My Taco Man Catering, Wine Pick-up Party!

This little napkin dispenser says it all.  A guy with a mustache, smile and tacos.  Lets start from the beginning this time.  Paul, my brother, Melissa my wife and I are members of Labyrinth Winery.  They do a few wine pick up parties every year for their members and there might not be a place to have more fun in the universe.  They've done all types of food, but this time, they reached the summit of the mountain with a taco truck.  Melissa and I got a hotel room walking distance on the beach.

Not too shabby of a view from the balcony.  That was a morning photo that I took.  Really nice waking up in Ventura to the site of the islands, smell of the ocean and Jason not in my bed kicking and crying for milk at 4am.  Paul, Melissa and I went for a swim in the ocean, hung out and then headed to the wine party.  We got there way too early.  It was us hanging offering to help set-up the party with the workers.  We patiently waited and had a great time speaking to the owners and employees who we do already know.

Check out the red wine spread.  Yeah, that is just the reds, not including all of the great whites that they have.  There was some amazing wine poured at this event.  It was a true great time.  We scouted the area and found a great corner tucked behind the bar with some couches.  A few of Paul's friends were meeting us and joining the party.  There were snacks around, great people and of course tacos.

These guys were there early and grilling up some delightful treats for everyone that found themselves worthy of having tacos with their wine.  True story, tacos go great with everything.  They are a celebratory as well as mourning food.  They are great for any occasion.  I'm glad that My Taco Man knows this.  There was only three servings of tacos available for the even.  Vegetable, Pollo and Asada.  This was enough, because they crushed it.

So you walk up to the grill and this is the set-up.  Could it look better?  I really don't know if it could.  It was pretty awesome.  They had a table set-up with cilantro, onions, red and green salsa.  Pretty cool little set-up.  They would get you as many tacos as you asked, small tortillas that they filled right up.  It was perfect for the wine tasting.  They weren't too big and overwhelming, they weren't too small to where you couldn't taste the food.  Nicely done guys, nicely done.

So this is the group.  My brother Paul and wife Melissa you know.  Brooks is sitting next to Melissa, Jamie is next to Paul and Tony is next to her.  Pretty righteous group.  I know, you are asking yourself, what is with all the water glasses?  We drank a ton of water.  We did enjoy ourselves, but we did pace ourselves and wanted to make sure that we had fun and remembered every bit of it.

Here's a shot of the little spread.  I'm not doing a full rankings sheet with just three tacos.  Veggies was a 3, solid and good, Asada was a 4, yeah, it was that good, Pollo: 5.  It might have been the best pollo I've ever had.  It was so good and it just melted.  The salsas were solid, the peppers were so good, I'm salivating a week later just thinking about them.  This place is fantastic.  If you are in need of catering for a party, this is a group to consider if you want people to enjoy the food.

We went to dinner that night and I got fish tacos.  If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen this, if not, you're welcome.  They were also delicious.

What an amazing weekend.  Sorry it's taken so long to write this, I've had a ton of work to do!  There are many great notes on this trip.  Spending the time with my wife and brother, eating tacos, drinking wine, swimming in the ocean at night (one of my favorite things to do).  I got to know the winemaker.  I've met him, I've spoken to him, but really got to know him and his amazing wife, also a winemaker.  I say it like she's not one of the best in the game.  Lane Tanner is his wife and she is second to none.  A gracious woman who was so wonderful to us.  We enjoyed chatting with her and getting to know her.  Ariki Hill is the winemaker I was speaking of and today's goodbye/gratuitous photo is of him pouring.  A huge thank you to Labyrinth Wines for such an amazing day.  Their wines are fantastic.  You should be buying their wines as much as possible.

Stay Excellent!

Letty's, Newbury Park, CA

So, Letty's.  I was introduced to this place by an former employee and then colleague.  We went here for lunch a couple of years ago, I like the place.  I liked it a ton.  The individual tried to not tell me where it was, that is his style, but I found it.  I have been back a number of times.  I haven't been there in quite sometime.  I've been eyeing it, keeping it in my TacoGraphic Memory for more then a few minutes.  They do a nice job on their meat.  Service is good.  You walk up, order at the register and then grab a table.  They bring everything to you and are really nice.  No pagers or BS like that, they may call out your order, but they get it to you.  I enjoy it.  I love that style of service.  It empowers the guest to really create their own destiny and gives the establishment the opportunity to blow people away with service.  They have a pretty great menu.  I've only eaten tacos every time I've gone, but the rest of the food looks pretty righteous.

Chips and salsa are brought to your table just after you order.  Nice touch and something that I know is coming but still don't really expect.  They bring a small bowl of chips and a bowl of salsa that is almost the same size.  It really is pretty great.  One of the coolest parts, is the place mats on the tables.  They have a great bunch of facts and history about Mexico.  Cool stuff, not junk.  It describes the flag, history of what Mexico has contributed to the world, has brief descriptions of the cultural influences and tribes that originated or conquered Mexico over time.

