vs.

El Paso’s “rolled taco” stallwarts Chico’s Tacos is suing Austin’s own Chuco’s for swiping their name (close-anyway) and their signature dish- which is basically taquitos drowned in broth and smother’d in cheese. I admit i’ve never been to El Paso, but Chuco’s version was a soggy disaster- not impressed.

and the citizens-against-frivolous-lawsuits weigh in:

“If Chico’s wants to sue, then the German guy who came up with the hamburger and the Italian guy who came up with the pizza should also sue,”Read the article here >

BREAKING NEWS: They must’ve sent the goons in to intimidate these newcomers, cuz they alreayd changed their name- its now called “10th Street Tacos“…I like that better anyway.

more: Statesman Article on Chuco’s

-cabeza

just 1 night down at SXSW, but here’s 2 very good bands we stumbled onto:

Afenginn : Copenhagen, Denmark
We caught them by chance while grabbing dinner at Rio Grande - the brisket taco’s were bland, but these bad ass gypsy pickers brought the Danish Sabør - very melodic and inventive klezmer jams. And their bass player is disgusting/

…

AND

…

The Aggrolites : Los Angeles, CA
It was nearing 1AM, and the Black Keys showcase had an absurb line outside, so we took a chance on the Flamingo Cantina - IMHO the most reliable venue on 6th street. The Aggrolites dropped our jaws immediately with their air-tight Ska/Reggae/Funk stew- like The Specials meets James Brown in East LA. They had this vato on the B3 just rippin it up…really impressive live band/

-cabeza

fellow Austin taco bloggers and hot pepper enthusiasts from the Nuclear Tacos crew are throwing their annual SXSW party Monday March 10th, 6pm at Brush Square Park downtown…. this food aint for the meek..true taco explorers should prepare to shed tears of joy, sweat beads of blood, and deal with nuclear fallout that is sure to confuse your bowels in the hours following this event…[info]

Dubbed the TOXIC TRIANGLE, its the 20,000 home subdivision in the southwest part of San Antonio, TX [map] - built atop a former Air Force base. Years of chemical spills, careless dumping and undocumented disposal of mystery barrels have left the area’s water supply contaminated with a dealy plume of cancer-causing chemicals, including Trichloroethylene (TCE)- which has been linked to serious health effects including liver, kidney and breast cancer. Literally hundreds of Toxic Triangle residents have died of cancer over the past 10 years.

While the Air Force authorities have assumed the burden of cleaning up the mess, they still view the cancer studies as inconclusive, and “to bitter, impatient residents, the Air Force’s reluctance to take direct blame for the incidence of disease in the area is demonstrated by what they consider to be an outrageously slow, half-hearted cleanup effort.” SA Current - Full Article here

“WTF does this have to do with Tacos?” you ask??

Well, now the Air Force is pulling what i can only decribe as Taco Town’s Conspiracy Mashup of The Year- combining overt racism with pass-the-buck right wing science (ala global warming denial) Brilliant!

The Airforce is funding (at least partially) a study into the theory that this cancer plague is actually caused by corn tortillas! Here’s their only evidence:

Donnelly says a study in Africa found that a toxic mold sometimes found naturally in corn and grains is believed to be a contributing factor to liver cancer cases among some local residents there, but those people also suffered from hepatitis, or had other liver problems.
“There was a study that was specifically done in South Texas that showed that there are certain corn products that do have relatively high levels of these chemicals in them,” explained Dr. Donnelly, “So, yes, we are suspicious of corn products.” …Full Article Here

What genius came up with this one? Could it be an Aggie scientist (irony in itself)? YES!…I can see it now: “Well, ders lots o’ mexicans over there in San Antonio…bet they eat lots o’ tacos n corn n shit…maybe we can blame it on the tacos?”

You know what else causes cancer? EVERYTHING! cigarettes, red meat, sweet n low, diet coke, computers, microwaves, cell phones…etc…oh and also massive amounts of TCE!!!

But surely this has nothing to do with a Giant PLUME of toxic waste in those mexicans’ drinking water!…Nahhh…its the tortillas…and genetics…

FUCK THAT!!!
- Cabeza.

after the break: links to more info about this mess
Read the rest of this entry »

[updated - 2008.02.22]
NEW! Here’s Holstein’s Flickr Pics of the event

Thanks to Joby for his hard work and big thanks to everyone who participated in this growing event…we hope to see more of you guys next year.

