Daily Taco - Front Page

Arriba Taqueria, Budapest, Hungary

crazy4tacos — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:32:37 GMT

Budapest is a beautiful city known for many things; the 2nd largest parliament building in Europe, geo thermal springs, opera, goulash, plus many others notice tacos did not make that list. So when the Taco Clown was alone in Budapest on an adventure across Eastern Europe, and the taco craving hit, it was a tall order to fulfill. He was tired from roaming the streets in search of the perfect photo when that first urge hit. It had been two weeks since his last taco, which was way too long.

One can only stifle the cravings for so long, and I had reached my breaking point. The problem is I hate being disappointed and that's all I expected to find here, disappointment. The odds were stacked against this lovely country, thousands of miles from Los Angeles or Mexico, who would know how to prepare a taco the way I like it? It didn't matter I needed to have one! After following some vague leads from locals who looked genuinely perplexed when I attempted to describe a taco, I came across a restaurant by the name of Arriba Taqueria, Terez Krt 25, 1067 Budapest. Apparently someone here shares my passion for the fine cuisine of Mexico. Just seeing that beautiful word taqueria brought a smile to my face and made my mouth water ever so slightly. I open the door to find a friendly looking establishment with some happy polka music playing and a mural of a Corona bottle painted on the wall. Am I in Manhattan Beach? Confused I say hello to the cute blond behind the counter and she responds in something undecipherable to my American ears, phew I am in fact NOT in Manhattan Beach, I'm still in Hungary, that's good to know.

Glancing at the menu I notice some familiar words Al Pastor, Chorizo and...TACOS! I order one of each; the taquerita pulls out two odd-looking corn tortillas and places them in some sort of steaming contraption I had never seen before. She pulls them out and puts a scoop of pastor in one and a pinch of chorizo in the other. She follows the scoop with cilantro, pineapple, diced onions, and salsa verde. For the chorizo pinch she puts cilantro, diced onion and salsa verde, and hands me my basket of tacos. First glance they look okay I suppose, I'm cutting them a lot of slack since I haven't seen a person of Hispanic decent in weeks, (the taquerita is the cute blond Hungarian girl mentioned previously) I point to the Corona in the mural then back to me and make a drinking gesture with a big smile, the girl gets it and hands me a Pilsner Urquell, they don't actually have Corona, it's just for the ambiance, tacos in Hungary wahoo!!

I take a seat and inspect the specimens in my basket, the pastor is diced, not as much as I normally prefer and the color is a little off. It's not that deep red I look for, but more a beige like color, the pineapple on top is interesting and I understand their thought process and as a bonus it doesn't taste bad either. The chorizo looks pretty solid could use a bit more char and the color is a bit off from the norm but all in all not too bad looking. Now on to the most disturbing part of the tacos the tortillas, I don't know what these people did to make them or where they got them from but the texture on the outside looked like it had been rolled out with lumpy steel mesh and someone definitely wasn't paying enough attention to thickness or consistency. Well here goes nothing, first bite of the pastor, not awful, totally edible but as I mentioned earlier the tortillas are the weakest link, they are gritty and dry with a strange texture, and it breaks apart once I pick up the taco. The meat is a little on the bland side, but the pineapple and salsa are a nice addition to boost up the flavor of this non spit roasted pork. I eat the pastor taco fairly quickly and wash it down with a swig of beer. Up next the chorizo, first bite, also not so bad, the chorizo has decent flavor I suppose, a bit different from Chorizo I'm used to but my taco depraved taste buds are accepting it. Once again the tortilla is the worst part, the salsa verde isn't very spicy but is cool and refreshing on first taste and develops a faint smoky flavor you pick up after the cool fades away.

All in all not an awful Hungarian taco experience, I did judge them on a drastically curved scale. Hell I might even come back and hope for a better batch of tortillas, if I'm hungry, in Hungary for some tacos! (sorry, I couldn't help it) 2 out of 5 stars

Sincerely,

Taco Clown,

somewhere on a train in either Czech Republic or Hungary, they're all the same to me now...

P.S. Sorry for the poor picture of the taco, I was having a serious craving!

taco links

dailytaco — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:14:03 GMT

Huitlacoche (corn truffle) tacos [foodtease.com]

La Fachada [mmm-yoso!]

