June Lake Brewery/Ohanas Hawaiian Food, June Lake, CA

Entrance to the brewery is pretty cool.  I'll tell you, I was so excited to go here that I couldn't see straight.  Mammoth Brewery is so damn good, I though this place had a real shot.  Small, nice area, beautiful scenery.  They do well with the decor, they are smart to have a taco truck parked in their parking lot.  Brewery is convenient if you are heading to the ski area or fishing one of the June Lake Loop Lakes.  Clean, good water helps your beer taste better, take advantage of it if you have it available!  We made this official bar business as we were hoping to get some solid relationships going with both June and Mammoth Brewery.

As you are pulling up to the brewery, this is what you see.  Yes, that's a taco truck.  This little gem is serving up Hawaiian inspired food.  Yes, they are advertising tacos and they were not too shabby.  The owner had her whole family working.  She lived in Hawaii, SoCal and they just love it up the Eastern Sierras so they figure out how to make it happen.  This chick goes a long way to make sure that she is getting the right product.  She wasn't taking any short cuts and you can really taste it.

We spent the day fishing.  Alexander got some great support from Uncle Paul, Uncle Brando, Uncle Tim, Moose, and his Papou.  If anyone got a bite, Alexander was pole in hand.  He caught a good amount of fish in our three days and had the best time he's ever had.  He drove the boat and nicknamed himself The Captain, he earned it.  Above is Uncle Brando with the net and Alexander and his Papou reeling in a great catch together!

One of my favorite shots of the trip, Alexander and Uncle Brando reeling a big trout in.  Yes, I'm proud they are sporting Crazy Harry's hats, but they really bonded, had a great time and Alexander was so proud that he caught the fish that fed the family dinner, yes, they were really good.  This was Alexander's first "guy's trip" and he relished and really grew up with the experience.

Another pretty epic picture.  Alexander's so proud that Doctor Uncle Paul and him caught some fish together.  Paul is one of my brother's and Alexander and I are very close with him.  He's a man second to none and it is great that he took time off of work to spend time with us in the mountains.  Paul and I use to fish these mountains together when we were younger than Alexander which makes it really special for us to do with him.  I'll lay off of the sappy bullshit and stories of us fishing and teaching Alexander how to be a fisherman and get to the tacos!

So we were pretty excited to walk up and see this.  We just went there for some quick tasters and when we say this, umm yeah, I had to run and get tacos for us hungry men to share!  It was a nice snack getting off the lake and it tied us all over nicely before we got into our big dinner.  When I say big dinners, I mean big dinners.  We went all out cooking together and had some pretty epic meals!

Here is a closer look at this rare gem hidden in the hills of the Eastern Sierras.  Yes, they have a convenient bike rack, I think it gives them so pretty great street cred!  This is such a nice family.  They make the sauces from scratch and pair each sauce with each bit protein.  Another big plus, they aren't beef crazy, they have delicious pork and chicken!

This is what we paired with the tacos.  I have been to a ton of breweries, obviously own and run a craft beer and boutique wine bar, the scenery surrounding this brewery and the inside itself are so amazing.  They really nail the ambiance.  Place is clean, they keep it nice and pretty.  Flights that they do are solid and they have some great custom taster cup holders that are pretty sick.

Every so often, I don't do rankings, this blog is one of those.  I can tell you that I'd eat all of the tacos that we tried, yes, we tried them all!  My favorite is the spicy pork.  Why am I not doing rankings this time?  They don't have the same ones!  This chef does a great job of using what is fresh, using what is in season, she does a great job and the salsas, well I didn't write all of these treats down.  FYI, Kahlua Pork and the Chicken, also BOMB!  They go a little happy on the slaw, but it is good. It doesn't taste wilted or cheap, it is really solid.

 Look at these three handsome-ass men!  We did some tasting, some pairing, some good laughs and fun!  The tacos totally overshadowed the beer here.  There is some serious thought, care and experience put into these tacos.

We got lucky with the weather and the scenery!  We were happily surprised that the colors were changing while we were up there.  I have been all over the country during the change of the seasons, this was the most beautiful and we were so grateful that we got to take it all in!

Did I tell you to check out the scenery?  Alexander was so happy, as I keep stating that he was the Captain, but if you look past his sick driving skills, you can see the amazing colors in the background.

Thank you for indulging me on this one.  It is always about the story, about the adventure, not just what you get to eat, but who, when, where and how you get to eat it.  This trip was beyond amazing and we were just extra pumped to get to do some impromptu Tacoteering on this one trip.  Really big thank you for the reads, re-posts, re-tweets and for continuing to follow though I haven't written as much lately.  I haven't forgotten there are more blogs to come, I know you all care what/where I'm doing, especially in relation to tacos.

