Casa de Tacos, Canoga Park, CA

Casa de Tacos.  How did we end up here?  Doctor Uncle Paul, Smoky Alex Z and a I were on our way to Outlaw's in Van Nuys.  We got a call and had to run up to the bar.  While we were there we realized that we didn't have enough time to get to Outlaw's.  I had to be back to bar-tend and get delicious beer to thirsty people.

www.crazyharrysbar.com.  You need to come and check the place out.  It really is amazing.  Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  It really is an awesome joint.  Anyways,  When we knew that we had lost some time, we decided to go somewhere closer, this led us to Casa de Tacos.  A number of regulars at the bar had told me I had to try this joint.  I'll save you the suspense, they were correct.

Tile was nice, place is small and quaint.  They don't waste space.  The joint really does look nice and delivers with the food.  The guys working there were ok, but nothing special.  If they had some real customer service, I think this joint would be close to unstoppable.

Menu is good.  Plenty to choose from, but nothing overwhelming.  They don't overdo it trying to cover every meat.  That is nice to see!  The meats they do, they did a nice job with.
RATINGS:
ASADA: 4, 
CARNITAS: 5, this might be my favorite carnitas.  Close to perfection.  It is right on point.  So moist and delicious.  I strongly recommend that you go and try this stuff.
PASTOR: 3,
TRIPAS: 4,
BUCHE: 4, 
LENGUA: 4, this was Alexander's favorite.  The sad part is that we went to order another one, Alexander's request, they were out.  Good stuff, texture on point, flavorful, worth having.
CABEZA: 4, tasted like lamb.  This was a delicious treat that caught me a little bit off guard.  Texture was right on point.
POLLO: 4, this had a red sauce that it was cooked in and it took the chicken from a 3 to a 4.  This stuff was good.  Moist, tender and packed with flavor and a light spice.
MILANESA: 3, 

Flavors were on point.  Their tortillas were good, not to tough, but could handle the meat just fine.  Food came out timely.  They got a bit busy and kept the pace, which is cool.  Another neat thing is that they cook right behind the counter.  They have a prep area in back, but you can see them preparing the food.  I enjoy the show, thinks it gives a lone tacoteer something to do that doesn't involve Facebook while they wait for their tacos.

Thank you for continuing to follow the blog.  I know I haven't been posting as much, been really busy getting the bar going and consulting.  I have traveled minimally so no exciting destination tacos.  The really nice part about that is there are so many awesome taco places in the Los Angeles area that I can hit!

I couldn't not make this the gratuitous/goodbye photo.  Alexander and his amazing Uncle.  They are such great buddies and it is so great to have a young man have the love and trust that he has with his uncle.  They were so excited to have the same new trucker hats on and sport the bar out at lunch.  It is even better that they both love Tacoteering.  Here is the two of them hanging out enjoying some tacos!

Stay Excellent!

Queries Tacos Way, Northridge, CA

Wanted to try this place for a while.  They just moved into this spot.  Mario, a regular at the bar kept telling me to go and try it.  He does their apparel, go buy some.  Brandon and I have been talking about this and we finally pulled the trigger.  Jason and I had gone swimming and he ended up falling asleep.

So what do we do.  We have Tacoteering plans and the third of the three amigos is out.  We set up his car seat, first time a car seat has been in Uncle Brando's sweet ride.

 He still did not wake up.  Jason was out hard.  He went from being so excited to go tacoteering to sleeping without moving.  We were excited.  We've read, we've driven by and we've heard nothing but great things.  The tables are cool.  We did like that.

Table was sweet.  Jason loved sitting next to it!

The sleeping continued.  We got to the place and Jason decided to get in a few more winks while at the restaurant.  He didn't last long in the chair, he wanted to sit with his dad, I sure didn't mind.