The Sausage King from the Charcuterie Capitol of Mexico [Street Gourmet LA]

The food is rolling along [Pasadena Star News]

Bug filled tacos crawl over to Echo Park [Grub Street LA]

Santa Monica's Food Trucks: A Four-Day Odyssey [californiatacotrucks.com]

El TakiTaco - Highland Park

Bandini — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 10:53:19 GMT

When I was a teenager I had a girlfriend that lived in Pasadena and every Friday night I would drive out to see her. I remember the first time I made the trip because I had to borrow my dads car and my dad got out the map book to give me directions. He made a point of telling me not get off the highway at any point until I was in Pasadena. I was to especially avoid Highland Park a point he made clear by circling the area between Downtown LA and Pasadena on the map.

A few weeks earlier my friends and I were cruising Sunset Blvd and ended up in Echo Park where some gang bangers threw a glass bottle at the back window of our car. They ended up chasing us through the side streets around Echo Park and Downtown LA. At one point they got close enough to let us know why they were chasing us- apparently one of us stared at them too long. Funny thing is after we managed to lose them we all interrogated each other to find out who it was. So Highland Park sounded close enough to Echo Park. That was good enough for me. And besides Dad said I didn't want to get off there and circled it in his map book. And Dad loved his map book so yeah fuck Highland Park.

So for the rest of the year I never got off the Highland Park exits. I don't think I would have even thought about getting off there anyway if Dad hadn't mentioned it . I didn't even know what Highland Park looked like. The off ramps were dark and looked dangerous. They weren't like other off ramps. It was the unknown. What if I pulled off and the same gangsters from Echo Park were waiting for me? " We knew you'd come back guero, You should have listened to your Dad with the maps " they would say "but you are echo park, not highland park!" I'd say. But it would be too late. I would be forced to admit to staring them down in Echo Park(yes it was me).

Coming out of the tunnels on the Pasadena 110 freeway I always felt like I was entering some strange wonderland. At home there were rules but on the road the only rule was not to get off at the Avenues. This stretch of freeway called the Arroyo Seco Highway always had a romantic feel. I would hit that first curve before the highway opened up and turn up the music and it would be bliss all the way to Pasadena. Knowing that there might be something sinister waiting in the darkness as I barreled down the highway made it even more enchanting.

Even today when I drive through those tunnels I think about the old days. Images pop into my head- Dad and his map, my girlfriend and I in Old Town, the feeling I would get driving down the Arroyo Seco Highway.

Highland Park has changed. A lot of LA has changed. I'm not sure Highland Park ever lived up to the narrative that I built of it in my mind. When you're young there's danger everywhere - always someone eager to step in front of you and ask where your from. The dangers I saw in my youth might still be there , I just don't see them anymore.

( asada, al pastor)

I was actually on my way to Pasadena this night to meet a friend in Old Town. I came out of the tunnels and hit the first bend on the 110 and thought about those old days and how I avoided Highland Park. I didn't have a lot of time so York blvd was out of the question, instead I got off at the Avenues and headed for the taco trucks that park in front of the Food 4 Less on Figueroa. I chose El Taki Taco because of the al pastor spit even though another truck nearby had a larger crowd. The al pastor was soft and tender a little crispy at the edges, the asada greasy and delicious. When it comes to tacos Highland Park rarely disappoints. The squeeze bottles of salsa, always a nice touch, came in handy as I peppered my tacos and chugged down a cold bottle of Mexican coke. Sometimes a plate of tacos puts one at ease.

I got back on the 110 and got the nostalgic feeling again. The 110 North always does it to me. The 405 puts me to sleep, the 10 makes me nervous. But with the Arroyo Seco Highway it's always bliss.

3.5/5

El TakiTaco
Figueroa St and Ave 51
Highland Park, CA 90042
tacos $1

I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggonit, people like me

Bandini — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:11:19 GMT

Daily Taco has been nominated in the 1st Annual Saveur food blog awards in the category of special interest blog. No my friends I do not have unflattering photos of the editors of Saveur magazine. For crying out loud. So like being nominated is cool and all. You know how when they introduce some actor and they say academy award nominee Jeff Bridges or whatever. Well if you don't mind from now on I'd like to be referred to as Saveur food blog award nominee the great Bandini. I know it's a mouthful but it really rolls off the tongue. Anyways the competition is stiff and to be honest if I were you I wouldn't even vote for me. It will just go to my head. Seriously if you think I'm bad now just wait until if we actually win.

taco links

dailytaco — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 02:26:00 GMT

Real Time Map for LA Gourmet Food Trucks [la.truxmap.com]

Taco Nirvana [Saveur]

Japanese Chicken Tacos [laeastside.com]

Tacos Baja Ensenada [Wandering Chopsticks]

6 Stop Fish Taco Crawl [Pleasure Palate]

Tacos Ariza's update

Bandini — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 21:40:05 GMT

(Tacos Ariza's pictured- photo Cindy H)

L.A. Eastsider goes Columbo on the whereabouts of Tacos Ariza's.

