Longtime Houston food critic, author, and salsa pioneer, Robb Walsh, skips all the roasting and hard labor involved in some salsas and shows us how the taco trucks do it – quick and simple, with a few fresh ingredients thrown into the blender..

oh and by the way: Robb has a new book out called The Tex-Mex Grill and Backyard Barbacoa Cookbook.. Be sure to check it out!

The Mother Hips from SXSW 2009

Local Natives
up n comers – catchy songs and amazing singers.
2pm • The Parish (NPR) Listen Live on KUT

Fader Fort – Thursday Lineup Highlights
3:45 Neon indian
4:30 Local Natives
5:15 Bomba Estereo
6:45 the Morning Benders
7:30 Fucked Up

Dam Funk
3:30pm • Carniville Party

The Mother Hips!
5pm • Kayceman Treehouse Party @ Cheers – FREE!
11pm • Encore patio (official sxsw)
the Fathers of Califonia Soul are back in Austin – DON’T MISS THEM

Lissie
8pm • The Parish (official sxsw)
great vocals – great songs and a magnetic presence

Mountain Man (check out my interview w/ them)
9pm • Buffalo Billiards (official sxsw)
trio of girl singers from vermont – spooky and beautiful folk hymns

The Low Anthem
10pm • Palm Door (official sxsw)
Don’t call it Americana – great songs, rootsy, real, raw vocals

jj
10pm • Mohawk Patio (sxsw)
Mysterious electro pop from Sweden w/ sexy female vocals

Holy Fuck
11pm • Mohawk Patio (sxsw)
Amazing instrumental band from Toronto. Thom Yorke digs it.

TacoTown had an absolute BLAST at the BACON TAKEDOWN this past Sunday at Emo’s during the 2010 SXSW Interactive conference.

The 22 Bacon-centered entries ranged from ridiculously meaty – Frank Mancuso of Saint Arnold & his Bacon Explosion - to the sinfully sweet – Laura Finger’s Bacon Cups filled with peanut butter chocolate pudding, topped with banana & maple glaze). Not to mention Bacon Booze! Lucky 13 Mixology served up killer Bacon Bloody Mary’s…and it would be an Austin takedown with out some tacos! Absolutely NOT. That’s where we come in…So, what did we make??

Crack taco - Our Winning Entry (credit Nelson Flores onthe last one)

Crack Tacos!
Maple blueberry glazed bacon inside a fresh flour tortilla (made w/ bacon fat),
topped with blueberry-habanero hot sauce – ftw.

And to top it all off- We Won!
TACO TOWN took home 1st place in the Judges category and 2nd place in the people’s choice!

——————————

BIG BIG ShatOut to: Arnold Perez- our partner in crime and official chef of Purple Bee Crew. Arnold was the ever-smiling brown fellow rolling out over 250 fresh tortillas LIVE on-site for the hungry carnivores! We couldn’t have done this without him…really…

Big ShatOut to: Takedown honcho Matt Timms – Let’s do a TACO takedown next year, Matt!!

Big ShatOut to: The esteemed judges- Local food-blog-queen Addie Broyles and Bon Appetit Magazine’s Emily Fleischaker.

Big ShatOut to: Nelson Flores of show me your taco for sharing that last bacon photo with us.. check out his great taco blog

Big ShatOut to: our old pal Hilah Johnson’s and her Caballero Candy: a Chocolate bacon Fantasy – which narrowly beat TacoTown for the People’s Choice 1st place – also be sure to check out Hilah’s badass online cooking show.

Here’s The Official Results:

Judge’s Choice
#1 Tacotown.org – Crack Bacon Tacos
#2 Vanessa & Lisa Blackwell – Bourbon Bacon Pecan Pie
#3 Amanda Joyner – Bacon Jam

People’s Choice:
#1 Hilah Johnson – Bacon Chocolate
#2 Tacotown.org – Crack Bacon Tacos
#3 Josh White - Avocado Bacon Salad on Toast

more coverage:
Takedown Website
Addie Broyles Coverage for Austin360
Hilah’s Awesome Video of the event

Cable TV’s #1 douchebag Guy Fieri tears himself away from TGI Fridays long enough to check out Maria’s Taco Xpress on South Lamar.  Good to see Maria behind the counter and “cougar-like” as ever…Also, nice to get a peek at her making that amazing Chimichurri Sauce…mmm…enjoy the vid:

if my spanish > english translation serves me correct .. this kid has a good looking burrito in his pants.. and i think he said he’s drunk on margaritas.. not sure.

via chicago blob [nsfw?]

