The Great San Diego Crawl of 2013 Part 2

Welcome to part 2.  Well, where were we, ahh, yes, we were at Tacos el Gordo in Chula Vista.  So what happened?  Well, some good eating as I said:

Yum, yum gimme some!  My mouth is watering just looking at this food again.  I mean, the picture does it no justice.

So what went down at Tacos el Gordo while we were eating?  It started with James.  Yes, James.  I don't know how, but he found a very broken chair and tried to use it in mid air.

He took the chair on a tour and we found it quite entertaining.  We also lost Mark.  Where was he?  Well, he was in line.  He was in line long after we had all ordered, paid and eaten.  Mark Chan and his camera were waiting for food for much longer then anyone in the history of this restaurant.  If you look closely, Mark is in the bottom of this picture finally eating as Mike stares at him judging.

I can't tell you how proud we all were seeing Mark finally get up to the front to order like a big boy.  He did really great.

After Mark finished eating, James was done playing with his chair and we all gazed upon the beautiful cones of meat, we went back out to the cars.  We jumped in ready to head North to San Diego.  The Chula Vista chapter is closed.  How will the rest go?  According to plan?  Will there be a stop at a church like last trip?  Are we going to see some crazy guy sweeping the sidewalk with his hands?  The answer is no, but there is many more things to happen, so lets get into what really did go down.

Our next stop is Tacos el Rey.  We were pretty psyched about this place.  It moved not long ago so many people thought that it was closed down.  I called to make sure and was ready to roll.  This was supposed to be our most expensive spot.  We were all ready to go.  We were all ready to enjoy more tacos.  Truth be told I was super hungry.  I was pacing myself and by the time we were heading this way, I was really ready to eat.  We walk up to find that the place decided, even though they told me they were going to be open, closed for the Holiday weekend.  This did not sit well with me.  I was pretty damn furious.  I run restaurants, you can't just close!  As an operator and a guest, I was really not happy, can you tell yet???

We were deciding what to do when we looked on the sidewalk and saw a little garden that clearly belongs to the restaurant.  It was full of many things, tomatoes, mint, sage, cilantro, peppers, dog piss.  Yeah, I said it, dogs piss on their vegetables.  Don't eat their dog pee-pee vegetables.

Where do we go from here?  Our first curve ball.  Wait, what's that Bucky?  What did you say Mike?

Yes, Andrew is confused by this idea that they have.  I'm good with it.  It is some place a few blocks up.  Great tacos, or were they?  No one that had been there had ever been there during the day, it was always 1 am or earlier in the morning, so how accurate was the judgement?  Next thing we know, we are there.

Part 3 will talk about what happened when we got there, but lets talk about these tacos.  Pretty good.  Pretty much, yes, I would go there again.  Cabeza was a 4.  Salsas were good.  They are a little slow on the service, but they are making the stuff for you right then and it was great.  Mike braved the line as we were distracted with many other things.

What are they conspiring about?  What is going on here?  Yes, that is for the next blog.  They are outside the taqueria plotting, scheming, not really knowing what is about to happen.  A few twists and turns are about to hit us all.  Does Chris think its a good idea?

He does, yes, I think he does.  So, the next blog is coming later, it will explain this:

What is Brandon doing?  I don't get it?  Where are we?  Why are my socks so awesome?

Thanks for reading, Part 3 coming soon, Stay Excellent.

The Great San Diego Crawl of 2013 Part 1

Wow.  A commencement of brotherhood.  If you don't know us well, you don't know what we've all had going on.  It has been a rough six months in general for the members of The Order of the Taco.  We have had some pretty low points in the last few months.  Personally, professionally, psychologically, it has been just one of those periods in our lives.  We all share with each other, so the burden feels lighter sometimes because we can lean on each other, but feels heavier because we do try to all carry every bit of weight that we have for each other.  The culmination of everything forced our hand.  We made our decision, Tacoteering in San Diego.  Please read through this entire blog.  There are lots of pictures and a description of the twits, turns and good times that we shared.  This will be split into multiple blogs.