The Eastsider paid a visit to the catering truck kitchen and depot in Huntington Park where Tacos Arizas is based. The trailer was sitting there at the end of a long row of trucks. One fellow food truck drivers said the owners of Tacos Arizas have taken the vehicle out but no one seems to know where.
more at L.A. Eastsider

Update According to a yelper Taco's Ariza's was seen on Febuary 17th on Glendale Ave under the bridge. (no red hot chili peppers though)

Update Tacos Ariza's is back at its old spot at Logan and Sunset.

taco links

dailytaco — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 02:06:31 GMT

Tacoshed: Do you know where your taco comes from? [Rebar]

Romance restaurant flirts with 99- cent tacos [OC Register]

The Day The Taco Turned Into A Frozen Yogurt [L.A. Eastside]

Why is the LAPD harassing taco trucks? [Reason.com]

Mid-City Mexican food - Sky's Gourmet Tacos [To Live and Eat in L.A.]

Professor: Tacos are THE Global Food [TACO]

"Mi Teresila"

crazy4tacos — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 06:43:02 GMT

The night was cold and dark, the hunger...fierce and persistent, the terrific taco twosome headed out into the shadows in search of a scrumptious snack. Along the way, we stopped at an ATM to withdraw some cash as these trucks don't mess with the plastic. In the parking lot we stumbled across a good omen, a lone empty bottle of Jarritos orange pop. We then knew this would be a satisfying taco adventure. We headed due east, towards what many would call the heart of the taco truck culture, East LA. We got only as far as Western and Lexington before our hunger engulfed us to the point of famine. Luckily this was the location of two dueling trucks in the parking lot of AAA Muffler shop. Many know this place as the home of "El Matador", a cult favorite among taco fans. However there is another truck who also calls this parking lot home, most refer to it as "The Other Truck". Now most taco trucks are territorial animals, but every so often you come across two trucks or "animals" that can cohabitate, the clown fish and the anemone would be oh so proud. Anyways, we've been to "El Matador" plenty of times, but oddly enough we've never tried "The Other Truck", well tonight's the night!

The truck's nombre es "Mi Teresia" and it seems friendly enough. We approach the taquero and order the usual, tres tacos, pastor, asada, y chorizo con todo y salsa roja. The taquero heads to the grill where a smoky sizzle resonates throughout the truck. When the plates are handed to us they look quite delicious, what a pleasant surprise from the so-called "Other Truck". We can hardly get the lime juice drizzled on the meats before we're forced to dive in.

First up is the Chorizo, which coincidentally happened to be the favorite of the night, a rarity for us. The Chorizo had a pleasant juicy appearance, great color, perfect chop with just the right amount of cilantro and onion. First bite didn't disappoint, the flavorful meat was dense, yet tender with a perfect amount of juiciness.

Batting second tonight is the Asada and while it wasn't quite a homerun, it wasn't a strikeout either. At first glance the meat is nicely diced with a good ratio of charred pieces for that extra crunch we love. The Asada has a nice meaty flavor with a tasty blend of seasoning. The meat is compact and very delicious topped with spicy roja salsa that provides a deep lasting flavor. A big squeeze of lime and you're good to go with this one.

Last but not least is the Pastor, upon first glance it looks pretty good, there is no spit to be seen but Pastor can still be good without it. Usually our favorite, we were really disappointed by this showing. The texture was there; it tasted like pork, smelled like pork, but lacked any real Pastor flavor. The color was close to what we typically look for but not quite right. That being said it wasn't the worst Pastor we've encountered, the other two tacos and their delicious salsa far made up for the shortcomings of the pastor; the Chorizo and Asada made Lopes go back for seconds. Completing the plates was a tasty pickled cucumber, onion, carrot, jalapeno combination as well as a grilled pepper, radishes, and limes on the side, all good things. If we wanted to be real picky we could complain about the lack of grilled onion, and the tortillas could have been grilled a bit longer, but once again that's just nitpicking. All in all a great taco experience we'll surely be back for more!