RATINGS:
CARNITAS: 3, decent.  Nothing that will blow you away, but it will not disappoint.  I did think that it needed a little bit of salt.
CHILE VERDE: 3, cumin and clove delight.  A little heavy handed on those spices, but worth eating.  I still think that chile verde belongs more in a burrito, but I wasn't doing burritos today.  I would suggest that if you are doing chile verde here, you get a burrito and let the rice and tortilla soak up that delicious juice.
LENGUA: 3, soft, not as buttery as I like it.  It was good, nothing out of the ordinary or above and beyond great.  I would eat it again, but wouldn't go out of my way to eat lengua there again.
PASTOR: 3, this is a pineapple bomb.  Aciote is there, hint of habenero, but a huge, sweet pineapple bomb.  I still enjoyed it, but want you to know what you are getting into.
ASADA: 4, something pretty special.  This was good stuff.  It was tender, chopped pretty fine, but really tasty.  It had a certain something that I really did enjoy.  I would strongly recommend that you get an asada taco if you are around the area.
SALSA ROJO: 3, pretty run of the mill.  Not too spicy, not too great.  It was good, but not great.
SALSA VERDE: 4, yeah, I really liked it.  They served it warm, borderline hot.  It was really tasty.  Lite cumin flavor and delicious with chips or poured on tacos.
SALSA: 5, haven't seen one of these in a little while.  This was some really good stuff.  I'm referring to the salsa that is served with the chips.  It is spicy, smoky, downright tasty.

Looks pretty tasty right?  Overall it really was.  I do like this place and will be going back.  I feel as though I've had visits with better flavors, but this one did not disappoint by any means.  A bit more cilantro and onions would probably help the flavor a bit, but like I said, I do like this place.

Thank you to everyone for reading.  This blog blows up more and more everyday.  Please keep telling people, I love to see more followers, views and likes.

Today's picture is one of the person who took me to Letty's for the first time, Brandon Hill, better known as Tiny B.  Tiny B is a huge baseball fan.  He loves the Yankees and coaches little league with amazing fire and passion.  I don't get to talk to Tiny B anymore and I miss our conversations of family, life and work.  He's in the pizza business now, no more burgers and fries!

Stay Excellent!

Taqueria Cuernavaca, Ventura, CA

I know, the menu looks solid.  So, my dad and I are helping my brother, who is single ladies, oh, did I mention his name is Doctor Uncle Paul?  He has a great place, walking distance from the beach in Ventura, CA.  He is a doctor of physical therapy.  He is great with kids, my three kids love Doctor Uncle Paul, he loves dogs, Buck is his dog who goes everywhere with him, except for work.  Anyways, shoot me a message, I'll guide you single ladies towards him.  Oh yeah, the tacos.  We are helping Paul move into his great new place.  We decide we are going to do some quick tacoteering.  They stay back to get the place set, I run to a joint I've been to a couple of times.  I've loved the food.  This place had the potential to be a staple for me.  As I'm sure you're all tired of hearing, I'm in the restaurant industry.  We know that we are only as good as our last shift.  We can have years of success, but a bad visit or two is detrimental to our existence.  I'm often reminded we are one bad yelp review away from being an empty restaurant.

This is Paul, Buck and my son Alexander.  Told you he is good with kids...

Here he is dressed as Robin, what a sense of adventure...

This is him celebrating Easter last year with the family.  He is in the blue shirt next to me.  PJ is with us.  We are so happy to be together.  Paul is again showboating his great family values...

Like I said ladies, he is successful and single.  Message me for more information about him!

Back to Tacoteering:

I normally have a great time at Taqueria Cuernavaca.  This visit hurt.  It hurt my soul.  It has taken me a few days to write this as I've struggled with what to say.  I have to write about my last visit.  Not the good times that I've enjoyed.  Start off, that they are rude.  They have been every time.  Food took forever, that is normal.  I got overcharged, they never fixed it, yeah, I'm frustrated.  Come on, win me over with the taco delightfulness.  This did not happen.  I'll start by saying everything was dry.  Salsa bar is still on point and pretty darn good.

RATINGS:
SALSA BAR: 3, solid.  The green avocado salsa is their best by far, giving it a 4.  Their orange is a solid 3, their Jalapeno is a 2.
PASTOR: 2, um, you normally have it coming off the cone!  This stuff was dry and not off the cone.  Your cone was empty!  Why are you wasting this genius, wonderful piece of equipment?
CHULETA: 1, if you like to eat shoe, you might like this.  It was tough and horrid.  It tasted old and was chewy.  I can't say enough bad things, normally pretty delicious.
LENGUA: 4, I will say that this was pretty yummy. Flavorful, buttery, nicely cooked.  This was by far the highlight of the trip.
CECINA: 2, I am a huge cecina fan.  I love this stuff.  I mean it is an Asada alternative that just diversifies the meat a bit, at least when it is done right.  Way overcooked and dried out.
ASADA: 2, Eww.  Let me repeat eww.  Horrible...

Here's the deal.  I think that everything is just sitting under heat lamps for extended periods of time.  I mean, really long times.  It is unacceptable.  They know how to cook, they are too focused on being a factory.  Please don't rest on your taco laurels, strive for taco greatness.  I will not be returning for a very long time, if ever.  I'll just have to find other places to go.  This is sad, you are conveniently located and I use to like going.  I write this with a tear falling from my eye.

Thanks everyone for reading.  I do appreciate it.  We are starting to get a strong following.  I love the momentum.  Please help me keep this momentum going.  Retweet, share, whatever you can do is appreciated.  We are also looking for someone to help design a logo for us.  Email me if you have some thoughts.  I'm going to make some T-Shirts.  Thanks again, Stay Excellent Everyone.