[updated - 2007.11.11]
THE RESULTS ARE IN!
Winner: Chappy’s Elbo Green Salsa
2nd Place: Meredith Oakes’ ASS PUCKER
3rd Place: Teresa’s fresh red salsa
4th Place: Grego Loboz “Polish Power”
5th Place: Dan’s Delicious Red

Read the rest of this entry »

In 2007, 11 Austin area restaurants scored 50 or less on their health inspection scores… thats a serious score..it means a temporary revocation of their license.. here’s the list of the guilty restaurants… notable mexi-joints include la merced, la terraza, and ninfa’s, which happens to be the chain of restaurant that introduced me to cheese enchiladas, rice and beans at a very young age, thus shaping me into the man whose words you’re reading today… ninfas in austin is the bastard stepchild of a houston dynasty.. and its time for it to be cut off from mom and dad.. its all about pride..but at least they make their own tortillas.
tacotown does not support these restaurants:

• china buffet
• madras pavillion
• wanfu
• sao paulo’s
• jack in the box on airport (indoor raw sewage leak)
• musashino! (cockroaches,dirty fingernails)
• china harbor
• la merced
• la terraza
• new oriental market on airport
• ninfa’s

check the video report here

Pastor Al’s heroes, the mighty gods of rock, Led Zeppelin reunited its 3 surviving members (plus late drummer John Bonham’s son Jason) today at London’s O2 arena for one of the most anticipated rock concerts in history. The whole thing was a benefit for their late friend and music industry pioneer Ahmet Ertegün. you better believe we’ll be scouring the torrent world for the bootlegs, but until then, here’s the first review from NME, or better yet, David Fricke’s account for Rolling Stone, and some nice flickr photos.

update: Just found a pretty good clip of Kashmir from the audience…

Behold the setlist:

Good Times Bad Times
Ramble On
Black Dog
In My Time of Dying
Trampled Under Foot
Nobody’s Fault but Mine
No Quarter
Since I’ve Been Loving You
Dazed and Confused
Stairway to Heaven
Song Remains the Same
Misty Mountain Hop
Kashmir
E: Whole Lotta Love, Rock n Roll

editors note: Please give a warm welcome to our newest Taco Town contributor, Jenny J. (She’ll get an official taco-related pseudonym pretty soon, but for now its just Jenny). In the coming months Jenny will offer a much needed female viewpoint to the Austin Taco Lifestyle, plus, she’s a vegetarian, so she’ll focus on all those green things that we dudes scrape off our meat-lovers’. Enjoy!

I know. You’ve been distracted at work lately, wracked with frustration as you strive to figure out the six degrees of separation between Taco Town and Kevin Bacon. Now, you can rest easy and get back to staving off boredom with other NSFW activities, because I have the answer:

I(1) just got back from India. Before leaving, I contacted Taco Town(2) about contributing to the blog, and had high hopes of finding some curried cousin of the taco out East to write home about. Unfortunately, I wasn’t eating too much street food, and found nothing of the sort. (Dal wrapped up in naan doesn’t count.) But, upon my return from India(3) , I randomly encountered the recipe for an Indian-style burrito(4) , posted below for your enjoyment. And as you well know, burritos and tacos(5) are closely related brood in the Tex-Mex family. So, even though I can’t write about some amazing taco I had in India, I can at least relate the trip to tacos via the Bollywood burrito.

Oh, and Kevin Bacon(6) . He sat in front of me(1) during a burlesque show at the old downtown Alamo Drafthouse a few months ago. So I guess there are only three degrees of separation between Taco Town and Kevin Bacon, with me in the middle. But had I revealed the direct connection, you wouldn’t have acquired this Delhicious recipe. Nor would you have realized that tacos could have a Hindi hermano.

But now you know. So, after all that useless information, here is the whole point of this post:

INDIAN-STYLE BLACK BEAN BURRITO RECIPE

OK, I’m sure some folks are really excited about the Free Taco’s for America promotion during this year’s World Series…

In a truly bizzare twist of cultural irony- the gringo suits at Taco Bell Inc. thought it’d be awesome if they encouraged overpaid minorities to steal, then rewarded degenerate America with another slap-in-the-face to real-Mex-cuisine- a powdered beef shit-taco…talk about Soiling America’s Passtime.

So, what can you do to help? How bout donating the tacos in your name to the burned border-runners in San Diego? sounds like a plan. here’s a website that’ll help-

www.donateyourtaco.com

visit www.donateyourtaco.com today (10/30) before 5pm to donate your taco to the San Diego fire victims…Or be a no-class-butt-chump and treat your asshole like San Diego, compliments of the Smell today (10/30) between 2pm and 5pm.

Cabeza

Houston, TX - June 11th, 2007:  A man died while trying to stop a robbery of a taco stand outside a bar he owned in the 13500 block of Almeda Road in southwest Houston.  The shooting occurred around 1:15 a.m. at the Mi Ranchito Night Club. Police said two men were trying to rob a a taco stand near the bar’s front door when the owner, Resendo Rios, of 2100 block of Kilkenny,  tried to intervene.  Rios, 49, suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was transported to Ben Taub General Hospital where he later died.  The two men escaped in an unknown vehicle. [Houston Chronicle]

Taco Town salutes this fallen hero.. any taco that a man will give his life for must be worth a try..  Resendo Rios, may you rest peacefully and well-fed in Taco Heaven..