The trip was like a sequel to the movie Swingers in some ways.  Some of us brought emotional burdens, some of us were stoic, others dramatic.  Some just tried to party the whole time.  In the end, we all showed up in a different vehicle!  Mike and I drove down together in the van with two kegs of beer.

SELFIE!

Sunrise on our way up!

Some flew like Big Chris and Brandon:

Pilot Randall!

Brandon before take off!

Paul and Peck drove down together, Mark went solo, Nate surprised us by driving down by himself, we were all ecstatic he joined:

Nate was not drinking while driving, or was he?  This was on the excursion, just a great photo of him, I know you wanted to see him.

So, what do you do on a drive down like this?  I drove, Mike however enhanced the trip for each of us:

Mike was converting the lines.  He was making sure that the CO2 could get to both kegs of beer that he had made.  Pretty great idea.  Pretty talented man.  I know, I make very few good decisions, but when it comes to my closest friends, I really have knocked it out of the park with some amazing people.  What did the back of the van look like you ask, well, we have a picture for that too!

Yes, those are two delicious home brewed IPA's.  

So we all met at the Buck Monstrosity's house.  It was a awesome.  We greeted each other, got a surprise when Nate walked in the door, went over the plan for the day.  If you don't know me well, I always plan my work and work my plan.  I had everything mapped out, a description of each location, called to make sure everyone's hours of operations and that they were open over the weekend.  Yes, every detail and minute was scheduled for this trip.  

Our first stop was Tacos El Poblano.  Yeah buddy!  This place is interesting.  I feel a bit pricey, but interesting.  

Looks fancy, don't worry, its not.  The inside is pretty cool.  Great big cones of adobaba.  

The menu is alright:

Our tacos were small but good:

Action shot of James, don't try this at home, he is a trained professional:

What did our table look like?  Yeah, it was beyond full.  How did we feel about the food?  Pretty mixed.  Birria was great (4) lots of nutmeg thought.  I mean heavy handed.  The Adobaba was strong, I thought it was good, Nate was not a huge fan.  Asada was a 3, pretty average and the Salsas were a 4.  They were really good.  Here is a look at our table:

After this great meal, we went out to the van to grab a quick refreshment and head on to Tacos El Gordo:

Our next stop was just a few miles up the road.  We went to a place I've blogged about before, one of my favorite places of all time Tacos el Gordo.  This little gem is a TJ original.  They have four locations, three are in the greater San Diego area, one is in Vegas.  Yes, right on the strip.  Now you know where to eat when you are out there.

Love this place.  The sights, smells, sounds...

What a great shot of Bucky ordering and the chef cutting pastor right off the cone.  Yeah, this place is something special.  Again, don't try to order with the skill and tenacity that Bucky does, he is a trained professional.  We liked the food at Tacos el Gordo.  I would suggest sticking to the pork and beef adobada.  We would all say to avoid the Tacos Aztecas.  They are like a 2 when everything else sits about a 4+.  Salsas are good and their peppers are delicious.  

This concludes this part of the trip.  Why would I cut it off here?  Why would I not finish the story of what happened at Tacos el Gordo?  Well, because a couple of things did happen there.  From after this moment of Bucky's order, things started to get fun.  Jokes are going to be made, things will be broken and yes, stuff goes down.  More blogs to come.  Today?  Tomorrow?  I don't know, I just know that when you read it, I think you are really going to enjoy hearing about the shenanigans.  Thanks for reading, Stay Excellent.  

From the Beginning...Olvera Street

What makes a story great?  What really grasps your attention?  In my humble opinion, it's the beginning.  It is how it is started out.  Just like when we meet someone and we decide whether or not we like them, the story has to start strong.  I don't know if this is going to be a strong start, but here is the beginning of Tacoteering.  The next few posts will hopefully illustrate not just how we started, but how everything led to a great trip in San Diego and all that happened along that journey, thanks for reading.