Isn't it great to see how happy he is?  He is loving this trip so far.  Either way, he did really enjoy the quesadilla.  Can you see the shared excitement that we have.  It might have been the best quesadilla I've ever had, not made at home.  Yes, you read it, this is a 5.  While we're at it, lets do the ratings:
RATINGS:
ASADA: 3, good, nothing amazing.  This middle of the road stuff was good, worth having again , but it won't make you want to sound the horns with excitement.
PASTOR: 2, why is this so low?  It was just ok.  It didn't impress me and as I was tacographicdreaming about other pastor, this just didn't do it for me.  It was hard to identify.
POLLO: 4, I can't tell you what flavors made it stand out, but it really did stand out.  Smooth and it became almost creamy with the cheese, guac and spices.  I also might be on a chicken kick lately.
CHORIZO: 4, I do not like chorizo.  It's not very good to me in general, however, this was amazing.  I love this stuff.  Try it.  Clove, flavors that were earthy, but not over the top.  Worth having.
CARNITAS: 3, pretty run of the mill, but pretty good.  You'll like it but it won't give you an amazing tacogasam.
CABEZA: 3,  I like it, I don't love it.  They should probably cook about five more minutes.  I'm a fan of the less cooked food, but this needed an extra couple of minutes.
LENGUA: 4, this stuff was nice.  Texture was on point, flavor was really good.  It melted nicely in with the cheese, try it.
SALSA BAR: 4, they get a four because of their spice and balance.  They do a nice job on the salsas.

What a great looking spread.  This stuff is some great stuff.  I've been a fan of the Mulita for a long time.  Not many places make it, but these guys make it pretty amazing.  How do you not love a taco with melted cheese and guacamole?  They do a nice job.  They crisp the tortillas nice without burning them.

So the food did not end with the mulitas.  We had an amazing beverage.   We shared this bad boy.  If you go, and you are over 21, you should try this.  It is super tasty.  Brandon is not into the tomato thing and he still loved this.  We did get two straws and shared this like Lady and the Tramp.

I've read a lot of knocks on the service, especially on Yelp.  Our service was solid.  Really solid.  The girls was sweet and attentive.  It was great to have such great service.  I am thinking that people were frustrated in the first few days of being open.  That is common, you've got to give them a chance to get settled.  My advice, give them another shot!  Check out their menu, that might entice you.

Not a bad looking menu.  Look at the variety without going overboard.  They do a nice job of giving options of the same great stuff.  I do think this place has staying power.  Give them a shot if you didn't love them, come try them if you haven't.  Support the little guy getting off the ground.  The food is good, our service was solid, worth going to if you ask me, I'll be back and I can assure you it is a huge upgrade from Anna's that use to be there.

This was a great adventure with a great friend and of course Jason the Juggernaut.  It was an added awesome surprise that Melissa showed up and joined us.

Today's goodbye/gratuitous photo is of Brandon.  Uncle Brando is a favorite of my kids.  They love him.  He's so great with them and is a great support of Melissa and I as we are taking this bar scene on.  We did some great marketing and got some real ideas going and in play with this meal.  That's a big reason why we had Jason with us.  Here is a shot of Jason at the bank before the goodbye photo.

 Here is a great shot of Brando and a cool photo on the wall.

Stay Excellent!

Los Tapatios, Lennox, CA

When you walk in, this is what you see.  A nice meat display, this is a pretty cool looking butcher shop.  I think this just heightens my frustration.  The meat that they have looks great.  Variety was pretty incredible, especially for such a quaint space.  If you haven't gotten the tone, the vibe yet, the tacos sucked.

I know, you are asking, how bad was it.  It was horrible.  It felt like my taste-buds were being punished.  Most everything was horrible.  The food was no bueno.  Aside from the company, the jalapenos were good.

The best part about this blog is probably going to be the pictures, because the food sucked.  The location, the photos, the Yelp all gave this place some promise.  Sadly it ends there.  Not the pictures, I have some salsa porn to share with you, but the ratings are going to suck, hard...

So the menu is, well, um, yeah a bit disjointed, but looked promising.  The broken sign doesn't  bother me, I think it adds some character.  They have too much for them to handle.  Yeah, the menu is too big for them.

This is the kitchen that makes food that sucks.  I just wanted you to see it first hand.

This is the unimpressive, flavor wise, salsa bar.  Enough of the pictures, its time to get to business:
RATINGS:
ASADA: 3, this was OK.  If I was trapped in this taco hell again, this is probably the only thing that I would order.
PASTOR: 1, you broke my heart.  Putting a ton of citrus on dry pork does not make it pastor, you should be ashamed of yourselves.
LENGUA: 2, flavorless and not exciting in anyway.  You can add salt to poorly boiled meat...
CHICHARRON: 1, a very under-cooked, unappreciated meat here people, it makes me sad.
PIERNA: 2, this was dry and flavorless.
CHICKEN: 2, here's the shocker, dry and flavorless...
JALAPENO: 4, this was the second best part of the trip. My company was obviously the best, but these were pretty tasty.  I think they are the only way that I was able to get through these tacos.
SALSA: they get a 4 on variety, a 3 on flavor.  PRESS THE LIMITS GUYS!  They need to be more bold in their flavor, really any bit of boldness would be appreciated.