Today's goodbye/gratuitous photo is of my oldest son Alexander.  Alexander as many of you know has CP.  He does not allow himself to be bound to his wheelchair.  He does archery, Brazilian Jui Jitsu, wheelchair dance, acting and still makes it to school, therapy and everything else.  Much of that is of course because of his mother and his grand parents getting him everywhere.  The cool part is that it is not just him, but our family and friends don't allow him to either.  Brandon and Tim invited us up to go out on their boat to help make it a bit easier for him to fish.  It was awesome.  Alexander did a great job, caught a bunch of fish and Tim helped show him how to properly filet a trout.  Amazing to see his progress and our friends push him more and more.  Alexander and his fish:

Stay Excellent!

Taqueria La Hacienda, Phoenix, AZ

This is what it looked like when we got out of the car.  Bright lights, a truck, people lining up and now insert some true Tacoteers.

We walked up like normal people, well, all of us except for Diane who was really excited.  This place is unique.  The cover was not built for the taco truck, but fits pretty darn well.  tables are lined up, chairs were some of the worst folding chairs I've been in, but oh well, we didn't go for the chairs.  I know what you are wondering, who is that strikingly handsome man standing next to Diane?  Let me introduce you to Jimbo.  Jim is the VP of Operations for one of the franchisees and he is one heck of a dude.  One of the nicest, genuine, knowledgeable people I've had the pleasure of working with.  Roxy looks lost, JJ looks scared and the other dude looks stoned in his tie-die shirt.  I don't know him, even if I did, I'd make sure to forget him.

Look at the excitement of Big Jim and Yellow Chocolate.  I can't say what Phil is laughing at, but I'm happy that he is happy.  Jim was a champ on his first Tacoteering adventure.  I will say that he traveled quite a distance to go for tacos with us.  He lives in Anchorage, Alaska.  He must really like tacos because I think the only reason that he came to AZ was to go Tacoteering with us.

There is the menu.  Yes, that's the whole thing, and you know I'm digging it.  Keeping it real, keeping it simple.  Place is set-up nicely to execute a fabulous menu like this.  Here is how it has been recived by our team:

Cassie couldn't stop chowing down.  Nicole had to make a hair appointment.

Diane and Roxy are mouthful eating and Phil is clearly judging them.

Now Diane is talking with her mouthful to Phil and Roxy is still eating.

I didn't want to embarrass JJ anymore than he already is embarrassed on this trip.  I mean, who wears a Giants hat?  Sad...This is the picture of JJ that you get, for now at least.

So, what's everyone eating?
RATINGS:
TRIPA: 3, I love me some tripa.  This stuff wasn't too shabby.  It was left in pretty big pieces which I'm great with, would have liked a little more char, slightly more cooking with this one would have pushed it over the edge to that coveted 4.
CHICHARRON: 1, eww.  It was just burnt, nasty burnt pieces of meat, if it was meat.  It tasted like carbon it was so burnt.  Don't order it unless you like to eat things that suck.
BUCHE: 4, this won me over.  Tasty, tasty stuff.  Flavors were on point, presentation was good.  I have no complaints.  It was cooked pretty well, but wasn't overdone.  It has a nice salty flavor to it with some subtle pepper flavor on there.
CABEZA: 3, this was not too bad.  It was good, not slimy or under cooked, not crispy or burnt.  The lack of seasoning hurt them, but a little salt and salsa did the trick.
LENGUA: 3, this is a buy the book lengua.  Not shredded, but small pieces, good flavor, pretty salty, but not over salted.  Worth trying, I'd stick happily with this if I was a lengua beginner.
ASADA: 3, textbook stuff here.  They did nothing different from the basics that you would expect in the asada realm.
PASTOR: 3, this made me homesick for real pastor.  I mean the good stuff that I rarely find outside of Southern California.  It was fine, nothing bad, nothing to complain about, but it didn't blow my mind, and I love it when pastor does this.
CERVICHE: 2, maybe I'm a cerviche snob, but this was unimpressive.  It didn't have the flavor, texture or depth.
SALSAS: 3, this was basic average stuff.  Nothing amazing, nothing that was bad.  It was some fairly bland flavors, not spicy enough, but not bad.

CERVICHE TIME!