I know, two strapping young lads.  Good friends from back then, nothing has changed.  My large head, yes, I'm the darker haired one, is blocking the sign for Olvera Street.  Olvera street is where many say Los Angeles started.  No, we were not the ones who founded Olvera Street, but we went as children and ate tacos.  I'm told that this day was to purchase a top for a baptismal cake for Chris's younger sister Melissa Chan.  Introduction time, I'm the guy in all black, the guy next to me is Christopher Randall.  He's big Chris, I'm little Chris.  We are close in age, but he is older.  He is a friend who I've been lucky enough to always have.  We've been eating tamales and tacos since we were quite young, as you can see.  He is an original member and has gone on each of our Great Excursions.  We have been through about everything together as friends, I value his opinion and thoughts as much as anyone.

Here are some pictures of them:

Pandy and Dave, Big Chris's parents, they are so awesome.

Marie and Peter, my parents, they are pretty excellent.
What brought us to doing these excursions?  Just our appreciation for friendship and excellence.  We are lucky enough to have great families that enjoyed doing things together, whether it was a large group going to Lake Tahoe for a week, getting together at a house for a weekend party or just heading out somewhere like this day so that no one had to endure the tedious or big things in life alone.  Great example from our parents, Pandora/Dave Randall and Marie/Peter ZaferisWe have worked the Valley Greek Festival for years together, here is Chris and I with two other members of the order last year.

So yeah, we try to all do as many things together as possible.  I hear some folks that think it is all crazy.  We are busy, we have lives, jobs, responsibilities, but we all enjoy each other's company.  Last weekend, we had a party the night before the trip and a few member were all there and we were hanging out.  Here is a picture of double trouble.  Double Christopher, Double Michael.  Chris and I are the two that look like us, the other two are Mike and Mike.  Mike is one of my closest friends, you've seen his picture, you know he's Jason's Nouno.  The other guys is Alexander's Nouno and my cousin Michael.  Very lucky to have them in our lives.

Why the various pictures?  Here's why, it is to paint the picture that we all do things together for the fun.  For the thrill of it all.  Do we have tacos every time?  Yeah, pretty much.  So here's how it began.  Friendship, love for tacos.  Its not a glamorous story, it is ours and dammit, I think its perfect.  We have so many adventures, so many stories, we all just want to hang out, do things together and we love getting tacos.  Our adventures are written about because we never know what is going to happen.  San Diego was a crazy trip.  It took us through different areas, familiar, but different.  It led us to some craziness.  Unexpected great times.  In the end, it was about who we were with more then anything else.  I'm really lucky to be able to write about these stories and share the great adventures that we have.  We have no script, no high budget, just plain old fashion fun.  I hope this gives a slightly better history for you about where Tacoteering comes from.  Thanks for your time, please enjoy reading and Stay Excellent...

From left to right:  Big Chris (Randall), Little Chris (Me), Jeremy Phillips (Mike's Brother), Paul Zaferis (my brother), Mike Phillips (Jason's Nouno)

El Taco Llama, one of them...

Yeah, these things are scattered through the greater LA area.  Many "taco experts" deem this place as one of the best tacos in LA.  I've been to a few.  By a few I mean six of them.  I stopped by one near the house the other day.  Parthenia and Corbin.  Yes, the one on the corner in that center next to 7/11.  These places are all really similar.  They are consistently inconsistent.  Do I hate the place? No.  Do I crave it fort nightly?  No.  If I need a taco, I'll stop, but there are a number of places that are in front of it.  I will say that Carnitas Michocan which is also all over is much better store to store, but that is for a different story.  Menus all look about the same, lots of plates and combos.  I will say that their burritos are decent, but sure as heck no Bucky Burrito at RT.

I go into this joint in the middle of the day.  I am ready for an in and out, eat some tacos, take a couple of pictures and jet.  The lady working, yeah rude as heck.  I don't get it, she was not even mildly attractive.  I tell her what I want.  Five tacos.  I tell her what I'm looking for, she tells me no, I get frustrated, roll my eyes, it just keeps going from there.

