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

El Ultimo Taco Truck (map)
7403 Long Point Rd – Houston, TX
(in the Mr. Car Wash Parking Lot)
Hours: MON-FRI 8am to 10pm; SAT-8am to 12
Rating: 3.55 out of 5 stars

A great taco conquistador once mused that, “to unearth the mother of taco pearls, one must venture into the belly of the beast, deep into the dark recesses of the latino bum cranny….or just try the East side.”

The “bum cranny” in this case is Long Point Drive – proof that Houston is too big for just one East side, and a formidable bastion of crackheads, pawn shops and seriously dope taco spots. (truth be told- Long Point isn’t really east of anything, but its nestled firmly in the “bum-cranny” of 1-10 and 290…but, fuckit- just turn the map over and call it the east side)

El Ultimo Taco Truck is definitely in the hood- the roach-coach shares a parking lot with a Lebanese car stereo shop (Los Tigres Del Norte always sound better at extreme dB’s) and a Mister Car Wash formerly owned by Kenneth Allen McDuff. However, los gringos brave enough to endure these dire environs will reap the benefits of a Latino culinary slumsplosion.

The lady at the window spoke no english- par for the course- but da amateur murials on the sides of the truck explained enough. I stepped up to the plate:

Al pastor taco
Came HOT off the grill, garnished with cilantro, slice of very green avocado and a lime wedge, enclosed in a doubled-up fresh corn tortilla. Shit was juicy, hot and best of all- FRESH. The avocado was a very nice touch.

El Ultimo Taco
the pride and joy of this establishment lived up to its name and then some. Hot and savory carne asada nuggets dressed with the same cilantro/avocado combo, crumbled a bit of queso fresco on top, a generous drizzle of the house verde sauce (jalapeno-based and spicy ass!) and that’s it. A beautiful thing happens when the mexican cheese merges with the salsa and infuses itself in the beef- a smoky, creamy, taco ORGY. That’s why we do it folks. moments like this. beautiful moments…

Taco de Pollo
basically pollo guisado- stewed chicken with sauteed onions, poblano peppers, cilantro and queso fresco. It was fantastic. Moist and delish. nuff said.

El Ultimo Taco Truck also serves up Aguas Frescas, mean breakfast tacos in the AM, and rumor is people have been murdered for the menudo, which they ONLY make on weekends. Apparently, there’s just not enough to go around. “Fuck the Nike’s…gimme that menudo muthafucka!”

cabeza De Taco

Quality: 17 out of 20 [Orgy of taste]
Salsa: 7.5 [damn good- hot as shit]
Tortillas: 6 [decent]
service/atmosphere: 7 [ friendly and mexican]
Brown Factor: -2 [very clean- but its a taco truck]
Total: 71%
Rating: 3.55 out of 5 stars

Mila’s Taqueria Mexico [map]
3240 Fondren Rd
Houston, TX 77063
(713) 334-8999
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

So when La Femme Nataco spied another TaqMex location today, we were prepared for another killer meal. This location is actually called Mila’s Taqueria Mexico- Maybe a sister or daughter of the restaurant family…i dunno but it looks newer and more contemporary than its predecessor. In Taco Town that is not a good sign, but the badass mural of an Aztec warrior smoking out his nubile princess more than made up more the modern touches. As far as the food- it was a meal filled with ups and downs.

I’m just gonna name off the stuff we got – good stuff first:

Pollo Guisado Taco $1.35
Chicken that’s been stewed until very tender, and juicy- with loads of flavor, wrapped in a homemade flour tortilla and topped w/ lettuce and tomato. It was a great chicken taco. nuff said.

Barbacoa Taco $1.25
incredibly tender and supple beef brisket in similar corn tortilla wrap- but again the meat was SO fatty, i couldn’t eat it- besides there was a distinct LACK of spice-fire-heat in all these tacos. Where the fuego at?

Crispy Taco con Picadillo $1.25
After i ordered this one, the nice waitress informed me they were out of picadillo, so she suggested the carne asada instead as the crispy filling. I’d never had a crispy taco w/ fajita beef before, so i gave it a shot. would’ve been decent, but the PHAT strikes again. the beef was sinuey and rubberize, i couldn’t even chew that shit. flavor was nice, but the fat! please trim your meat people.

So the lesson is- Not all Taqueria Mexico’s are built the same- next time I’ll choose the older, wiser and more tradish TaqMex. peace out.

Cabeza

Mila’s Taqueria Mexico
3240 Fondren Rd
Houston, TX 77063
(713) 334-8999

Quality: 10 out of 20 [fat was the deal killer, but some good stuff in there]
Salsa: 6 [slightly above average]
Tortillas: 7 [home-made, but not incredible]
service/atmosphere: 6 [ friendly and attentive]
Brown Factor: -5 [blubber = the runs]
Total: 50%
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Houston is BIG.  And Cabeza has but one stomach.  I was happy to find out some other Houston blogs have joined the taco review party.  Shit, the more the merrier.  The Houstonist Bites gives a berry favorable review to this unassuming Heights joint.