4/5 stars

Where's Echo Park's Tacos Ariza's?

Bandini — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 03:01:05 GMT

(Tacos Ariza's pictured- photo Cindy H)

Echo Park's Tacos Ariza's hasn't been at their usual spot lately and the loyal faithful are missing their taco fix. Is this the great echo park taco truck exodus of 2010 (see
Tacos Arabes) or is there a more reasonable explanation?

A reader writes

Tacos Arizas in Echo Park, seems to have disappeared. It used to park just north of Sunset on Logan, right next to the Walgreens parking lot. I haven't seen it for several weeks now, and I have missed it in mind, body, soul, and stomach.

Okay taco community. Lets put on our detective shoes.

Nom Nom Truck

Bandini — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 07:39:23 GMT

The first thing I noticed was the size of the tacos. Then the julienned onions and carrots, then the slice of cucumber laid across the shell. They were so pretty I almost didn't want to eat them. But back to the size. These are not huge tacos but by gourmet taco truck standards they are massive and by massive I mean a regular size taco. Don't get me wrong I am a fan of the whole nouveau truck scene as much as the next guy, especially if that next guy is Aziz Ansari (he's hilarious). But if I have one complaint with them it is sometimes the portions are small. And by sometimes I mean most of the time. So when I got my food from Nom Nom and found these two hefty bad boys on my lap I was so excited I almost emptied a whole bottle of sriracha on them.

Did the excitement come to a crashing end once your humble taco correspondent bit into the massive tacos on my lap? And by massive I mean regular sized! No! I only became more excited! And by more excited I really mean more excited. Yes Nom Nom , you had me at first bite. Or maybe it was the cucumber that seduced me , its subtle hints of what was to come. It lay there like a ribbon on a birthday present across the shell of the taco like a centerfold. I wanted to pull you off Mr cucumber but you pleaded to be devoured together with your taco brethren. Of course I accepted your surrender and saluted your martyrdom. It was the least I could do.

The first to go down was the lemongrass which was so beautifully delicious I only wondered what took me so long to track you down Nom Nom. Maybe I was afraid I would be eatin by the little nom nom animal? No that can't be it! Could it? I hope not! The bbq pork was next and as delicious as it was it can only play second fiddle to my new BFF the lemongrass chicken taco. Oh lemongrass taco you have won my loyalty - my belly cries out for you. I fear now that no other chicken taco will do. Until we meet again. nom nom nom nom nom .

lemongrass chicken taco 4.5/5
bbq pork taco 3.5/5

Nom Nom Truck
http://twitter.com/Nomnomtruck
tacos 2 for $4

LA Street Food Fest tomorrow

Bandini — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 06:44:13 GMT

more info at LAstreetfoodfest.com

Downtown Food Truck lot to open tomorrow

Bandini — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:17:47 GMT

Food truck lot to open in downtown L.A.
February 11, 2010 | 11:48 am
A new food truck lot is set to open Thursday in downtown Los Angeles, marking one of the first efforts to bring the mobile food vendors together.
The downtown lot at South Alameda Street and Traction Avenue is one of several the Southern California Mobile Food Vendor's Assn. plans to open in coming weeks, said Matt Geller, the group's vice president.
Another lot is slated near the Beverly Center, and the association is talking with Downtown Art Walk organizers about possibly positioning the mobile vendors at the monthly event.
A similar lot was shut down in Santa Monica last month, but city officials there said they are looking into changing zoning laws to accommodate one in the future.
The downtown lot will be open roughly from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. three to four times a week.
via LA Times

El Taco Naco - Highland Park

Bandini — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 07:59:58 GMT

No matter what time of day you are on York Blvd you can get a good taco. It's where you'll find the El Pique and La Estrella corner that has been slinging reliable bombs of flavor for as long as I can remember. The competition heats up on the weekend with the taco tables and I've been noticing a lot of new flavor on the block lately with a Birria wagon that parks about 2 blocks east of La Estrella and a couple new (well new to me) taco wagons that have been plying their trade in this unofficial taco capitol of Los Angeles.