RATINGS:
ASADA: 3, good stuff, not great.  flavors were ok, but not amazing.
PIERNA: 3, this is like machaca for pork.  I reccomend trying it if you haven't.  Good stuff.
LENUGA: 2, there was just no flavor.  It was boiled meat, just made me sad.
PASTOR: 2, just not good.  Heavy clove and not good.  Do not proceed.
BUCHE: 1, chewy!  I did not even finish.  Had two bites and was done!  Nasty.
SALSAS: 3, didn't get to try them alone, but I love that they paired them on top of what they thought they should go with, that makes a big impact with me.

Alright, so why did I really go?  Why was this reviewed?  I just need to get a taco fix.  I'm saving my thoughts, love and excitement for Saturday.  I'm quite excited for this weekend, The Great San Diego Crawl of 2013.  Stay Excellent everyone!

Salsa and Beer, North Hollywood, CA

Yeah, I've been here a bunch of times, but here we go, Salsa and Beer.  There are two locations, one is in North Hollywood, one is in Reseda.  Biggest difference between the two is one serves full liquor, the other is just beer and wine.  This place is good.  Full service, which is slow, but pretty fun.  I see many friends in the area tag themselves here or fire off pictures from here.

Why did I decide to write about this adventure?  Just a downright great time.  It was double date time with Dara and Mike Phillips.  Two of the greatest friends and people that I know.

I know, they look great.  So they are Jason, my youngest child's godparents.  He loves them.  I'm pretty sure that he likes them more then me.  Nothing to do with this taco run, but today at church, Jason sat with his Nouno all through the sermon at church and then fell asleep on his Nouno.  He slept for a while, even over at coffee hour he was still asleep in his Nouno's arms.  It was great to see.  The love that he has for his godparents really makes me happy.

The four of us really just enjoyed getting away for a bit and hanging out.  We don't all get to do it that often, they are both working a ton, I'm always flying somewhere for work to save the burger world and we of course have the three monsters at home.  Yiayia and Papou are very helpful and were very awesome for taking all three of the brats.  Alexander was hanging out with his good buddy Trevon at the comic book store for a bit, but he's the easy one anyways.

We got more then a little spread today.  Yeah, mucho stuff.  We were all over the place with burritos, tacos, taquitos, flautas, enchiladas, almost everything.  Take a look:

I know you all love to see the way that I pass judgement with ratings but I'm not numbering this stuff.  It is all good, but just as a restaurant.  They crush it with potato tacos and taquitos.  The salsas would find themselves in the 4-5 range.

My favorite thing about going to Salsa and Beer is the experiences.  It is the times that I have with the people that I go with.  There are some really memorable ones.  The first time I went was with my cousin Corinne who I love and it was a perfect trip for me, Melissa ordered my food, great friends and family were around.  Sizzling taquitos, yeah ridiculous.  My dad and I would shoot over there for lunch sometimes when he worked in Burbank.  We asked Dara and Mike to be Jason's godparents at Salsa and Beer.  Two years later and a few twists in between in life and they asked us to baptize their baby who is due next May, ironically on my wife Melissa's birthday.  It was a marvelous surprise.  I don't know if I've seen Melissa happier and that was the most exciting part for me.  Don't get me wrong, I am ecstatic and honored, but I loved seeing the look and smile on Melissa's face.  This is a huge deal in our faith and something that we are so excited about.  I have two grown godsons, Nicholas and Jason and it pains me the distance that we have in our relationship.  Melissa and I also have a beautiful goddaughter Melaina.  A big reason for us wanting to move back to California was to be closer to her and her family.  Her mother is my cousin Corinne who I was talking about earlier in this post.

I know, where did the taco story go here?  It goes back to what I've said many times, it doesn't matter where I eat, but who I eat with.  Today was pretty awesome.  Mikey is a member of the Order of the Taco, and it's always an honor.  I do with that the rest of the members and I could eat together all the time, but that just doesn't work.  Our next big trip is planned and mapped out though!  San Diego, we are coming, better show us your best.