Taco Town is getting pumped up about tonight’s National Championship football game featuring our Texas Longhorns vs. The Alabama Crimson Tide.  I know Holy Taco has their mind on other aspects of the game, but we just had to chime in, considering the major taco-related developments concerning 2 Alabama players.  Burnt Orange Nation sums it up for us:

Update on Rolando McClain’s and Rod Woodson’s stomach viruses, which apparently came from bad tacos (which of course is an oxymoron, as there is no such thing as a bad taco, only tacos that make you more sick than other tacos). They will both play tomorrow, but both have been held out of practice and may have some trouble with stamina and cramping in the game as they struggle the rehydrate.

and blogger EDSBS smells a conspiracy:

Now: what do Texans pride themselves on? Besides the wanton use of firearms, Vince Young, titties, and the innate supremacy of their good-but-let’s-not-go-overboard-you-hipster-shitbags music scene?* That’s right: Mexican food. Go anywhere and Texans will whinge and bemoan the current unacceptable state of their taco, sometimes even doing this while standing in the middle of a restaurant in Oaxaca, because “Mexican food in Texas is better than Mexican food made in Mexico!”

Can’t really argue with that logic, but hold on – there’s other suspects in this crime: who could defend the state of California and their baja chipotle fish tacos garbage?…Fish and shrimp will always be the most dangerous tacos – and we have plenty of soiled undergarments to prove that/ plus SoCal’s own Poison made a comeback, and lots of people are throwing up from that, so…I’d say the jury’s still out.

Bottom Line here – Tacos are good – bad tacos are better because they destroy the bowels of your enemy.  You call it food poisoning – We’ll call it Destiny! Hook em Horns!!

-cabeza

Murder Scene: La Sureña Taco Trailer (credit AAS)

Austin Police are still searching for the gunman who shot and killed a 43 year-old employee Sunday afternoon at the La Sureña Taco Trailer (translation: “The Southern”) on South Congress near Stassney. {google street view}.

Hispanic male in his mid-20s to early 30s, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a thin build, wearing a yellow shirt under a dark jacket and dark baseball cap, walked up to the taco stand about 3 p.m. and shot the man working inside, police said. The employee was pronounced dead at the scene. statesman article >

TacoTown has never tried La Sureña, but it’s about 100 feet away from Chilango’s, which is easily one of the best taco trailers in Austin.  We assume its a newer operation, cuz it seems to be in the same spot that used to be Taqueria “Angel”…

The suspect is still “on the runs“, and motive for the shooting is still unclear, though we highly suspect the chorizo.

WELL……on 2nd thought:  While TacoTown has never claimed to be a “classy” outfit, we DO apologize for the light-hearted comments on this subject.  Our hearts REALLY DO go out to the family of the victim and to all other mobile vendors in Austin.  Stay safe you guys.

-cabeza

Music in the Kitchen: Favorite Recipes from Austin City Limits Performers

When Austin salsa music legends, Beto and the Fairlanes, were asked to submit a recipe for the newly released “Music in the Kitchen: Favorite Recipes from Austin City Limits Performers”, they of course chose the best salsa in Austin – Our own Chappy’s Green Salsa!  Thanks Beto!  We are honored to be included in the book.

Other recipes include My Morning Jacket’s “Quinoa Eggs with Cheese, Please!”, Willie Nelson’s “Willie’s Tequila-Mango Salsa”, and Joss Stone’s “Veggie Lasagna.” You’ll find the recipe for Beto’s favorite – our famous green salsa on page 25.. [amazon link]

TacoTown has contributed a silent auction basket of taco-goodness for this Friday’s ‘Hill Country Nights’ event benefiting the Hill Country Conservancy.

Hill Country Conservancy is a nonprofit land trust committed to preserving the natural beauty and open spaces of the Texas Hill Country – forever.

Our basket includes contributions from:

• Republic Tequila – thanks Tom & Ken for the signed bottle & T-shirt!
• Rio Grande – gift cards, margarita glasses, sports bottles, lime sunscreen
• Cabo Bob’s – free taco cards!
• also, we included a jar of the award winning Chappy’s green salsa & some stickers.