El Taco Naco may have the friendliest taquero out of all of them. Our man seems to have always have a smile on his face and even comes out to the table to personally ask you how your enjoying your tacos (well he did to me! Maybe he knew I was a taco reporter?) . The tacos don't quite have the greasy goodness of flavor that you'll find at La Estrella or El Pique (if I'm hung-over it's El Pique or La Estrella for sure) and the tortilla suffered from a little dryness but overall these were quite good. The carne asada was thicker in texture and had some nice flavor to it and the al pastor not from a vertical spit but about as good as one can expect sans the rotisserie. The salsa roja is ladled on top of a healthy bed of cilantro and has a peppery spiciness that peaks after a few seconds then starts to fade.

El Taco Naco comes out evenings and stays out as late as 2am. Would El Taco Naco be my first choice in Highland Park? Probably not but they would definitely be included in a taco crawl.

3/5

El Taco Naco
5236 York Blvd, Highland Park
tacos $1.25

LA Times: Downtown mobile food truck lot to open on February 11th

Bandini — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:37:25 GMT

Mobile food court is planned for downtown L.A.
Downtown working folk and resident urbanites can rejoice. On Feb. 11, a mobile food court is slotted to open in the neighborhood. The lot will boast three to four trucks daily and "ample parking," according to organizers.
"The lot will be on Alameda and Traction," said Matt Geller, Vice President of SoCal Mobile Food Vendors Association.
Geller was also the brains behind the Santa Monica mobile food truck lot, which was shut down within a day due to zoning issues. He's still working with the Santa Monica local government to get the Westside lot's business rolling again.
more at LA Times

Taqueria La Chespita

crazy4tacos — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 02:39:46 GMT

On a cold January night, the taco fiends were deep in the valley, very close to the last known location of their favorite truck "La Casa Grande". Even though they knew the truck wouldn't be twinkling in the auto repair parking lot the two always feel compelled to stop, hoping one day it will be back. They approach the parking lot and sure enough it's deserted...the two have grown accustomed to this disappointment so it doesn't affect them nearly as much as in the past, but it still stings. Fortunately for the hungry travelers, Lankershim is a hot bed for tacos and there are plenty of options, hopefully they can find one that satisfies their ever-discerning tastes.

"Taqueria La Chespita" (6331 Lankershim Blvd, NoHo) stands out to us this evening, as it appears to have all the signs of a good taco joint; twinkling lights, a covered seating area and a friendly taquero, who is grilling up some tasty looking meats. This is a taco stand by day that moves its griddle out front during the evening hours. First strike against Chespita is the sight of an empty spit, which should have been home to a delectable slab of Pastor. The extremely personable taco man assured us that they had ran out of the first batch and more was soon to follow. It was a bit on the late side, so we'll let that slide for now.

We had our typical order: uno pastor, una asada, y uno chorizo. They had the usual accoutrements: grilled onions, grilled peppers, raw onions, cilantro, roja and verde salsa, limes and radishes - all self-service. The tacos looked a bit greasy and the meats were not diced quite as small as we usually like. First bite of the asada proves this, the tacos are indeed greasy, the meat is fairly tender but lacks any real flavor and depth; this asada would not stand out from a pack. We elected to use the roja salsa on all of the tacos and it's sad to report the salsa is one-dimensional as well. It's got good heat and that's about it, not much flavor, just spiciness. Next up is the chorizo taco, from the beginning we notice the meat is not the color we like, it's on the gray side and what it lacks in color it also lacks in flavor. Like the salsa roja this chorizo is also uninspired, we expect chorizo to provide a flavor explosion, and this tasted more like ground beef seasoned with hamburger helper. The last taco we sample is the jimmy-rigged al pastor (not from the spit). The color is close to what we look for but it's severely lacking the caramelization and charring that comes with the open roast. The pieces are on the big side and not as tender as we expect. This isn't the worst incarnation of al pastor we've experienced but far from the best. On a positive note "Taqueria La Chespita" doesn't skimp on the meat or the sides if you want them. However, the greasiness of the meat causes the tortillas to fall apart making the whole experience a rather messy one. Overall a very mediocre meal, we have eaten at this establishment before but it had been sometime since our last visit, and sadly the previous trip was much better. This experience left a unsatisfied taco craving in our stomachs and we won't be coming back anytime soon, especially with so many potentially delicious trucks lurking all over the southland!

2.5/5 Stars