OK, one thing about the food.  My favorite thing to get there, is to share the spicy bean and cheese burrito with someone and then get a taco.  Yeah, the spicy bean burrito is fantastic.  It is so well flavored and good.  I could eat just that and be happy.  Their salsa bar is fantastic and has mild to hot flavors.  Food is great, service is often slow though.  Place is very affordable.  Like cheap and good.  Warning, they are busy always.  Early, afternoon and late.  Be ready to wait at either location.
http://salsaandbeernorthhollywood.com/location.asp

If you have never been, I recommend.  Let me know when you are going, I'll join you!  Thanks again to everyone for reading and a very special thank you to Melissa, Dara and Mikey for making the day so special and so much fun.  I needed that to recharge the battery and find the balance.  Stay Excellent everyone!

Los Beto's...Meridian, Idaho

Yes, I was in Idaho.  Well, actually I am in Idaho.  What else am I going to do?  Yes, I went Tacoteering.  As every adventure, it was just that, an adventure.  I am with a great franchisee for the company I work for.  We were doing interviews, setting things up, Tacoteering.  All the normal stuff that you do, right?  It was interesting.  If I was stuck with only this taco place, I'd go back, but lets be clear, I'm in no rush.  Lets call a spade a spade, this place was light years better then Houston's places.  The food was decent, ambiance was good.  The folks there were really nice.  The menu was not surprising to me.  I've heard they have a few locations, the menu is what you are thinking and expecting from Boise, ID.

I know, a lot right?  So I just went and reread what I've written.  This place was not just light years better then Houston, it really put Houston to shame.  I want to formally apologize to all of Idaho for even putting the letters that spell Houston in the same Blog, you are way better then that.  Like I said the people working there were so cool.  Really nice folks.  They were efficient, friendly.  I will say, I was the only person not working there in the busy building that knew what lengua was.  They looked at me cross-eyed for a second when I ordered Buche and Lengua tacos.  Salsa bar was pretty cool.  Taqueria Style, I dig that.  Really neat little set up.  Taped up a sign that said hot to mild.  I thought that was awesome.  I did not try their "mild."  They looked good.

Portions were HUGE.  I was shocked.  Could not finish four tacos and I did not eat dinner, I was still full.  They were huge portions.  They were not messing around.  $2.25 a taco, you pay for it, but they were huge.  Wait, did I mention they were huge?  I hate it when people do that.  Yeah, lets burn on that for a second before the ratings...

WTF?  Why do people repeat themselves.  Let me tell you something, let me be crystal clear, I don't need you to repeat yourself to me over and over.  I am not responding because:
a:  I know you're an idiot
b:  I know what you're saying makes you more of an idiot
c:  I could give a damn what you are saying
d:  I'm ignoring you on purpose
e:  My response will make you cry which will only increase my distaste for being around you
f:  You suck
g:  I don't like you
h:  I don't want to encourage you to speak more

There are a few more reasons, but stop.  I'm not saying please, I'm saying.  It is ridiculous.  I'm not deaf.  I am ignoring you.  Then, you say the same words and stuff over and over.  Alright, over, for now.

RATINGS:
ASADA: 3, good stuff.  I mean it wasn't anything to call your friends about and invite them over, but you are not going to want to attack the chef.
PASTOR: 2, attack of the sauce.  Way too much.  The meat was drowning.  It was unnecessary.  The sauce was in abundance and not very good.  Aciote, too much, pepper, not enough, ancho chilies, hello!  Yeah too many anchos.
BUCHE: 3, good stuff.  This is no Tacos el Gordo in Chula Vista, but not bad.  I'd order this again.  When I'm back, I might come back for some Buche.
LENGUA: 3, solid.  Good stuff.  I like it.  It was tender, good.  Not as flavorful as it could have been, but good.
SALSA: 3
JALAPENO: 2, they were not good.  They were bad canned peppers.  Just not good.
ROJO: 2, yucky.  They don't know how to properly dehydrate peppers.
VERDE: 4, yum, yum give me some.  It was great.  Tomatillos were good.  Salsa was smoky, coriander, cilantro.
GUACAMOLE: 3, not amazing, but good stuff.  I liked it.

Large and in charge!  The guacamole was a surprise.  I didn't expect it on the tacos.  Pretty good stuff.  Nice presentation.  Here's the thing, this place is good.  Not amazing, but great for Boise.  Idaho, nice job.  I look forward to my next trip and more extensive Tacoteering.