Do you understand how I feel about the food?  Is there a question?  Is there anything left to ambiguity?  I sure hope not!  I feel it's clear.  If it is not, let me re-explain.  If you are by there, run in, grab those delicious looking jalapenos and run out and go somewhere better.

Chicken stock on the sope.  This excited me.  You would think this adds flavor, you would think this would make it a moist treat.  Not the case, chicken still was dry, the cheese tasted old and dry and I was beyond unimpressed.  That is so sad to me, I love sopes.

Thank you to anyone and everyone for reading.  Please keep spreading the taco word.  Get people to read.  Let them know where to go, or in this case where not to go!!  Shoot me messages of places you want me to check out, if you love the place, hate the place or if you want me to try it first because you are scared.

I hope you agree the pictures are the best part.  I just don't feel like Nicole and I deserved such a poor taco experience.  You should drive Chef Zadi's restaurant if you are planning on going to this one and eat his delicious tacos I wrote about in my last blog.

Nothing could be obvious in this blog than the message I've echoed in blogs for quite some time.  It doesn't matter where you eat, but who you get to do it with.  I sure got a BIG win in that department.  Nicole Merizalde is a great friend and colleague.  She's a really cool chick that everyone she meets wants to connect with.  She is a heck of a Tacoteer and I appreciate knowing her.  Obviously today's goodbye/gratuitous photo is of her making her way back over to our table.

Stay Excellent!

Revolutionario L.A. Foods, Los Angeles, CA

What is this food "revolution" all about?  Is it the ranting of a crazy old chef?  Is it someone trying to use strong words to entice you to come to his restaurant?  What's going on?  I had to go find out for myself.  I know Chef Zadi, that is no secret.  I've gone to street side tacos in Boyle Heights, East LA and enjoyed late night meals on the side of the street, but what is he doing on Jefferson not too far from USC inside an actual restaurant?  I was at work, doing some store visits with Amy.  She's been Tacoteering before, so you should know her.  Anyways, we decided that we were going to grab lunch and I was determined to try this place.  I've been talking about it since it opened.  I was in Saudi Arabia when the doors opened and didn't get back until a couple of weeks later.  I have been busy and not in that area as much.  Being that we were in Downtown LA and headed to Culver City, the opportunity presented itself.  As per the norm, we rocked out to some serious Elvis Radio the whole time we were driving!!

The building itself is unassuming, but don't think for a second that the tacos are.  The plain style of the building is perfect.  It is clean, nicely set-up and very welcoming.  If you look closely, you can see Amy contemplating her taco choices for the day.

What do you eat in this joint?  It says tacos, the chef, Chef Farid Zadi is of Algerian decent, born in the Rhone region France, it is in a neighborhood flooded with fried food options and quick eats.  This guy has been teaching culinary students for years.  His wife is Korean, really where are they going with this food?  What's the inspiration?  What flavors are they going for?  Many great chef's I know, including the amazing and unparalleled Yellow Chocolate, have spent time learning from Chef Zadi.  I'll show you the menu so that you can see what you think.  

Menu is interesting.  It looks like it is almost overwhelming, but it is not.  The menu has some great options but is not too much.  They stick to great stuff.  If you don't know or don't understand, this guy can cook.  He can cook really damn great.  The menu has the options of breakfast type stuff and of course the tacos, quesadillas, burritos, kids meals, it has options.  I love that they have great vegetarian options to go along with perfectly seasoned meats.  The first question is, what did I think of the food?  How did it rank?

RANKINGS:

SHAKSHOUKA: 5, this breakfast style taco combines some great flavors of slow cooked eggs, sweet peppers and tomatoes.  It is sweet, and delicious.  He knows how to cook eggs.  So many people turn the head up and don't allow the protein to properly cook, well done Chef, well done.

CILANTRO YOGURT CHICKEN: 5, this is as good as it sounds.  With the Greek Heritage I love to marinate chicken in yogurt, with my LA roots I love cilantro on everything!