Hill Country Conservancy’s 3rd Annual Hill Country Nights
Friday, Oct 30, 7:00pm | An evening of dinner and dancing | entertainment by Marcia Ball {More Info}

There’s a new Austin-made short film available via HBO on Demand called “Taco! Taco! Taco!.”  Directed by UT-alum John Estrada, all we know is that its about a taco-stand owner and his plot to bring down a new competitor.. looks spicy! [more flickr photos from the set]

The 2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival is shaping up to be the best yet, with cooler weather, lush green grass, a very solid lineup, and perhaps finest crop of food vendors ever assembled…This ain’t yer daddy’s “state-fare” of turkey legs and funnel cakes…We’re talkin gourmet, Austin-style goodness…even vegetarians have options….and so here’s the…

Taco Town Approved Grub at ACL Fest:

Hudson’s on the Bend
Hot & Crunchy Cone: Shrimp/Chicken/Avocado
NEW! Purple Pig Cone: braised pulled pork w/ purple slaw & horseradish sauce

Mesa Verde Grill
Quesadillas: Spinach Mushroom, Chipotle Chicken or Steak
Smoked Wings with Sweet BBQ or Mango Habenero Sauce

Torchy's Green Chile Pork taco

Torchy’s
Green Chili Pork Taco
Potato Bean Green Chili Taco
Trailer Park Taco

Wahoo’s
Blackened Fish Tacos
Grilled Chicken Tacos
Burritos: Fish/Chicken/Veggie

Moonshine
Fried Fish Tacos w/ Jicima
Lunar Burrito

WANT! Taco Wallet

Tacos: a good place to put your money
No, literally.  Its a freakin taco wallet! Thanks for the tip Fuck Yeah Tacos!

Stand Up!
Awww snap! Taco night at Bernie’s just went PRO with these interlocking taco holders. Now use both paws to stuff that taco with our delicious Bison Picadillo Recipe.  These things are dishwasher safe, but in Texas we like our carbon footprint XL, so we’re waiting on these disposables.

Patented Taco Shells:
only thing better than a taco stand is a freestanding taco, and the only thing better than an ice cream cone is a taco cone!

Nuked Crispies?
Taco Pablo brings you the Taco Toaster, a revolutionary device that turns soft corn tortillas into crispy taco shells with your microwave.  Genius.

Wow! Somehow this slipped past our habanero rubbed eyes, but it was just called to our attention that our very own CHAPPY’S Original Green Salsa was awarded honorable mention in the Individual Green Sauce division of this year’s Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival.

This is our 2nd honorable mention award in 4 years of competing at The Chronicle Fest, to go along with our two 1st place champion awards at Joby’s Hot Sauce Contest. – so we’re feeling somewhat validated and definitely movitated to make the podium next year…

after the jump: the full list of Individual winners from 2009:

Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival 2009
Individual – Judged Division – Winners

Red Sauce

• 1st Place: Twyla Wick*
• 2nd Place: Michael Hutchinson*
• 3rd Place: Robert Heady*
• Honorable Mention: Heath Garcia (Hurst), Eileen Fuessel (Hutto), Maria Estela Flores, Michael Rypka, Rita Huffman, John Cunningham, Marlo Cooper, Jacob J. Serda, Mark Wayne Choban, B&R Salsa, Chris Samarripas, Adam Wear, Rene Moreno

Green Sauce

• 1st Place: Karen Kessel*
• 2nd Place: Gary Peifer*
• 3rd Place: Brett Appolito*
• Honorable Mention: Eric Reyes, Célangé Santiso, Bobby Nall, Kala Uprety, Dustin & Evan Bozarth (TacoTown.org)

Special Variety

• 1st Place: Burt Friedman*
• 2nd Place: Jim Hoppers*
• 3rd Place: Carol Castillo* (Dallas)
• Honorable Mention: Austin Shockley & Caleb Dawson, Russell & Mattie Lewis, Shane Crawford, Patty Tomasco, Melonie Canga, Jason Parsons, Sonya Miller, Andrea Christi Michelle, Célangé Santiso, Michelle Hardy

Coed Fish Tacos
Tasty UT undergrad makes a hideous fish taco

Brooklyn vs. Austin
Where are America’s Best Tacos?