Chilosos has six varieties of breakfast tacos, all of which are $1.35 (add $0.30 for additional toppings). As we walked up to the counter to place our order, we were greeted with a smile and could see the fresh tacos being prepared in the background. We opted for one bacon, egg, and cheese (for comparison purposes) and one chorizo, egg, cheese and guacamole. Although there were no chips and salsa to munch on while we waited, we did enjoy the checking out the house’s decor…Full Review>

Another blog called Food In Houston skews their review of Chilosos to the lunch fare with equal enthusiasm. they say:

The breakfast tacos are good, but my favorites are two lunch tacos: carne guisada and puerco en salsa verde. Carne guisada is a stew of beef tips in gravy. Chilosos’ version does not have quite as much cumin as my favorite carne guisada recipes, but it is far above average. Even better is the puerco en salsa verde, chunks of pork in a mild green salsa. This thick, yummy salsa is not as spicy as I might expect, but it is full of flavor. Chilosos also makes a good chicken fajita taco, which is greatly improved by a liberal dousing of the salsa verde. Although the default tortillas are flour, I prefer the corn tortillas which are thick and taste homemade…Full Review>

Chilosos Taco House
701 E 20th St
713.868.2273
Mon.-Sat. 7am – 4pm

100% Taquito
3245 Southwest Freeway
Houston, TX 77027
713-665-2900
MENU | WEBSITE | MAP

You probably noticed Texas Monthly’s recent cover story entitled “63 Tacos You Must Try Before You Die“. Its a very comprehensive and impressive article, very worthy of tacotown’s praise. Well, the #3 taco on their list is the Tinga Taco at Houston’s 100% Taquito.
I had to verify things for myself.

So word is, 100% T began as a college student’s project to faithfully recreate a mexico-city-street-cart-taco experience in a generic Houston strip-mall. I must say, they did a pretty good job on the inside. complete with taxi cab and cobblestone floor. You even order from a pseudo trailer. Points for atmospere I guess, if you like the Mexican Disney-world vibe.

here’s the deal: stand in line while scanning the mean- the bulk of which is the taco plates- they come 3 tacos to an order. they’re got Al Pastor, Chicken, Garlic Shrimp, Tinga, shrimp and the combo order- 1 asada (beef), 1 tinga and 1 mole (chicken). This is the way to go for a newcomer I think…order you an aqua fresca or horchata while you’re there. better make it 2 orders of taco too, cuz they’re pretty small, like 4 bites each.

There’s a decent salsa bar to hit up while you wait for the food (which is not too long, maybe 5 minutes at the most). There’s a decent green sauce, but nothin to write home about. (i am technically writing home now?)

But the bottom line- the food IS GOOD. DAMN GOOD. its some grubby-good shit. The Tinga is tender, slow-roasted, shredded beef brisket bathing in a warm red sauce with a sneaky chipotle after-burn to it. its very tangy and delicious. Props also to the al pastor – not the best ever, but solid. The Tacos de Camaron, or garlic shrimp tacos are decent- pretty fresh ingredients, but if you’re lookin for this kinda thing I suggest Taco Milagro…100%T specializes in the more down-home style, they’re from the streets. so remember that when ordering.

The Mole is good if you like the classic mole, chocolatey richness- I thought it was rather unoriginal, but I guess its a tribute piece…The Carne asada gets honorable mention for being a great non-nonsense beef fajita- ala Arandas or any good jalisco style joint. I really dug the canteloupe agua fresca, had me goin back for refills like a bitch. I should also mention the sopes – thick corn masa tortillas served flat with the goods on top- tostada style. La Femme Ne Taco loved the Chicken Mole Sopes. they’re bigger than the tacos as well.

100% Taquito is a great lunch spot if you can beat the rush- it does get crowded on weekdays. They serve up plenty of great tacos including one of the top 3 tacos in tejas, and Im not disputing that claim, though I’d lobby for more of their menu items to be held in equally high esteem. word.

Cabeza

The Score:
Atmosphere: 6 (interesting, but a bit much, & a patio overlooking the freeway?)
tortillas: 8 (homemade and great, but small)
Salsa: 7 (authentic and tasty)
Food: 9
Price: 8
total: 76%
[rating:38/50

twas an interesting weekend on the road with our band Groovin Ground..friday night was a co-bill with Grass at the Vortex in Beaumont… our first time there and we were received well by the hippies. On Saturday we played the Santomojo Music Fest at the Meridian in H-Town, which had a lineup of midrange prog/jam rock stallwarts from around the country… unfortunately it seems not many peeps in houston cared enough to show up..but the day was chock full of great music, and I for one had a good time.

my highlights were The Greyhounds, Mooshine Still, Lazlo Hollyfeld.. cant forget to thank Thomas for saving the Red Stage from total PA meltdown… special props to Dirty Dave and Dean Daniel’s crunked out photo shown here slathered in 5 dolla bills..oh yeah- check out Ian Varley’s review of the fest here