CHARRED VEGGIES: 5, you just can't go wrong with this taco.  It is good stuff.  The veggies are charred just enough to extract and intensify the sugars in them, but they are not burnt at all.  They have a nice sweet flavor to them and pair perfectly, probably the best of all the tacos with the tortillas which were second to none. 

BLACK EYED PEA FALAFEL: 5, I think this is my number 2 of all of them.  This was a delightful treat.  Such a great idea and a nice treat.  The falafel was so good.  Packed with flavor, great texture as you could tell it was properly mixed but not over beaten.  There is a light spice on the end that really was the treat as far as I'm concerned.  

CHICK PEA TAGINE: 3, why was the rating lower than the rest?  It's just my taste.  This stuff was good, by far one of the more creative, for sure it was tasty, but in my humble opinion was not as knock your socks off good as the other tacos.  The moisture in this taco also ate into the delicious tortilla a little bit.  The chick peas were well cooked.  A bit al dente which gave it some nice texture.  I think that I would have liked it a little more if the peas were mashed into a hummus and spread on the tortilla.  

BEEF BRISKET: 5, this is a nice twist on a more "traditional" taco for LA.  You'll enjoy the smoky flavor and great texture on this meat.  It is something nice.  You should be expecting some greatness here, it sure did deliver when I was there.  

SMOKED LAMB: 5, this was my favorite.  Not just because I love lamb, but because there was so much flavor, so much depth and texture that is really unmatched.  There was layers of smoky flavor with subtle salt and a buttery finish that was just unreal.  I will dream about this taco.  

Stuff looks great!  His presentation is simply perfect.  He doesn't try to distract you with silliness, he doesn't try to over do it as many chefs do, he keeps it simple, perfect and focuses on the flavors, not the useless flair.  Don't misunderstand, there is attitude and style, just no unnecessary frills.  

Salsa descriptions are great.  They are accurate.  I enjoyed all of the salsas that he had, the hot is HOT!  I loved it.  It went on everything that I ate.  He has some chips set there for you to try.  These are not chips like you are use to getting, these were like chips from the heavens.  They were so delicious.  They were just perfect in every way.  Made in house, lightly salted, not over fried, but not chewy.  Like I've said, this guy knows what he's talking about.  

Great looking salsa table.  It is inviting and enticing!  We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to get there when they were slow, so we got to bring the salsa to the table, which was very helpful for my hot salsa needs.  These salsas are a compliment, not a garnish.  They are enhancing the flavor, not covering up food like salsas sometimes are.  It is a nice change of pace to what some places do.  

Yes, we had some dessert.  When the owner insists you try something, you try it.  Well I am so happy that I did!  I am not a dessert fan.  It is not something that I am looking for.  I like the spice, I like the earlier courses, not desserts.  Sweets just don't do it for me, this however was an exception.  This was an exception that I'm so glad that I made.  They were Algerian Samsas.  He makes them with cashews and serves them with blood orange jam.  I dare you to go and not try these bad boys.  They combine sweet, with savory, oh goodness! 

Have the questions been answered from earlier?  I think they have.  Chef Zadi and his family are starting a revolution.  They are taking the stand that food can be great, good for you and different.  I'm such a fan of the traditional taco, there is not hiding or denying that, I would never want to.  I will say that this place does it so similarly but different.  The business of my schedule has not given me an opportunity to sit down with Chef and discuss what he sees coming or how he views the revolution, but I can tell you that I see great things coming.  I see this restaurant as a challenge to so many others.  The Zadi family is showing us great ways to eat traditional LA foods in a slightly different way.  The more people that go here, the more people will join.  This is the kind of place that challenges your taste buds and forces you to try new things that you will want again and again.  

Thank you to all for reading.  Please go and check this joint out.  It is a one of a kind type of place.  There are a lot of great taco stands, carts, trucks, everything out there.  This one is unique.  It is not going to be what you think, I hope that I gave you enough of a glimpse to help you understand.  Please re-tweet, re-post and let people know about what is going on right by the Adam's District in Los Angeles.  This place is getting some pretty serious press, my blog is nothing impressive, but hopefully it helps reach a few more people!  If you are bored, follow me on Twitter and Instagram, I post silly stuff and tacos, tacos are the serious part, the rest is pretty crazy.  It is a great way to find out where I am and what I'm doing, cause I know all of you care...

Today's goodbye/gratuitous photo is one of those photos that I love to catch and the people in them hate.  I'm sorry, I just can't help it.  The picture is of Susan, Chef Zadi's beautiful wife.  She is always so sweet and wonderful.  She has a great smile and remembered me as soon as I walked in the door and gave me such a warm greeting.

