  It really hit me, this was a special night with a special friend.  A distraction from the stress, a one evening vacation from the pressures we all work with in life.  It didn't matter where we were going, it mattered who we were with.

I reached into my Tacographic Memory and asked myself if there was a "special occasion" place around we could enjoy.  Honestly, yes, there was.  El Faro.  A true gem of a place.  A shining light that brightens the gleam in my eyes with a thought of their meat and salsas.  If you haven't read about El Faro, you are missing out about a great journey.  If you haven't been, get on your motorcycle and go.  This place is great.  We drove over to El Faro and walked in at the right time.

We walked straight up to the counter and got a few of each taco.  We got our peppers and salsas from the salsa bar and grabbed a seat.  As soon as we sat down, there was a line out the door!  We got our tacos and one by one attacked.  We shared one of the tastiest meals in the world.  It was only superseded by the great company that we enjoyed.  I often tell the people that I work with, it is not always who people are, but what we bring out in them.  Brandon brings out great things in me, and me in him.  We shared conversations about love, life, work and happiness.  We are both fortunate to have the ladies in our respective lives that we do.  We are both fortunate to have jobs we love.  We both have great love for our families and are so grateful to have them in our lives.  The great friendship and time just enhanced the amazing food that we were fortunate enough to enjoy.

A great evening reminded me of how fortunate I am to have great people in my life.  It was a recharge of the power of positive thinking.  It put me in the right state of mind to approach the duties I had later in the evening.  I thank all of the friends that I have out there, especially those who were original members.  The Buck Monstrosity, Chris, Nate, James, Paul and Mike.  I need to give a special shout out to Ramon who does a great amount of Tacoteering with me as we go on work adventures together.  Brandon, you are a great man and a great friend.  I appreciate the time that we get together and look forward to Tacoteering with you soon.  I will say, with the threats I've received from Melissa and Allison, we are bringing them next time!

This is Brandon and I at Bucky and Kari's wedding.

Thanks for reading everyone, I know this was a bit different.  The ratings stay the same as last time I went.  We had a few more meats, none disappointed and nothing got below a 4 for us.  Hope you enjoy a different blog this time, I'll be back to normal Tacoteering and writing hopefully by the end of the weekend.  Remember, it is about the journey and not necessarily where you eat, but who you get to do it with.  Stay Excellent everyone!

El Faro, Sylmar/San Fernando, CA: WOW

To every ying, there is a yang.  A time to reap, a time to sew.  Yesterday was one of the worst visits I had to a restaurant in my entire existence.  If you did not read about it, check it out and fulfill that morbid curiosity that is looming inside of you.  Bask in your happiness of not having to endure the foul tastes and experience that I had to call "lunch" on Thursday.  Know this, Karma has come back to me today and apologized.  I have again fulfilled my Taco Destiny for the day.  It is amazing how much brighter the sun shines today.  The warm glow of its rays just make me feel better and better.  I think I even heard birds chirping a song for me as I left this rare gem, found in the foothills of Sylmar, CA.

El Faro is a recommendation from a genius of a woman.  A truly brilliant lady that has forever changed all of our lives by sharing this information with the right people.  Rosa Mora had passed the knowledge of this place onto me through my mother as they work together.  I have been thinking about going for some time, and the time became today.  I needed a "pick me up" after yesterday's fiasco.  I hoped that El Faro would deliver.  If you are familiar with the 118-210 interchange, then you are close.  It is right off of McClay, and I mean right off.  Just head toward San Fernando and just before you hit the sign, on the corner of McClay and Bromont you will find this place, you are welcome for passing this on.

Menu is good.  Great options, but sticks to what they know.  I can assure you, that if you walk in, see the spit going round and it looks right, it is.  I had to look around and noticed no grilled pineapple.  OK, I'm still interested.  You could smell this place from down the street.  Even if I was slumming it in my mommy's Lexus.  I know, I missed Dolly too.  The only thing that kept me going is the Blue Suede Shoes I'm wearing and channel 19, Elvis Radio on XM.  FYI, food flies out of this kitchen.  I barely finished paying and my food was ready.  I saw everyone's food coming out like this.  What a treat to see this team work like this.  Real teamwork.  I love it, it makes it so much better for my experience to see this.  My anticipation and excitement grew as I got my plate.

I had to head over to the massive, two picture salsa bar.  Red/Green salsa, fried jalepenos with salt on them, sauteed onions, cilantro, raw onions, limes, cucumbers, and on and on and on.  I was so excited I started to salivate more and more.  I mean this was exciting, really exciting.

This leads us to the table and the eating which was more then delightful, so without further a due, the Ratings...

RATINGS:
SALSA VERDE: 5, So spicy, so delicious, layered with flavor after flavor.  This coats your tongue from front to back and hits your throat with a delightful tingle.  It is a hot one, not for the fair tonged.
SALSA ROJO: 4, I liked it a ton, but 5's are not easy to come by, I mean they have to knock my socks off.  This stuff was good.  Juallios are involved and they were soaked in vinegar for sure, worth trying, I'd say it is a great compliment to the chicken and leaner meats, check out the verde for the fattier meats.
SALSA BAR: 5, no way this place could have gotten better.  This thing had it all and I'm about to weep just writing about it.
POLLO: 3, solid all the way through.  It was really good.  Light, seasoned, not overcooked.  I think it is very good and has solid neutral flavors that kids and adults alike will enjoy.
TRIPA: 4, they know what they are doing.  One bite and you will taste what I mean.  This stuff was succulent.  If you don't like tripa or think you don't, try this, you might have your mind changed.
LENGUA:  4, what?  There is another above 3?  I'm shocked too, but when someone deserves it, they get it.  This stuff is something special.  Soft, but good, cut nicely, not too big, not too small.  Boiled, then hits the flat top is my guess, nicely done.
ASADA: 5, I'll preface this with, I don't know if we'll ever see a 5 on Asada again.  This is a hard one for me to say above 3.  They cook with something, I'm not sure what, but I'm going back to taste it out.  This is not your abuela's Asada.  this is some interesting, complex stuff.
PASTOR: 5, yeah, I mean it.  This is Rincon Taurino good.  I mean, the business, right here.  They put cold pineapple on top, didn't think I was going to enjoy, I normally don't, but I was proven wrong at first bite.  WOW, great job.

A fried little corn tortilla finds its way onto your plate.  It is perfect.  Great for scooping and tasting the salsa, but not distracting.  The guys and gal working there are great.  I was talking to them post meal and loved their time.  I really think that if you are experimenting with tacoterring, you need to check this place out, you will not be disappointed.

A very special thank you to Rosa Mora.  She directed me towards this place and says they have a truck that upholds the amazing integrity that the restaurant has.  Rosa, you will forever be a friend and advisor of The Order of the Taco.  If anyone has sent me a place, I'll get there, Rosa set the bar pretty high on this one!  Thanks Rosa!

Thanks to everyone who is following and getting the blogs sent to their email, please tell your friends, enemies, acquaintances and passer byes!  Stay Excellent Everyone.