99 Cent Chef
recipe for Huevos Rancheros on the cheap

Crack Sauce
Blogger makes love to TacoDeli’s Doña Sauce

California Love
ATX Taco Blogger El Mundo de Mando (of Taco Journalism) blogs his Taco Crawl through San Francisco’s Mission district for SFweekly. La Taqueria and Taqueria Pancho Villa both received high marks.  He goes on to weigh the pros & cons of Tacos vs. Burritos…is it even close, Mando?? (SFweekly)

Eat This Lens!
local photographer has some stunning shots from their recent Houston Taco Tour…nice work Marshall.

Houston’s Top 10 Taco Trucks
H-town’s finest mobile tacos – as compiled by the honorable and knowledgable Robb Walsh…El Ultimo (My favorite) comes in at a respectable #3….and the winner is >

Barbacoa 2 ways
Señor Robb Walsh gives us a detailed recipe and history lesson on the all-but-extinct art of Mexican Mutton BBQ, Barbacoa de Borrego…Also, peep Robb’s video tutorial on Backyard Barbacoa, AKA smoked cow head.

> NEW South Austin music venue/taco shop opens this Saturday | Its called Villa’s Music Garden – just north of Hill’s Cafe on S. Congress.  Shout out to our boy Shawn Nelson, who’s on this inaugural bill | event page

> Houston Taco Truck Tour by Camera Phone

> Austin Bloggers take the Houston Taco Tour 2009
Long Point Drive is Houston’s version of South 1st Street. taco Mecca.

> “Show Me Your Taco” is going to Iowa July 6th for a Taco Tour good luck Nelson, but if Davenport is any indication – Iowa tacos pretty much blow cabritos.  Sorry, el Boz.

> Stop Laughing at THIS retarded preacher, or you’re going to Hell

Wall Street Journal, that is…check out this article on gourmet food trucks, a trend that’s sweeping the country and bridging the gap between expensive restaurants and fast food:

Jeff Blank, Owner of Might Cone

Jeff Blank, chef and owner of Hudson’s on the Bend, in Austin, Texas, where the average check is $75, rolled out a lunch truck in March. The truck, called the Mighty Cone, specializes in fried chicken, shrimp and avocado coated with a mixture of almonds, sesame seeds, cornflakes and chili flakes; average checks are under $10. At Hudson’s, revenue is off by 20% to 25% compared with two years ago, Mr. Blank says, but revenues from the truck have made up for those losses and even allowed him to hire extra staff.

Good Stuff and congrats on Blank’s success. TacoTown will always be children of the cone.

]]> http://tacotown.org/2009/06/08/mighty-cone-hits-wall-street/feed/ 1 http://tacotown.org/2009/06/05/fajitas-are-so-punk-rock/ http://tacotown.org/2009/06/05/fajitas-are-so-punk-rock/#comments Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:01:40 +0000 Cabeza De Taco http://tacotown.org/?p=1057

Photo by John Anderson

Much Respek to the brothers Vallejo and their 2nd annual Pachanga Latino Music fest this past weekend in East Austin.  The fest was huge success by all accounts…but more importantly, they managed to expand the definition of “a musical instrument” to include the BBQ Grill.

Serrano’s owner Adam Gonzales actually cooked fajitas LIVE, onstage during the Panchanga All Stars set – a super-group featuring members of Vallejo and Grupo Fantasma, with Michael Ramos, Willie Alvarado, Haydn Vitera and a bunch more…

Now TacoTown calls that innovation.

Full Festival Review here >

Chappy’s elbo green is a hit. Music is loud. Beer is cold. Get down
here. Paradise cafe upstairs all day baby. – cabeza

Taco Town is baffled and enthralled.

This weekend Christopher Huang will attempt to run 200 miles from Houston to Austin non-stop, completely unsupported, and utterly untrained. He will run straight to East Austin’s legendary Juan in a Million mexican restaurant, where he will immediately attempt to break his own world record – a 10lb scarfing of 8 Don Juan breakfast tacos. The amazing quest begins Thursday, March 19 and ends in Austin on Saturday March 21st at 3pm.  Chris has set up a website to promote the event where you can follow his trek LIVE via GPS….One thing’s sure – TACO TOWN will be at the finish line for the full report.  Good luck Chris/ -cabeza