Quick teaser, end of the month, the clan is back out, The Order of the Taco has a trip planned for San Diego.  Five taco places, one brewery and the group.  Excursion, here we come.  We are inviting a few others, you have been voted in.

Thanks to everyone for reading, appreciate your time.  Please tell your friends and Stay Excellent!

Tipicos Dona Gloria, Herndon, VA

So yes, the Order is out in Virginia.  What a day.  I have to say one of the longer days I've had.  Many curve balls and crazy things.  Glad there was some Tacoterring around to help keep a happy focus.  The Tacoteering helped.  It gave me some good light through the craziness a day can show you in a few short hours.  You often get some kind of a "moral of the story" so lets not stop that.  Today's moral is, every shift comes to an end and even when the tacos aren't very good, you can still go get tacos and they will only remind you of how great some other ones are.  Tacoteering on days like today do make me really miss having great fellow Tacoteers joining me.  Tonight, I was a lone, hooded Tacoteer...

Just a man in search of the perfect taco and was checking out to see what Virginia had in store for us.  Sadly, not that much.  This stuff was not great.  I mean, not the worst I've had, but not too good.  I have been reading about taco places and taqueria's in the greater Reston area.  This place rated high for the area in everything that I could find.  I was pretty pumped when I found out it was walking distance from my hotel.  It was a bit cold with this beautiful 35 degree weather, but I mean, hey I was wearing a hood and going to eat tacos.

The menu is big and pretty expensive.  Five tacos for $14?  Umm hello this is really high.  I often am under $9 for that many tacos, oh yeah and they don't suck.  Truth be told, the chicks working there were really rude.  The service was super slow.  It took 21 minutes for me to get my tacos.  That was sad.  I took a pic from a bit away of the menu, you can't see prices, wanted you to see how big the menu is.  Pretty extensive.

The restaurant is small.  Really loud though.  Really loud.  They have a TV up, big screen that is super loud and obnoxious.  Really loud.  There was not a lot of salsa options, but at least they had a decent table set up and good hot sauces.  Oh yeah, one more time, pretty expensive.

RATINGS:
LENGUA: 1, yes, that probably was the worst lengua I've ever had.  It was flavorless, chopped too fine, way overcooked and really damn tough.  Not worth even thinking about.  I did one of those things where I had to shake my head at myself for even thinking of ordering lengua here.
CARNITAS: 1, again, tough, chopped small?  Yeah, it is tough and chopped and tough.  Not cooked till tender and shredded like carnitas is supposed to be.  I love cumin, not like, love.  But dude, this was like straight soaked and drenched in cumin.  It made me sad.  I kind feel like I wept on the walk back thinking that something spelled so beautifully could taste so bad.
POLLO: 3, yeah, pretty good.  Pretty damn good.  Light clove, cooked perfectly.  Moist and delicious.  Not over the top good, but worth eating.  I would go back to just eat a chicken something from there, maybe, probably not, but I'm trying to be a positive person tonight.
ASADA: 2, so close to being a three, but it was consistently, inconsistent.  Just not very good.  I thought is was just less the ok.
VERDE: 4, good stuff.  Little bit smoky, spicy, good.  A loose salsa, runny, but damn good.  Nice depth, again, a little bit of cumin in there, but the right amount for this salsa.

Yeah, so, this was not the tastiest adventure that I've been on.  It was ok, alright, not horrid.  It was nice to be eating tacos.  I will say this, the plate presentation is nice.  They do a great job of presenting.  The avocado sliver was cheap, but looked good.  Looks are not everything, flavor was what we were after, but hey, at least they looked good.  I will say I could not stop thinking about the tortillas from Las Equipales.  They are just so tasty.  These tortillas sucked that I had tonight.  That is the beauty and sadness of having such a great Tacographic Memory.

Thanks again everyone for reading, please do keep telling folks, reading, checking it out, sending suggestions.  We are still in search of a logo.  Something cool.  Something that means the order to you.  Give it a crack, let me know what you think.  Thanks again and Stay Excellent.

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.