That's the spread right there.  Those serranos were so delicious.  They really might have been my favorite part.  Tortillas at this place were good.  A bit tough, but not bad.  They stood up well to all of the meats, but could have had a sweeter flavor.  I would say to check this place out if you are in the area.  The ambiance is pretty great.  The food is not too shabby.  If I find myself in the area soon, I'll probably go back unless I get lured away by some gorgeous tacos from somewhere else.

This is our group eating together.  It was great to break tortillas with these guys.  I've done a lot of openings over the last few years and there are a few on here that I've gotten to do a few openings with.  It was great to get them in the blog one more time.  Nicole is in two blogs in a row, so is Phil, but that's fairly common for Yellow Chocolate.  I do love having a first timer in Jim and am glad that JJ is back in the blog.  He's a hell of a Tacoteer, friend and traveling buddy.

This is a blurry picture of the moon.  I put this on here for no reason at all.

Special thanks to the training team.  The fact that they continue to indulge me on these taco adventures means a tremendous amount to me and it is going to be something I'm really going to miss with the possible changes coming up in my life.  Thank you to Jim for joining the blog and Nicole for being two in a row!  As always thanks to everyone for reading, posting, re-posting, re-tweeting and telling their friends.

Today's gratuitous/goodbye photo is of Nicole and Yellow Chocolate.  These two have been part of the Home Office team for a little over a year and I've had the pleasure of being on their team.  They are amazing friends that I love and respect so much.  Their talents, hard work and dedication to the greater good is beyond awesome.  Getting to have the two of them with me on the first half of this final long trip is pretty special.  The photo is of them after the tacos.  They went to BK to get some soft serve.  I went for the walk and entertainment.  A true reminder it's not what or where you are eating, but who you are eating with.

Stay Excellent!

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!!!

White Rabbit, Winnetka, CA

I've seen the truck, passed by the joint 100's of times.  It says they have tacos, burritos.  Mike and I went on a short trip to a beer bar to try an IPA Shootout that they were doing.  We each had two beers and we decided to go Tacoteering.  We had a place or two in mind and then thought Filipino Tacos? Why not?

When you walk into this former Taco Bell, you are introduced to this menu.  The whole thing just fits.  The place is clean, the menu is simple.  You can see how this works so well as a taco truck.  They have their menu dialed in.  I was kind of shocked, they had to take our name.  We were the only people in the joint and no one else really came in, but OK, that works, I guess they are so married to their system that they had to stick with it.  It did take two people to take our order.  That was interesting.  At first we thought that one of them might be in training, but that did not seem to be the case.  One of the most interesting parts, is that there is a bed sheet that separates the front and back of the kitchen.  I have to say that it blew me away a bit, but hey, works for this place.
RATINGS:
CHICKEN ADOBO: 3, pretty textbook chicken, not too shabby.  It was good, but didn't overly impress.
BEEFSTEAK: 3, asada esque?  It is good stuff.  A bit sweet, a bit salty.  Good little beef option.
PORK SISIG: 2, a let down for me here.  It is not that it was bad, maybe I built up the excitement too much in my head.  I was pumped to get this taco and it was a little less than OK.  Why a let down, its fried pork with jalapenos.
LONGANISA: 4, this is a chopped sausage and it was a total shock alert here.  Did not expect to like this all that much.  Actually I did not expect to like it and almost did not get it.  This was some tasty stuff.  It almost tasted like orange chicken.
VEGETARIAN: 4,  just a heads up, soy based.  Nice little vegetarian treat.  It almost tasted like pork and was some serious sweetness to it.  It went great with Sriracha.  Gave it a nice sweet and spicy balance that paired well together.
PORK TOCINO: 3, braised wok fried pork.  Yum, yum get me some.  This was a nice little go to that these guys put together.
PORK LUMPIA: 3, this is similar to an egg roll, but maybe better.  We asked the two cashiers helping us what one item we had to try and they sent us here.  It didn't blow me away, but it was pretty tasty.  Couple it with their homemade banana ketchup and you will enjoy with a smile.  One order is cut into six and it was a great little appetizer for us.  I mean come on, who doesn't like a little fried pork goodness?

That is the spread!  Yes, we got two of each meat and the lumpia.  This place is good.  This place is worth stopping by.  Did it really satisfy my taco craving?  No, but it was good food and anyone who is going to try doing some different tacos is solid in my book.  These guys are doing some cool things and I will be checking them out in the future.  I will warn you that they use sugar and a lot of it.

Thank you as always for indulging me with a read, it is appreciated.

Today's goodbye/gratuitous photo just entertained me.  It was on every table and was quite the advertisement in this joint.  If you aren't busy, you might want to join...

Stay Excellent!