Stay Excellent!

Mama Noura, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Well this photo just sums up this joint!  Delicious Schawarma, no, very delicious schawarma.  Yes, you read this correctly, this blog is about the closest thing we could get to authentic tacos in Riyadh.  Let me start off by saying, there are no complaints from us about this meal.

Don't these two look amazing with their shaved heads?  I'm so proud they came to the shiny marble side.  They look down right fantastic and they know it.  We've been hounding our colleagues out here to take us to great shawarma, we told them we wanted the best.  I didn't think I was going to tell y'all about it but feel compelled after eating there and the awesome experience.

When the car parked, this was taken from the window outside.  How could anyone not be excited to see this?  It is totally impossible to not want to eat at this place.  It is very clean, very nice to look at, bright inside and incredibly inviting.  The guys working there are all working hard, but don't look upset or miserable.  I loved the vibe.  Energy in a restaurant is so important and these guys nailed it.

Fresh fruits line the restaurant.  It is awesome!  Yes, they are making fresh juice with it for sale and I enjoyed the delicious blackberry.  Josh had the pomegranate which was also beyond fantastic.  I can't help it, I just love the fresh fruit options that are available in other countries.  They are really tasty!

We went up and ordered at the juice counter to get our beverages, which were awesome!  After that we made our way over to do this:

We took pictures and watched and salivated over these cones of chicken and beef.  Here, let me show you, yes I show you:

Top is chicken, bottom is beef.  Kind of cool, they have Crystal's Louisiana Hot Sauce on the tables, we totally went to town with that stuff.  It really paired perfectly with the shawarma.
RATINGS:
BEEF: 3, this is good stuff.  A really nice treat and something that I enjoyed.  They do a good job of  keeping it super hot and everything was cut fresh to order.  There was not an over salty or rough taste in anyway.
CHICKEN: 4, ahh, this was good.  Everything that I could have hoped for in a meal.  It misses the 5 because of the shawarma in Kuala Lumpur at the street vendor.  This was close, but that one has the option to be served spicy and was just a little bit tastier.  Don't get me wrong, you will enjoy this and should not miss it if you are in Riyadh.
JUICES: 4, fresh squeezed juice is something that you can not go wrong with.  I wanted to go 5, but that is not fair to El Placio de los Jugos in Miami or many of the fantastic places that we got to try in Malaysia.  Fresh juice is under-appreciated in most of America!

I know, you were expecting to see the spread of food after the ratings.  Well, we got there a bit before prayer so they handed us our food in bags like this, said thank you and kicked us out so they could shut the place down for prayer.  I loved it.  I appreciate the reverence to tradition.  Kind of a cool experience being from the US.  The bags are pretty nice, huh?  I liked them, they were sturdy, but not too heavy or thick.

This time beef is on the top and chicken is on the bottom.  I can't say enough about how delicious and tasty this was.  They even look like tacos.  For those of you who don't know, pastor originated iin Southern Mexico and Central American when the Lebanese workers were there and tried to recreate shawarma.  They came up with something superior working with the locals.  The result of pastor was local fare, spices and flavors.  It is some good stuff, no some great stuff.  Point is, this is some of the history of it that we are enjoying.  We all of course know that shawarma came from Gyro's which is Greek.

So like I said, we were booted for prayer so ate on the car.  It was pretty rad, hot, but rad.  It was kind of like going to a taco truck in the states and eating on our cars.  I really enjoyed it.  Helped a great experience stay fun and different.  Gave us some more depth to a pretty deep evening.

Thank you to everyone and all for reading.  I waited to post my Riyadh trips until after we left.  Pretty awesome and fun to write about another country that is so different and offered such a great cultural experience.  Please keep re-posting, re-tweeting and telling your friends to check out the adventures!  As I've stated before, if you hate the blog, tell your enemies to torture them.  I appreciate that just as much.

Today's goodbye/gratuitous photo is of JJ, Josh and I with the shawarma in the background.  We really enjoyed getting to go to this place and these two guys are pretty amazing and resilient travel partners.  Please enjoy them with their shaved heads in this photos, they really look like a couple of wee sexy bastards.  I can't say thank you enough to both of these guys for their commitment and perseverance irrespective of the circumstances.

Stay Excellent!