Day 153: La Playa Taqueria

My buddy the Finger had spent the last few weeks prodding me to get tacos with him out in the deep Sunset. At first I had been adverse to travel this far out of my usual comfort zone, but I came to realize that if the year of tacos was going to achieve the level of spectacularity I knew it could, I would have to venture to taquerias in all of San Francisco's borroughs, be they near or far! I picked the Finger up at 7:30, and headed towards the beach, determined to find a taco before winding up in the ocean (Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr)!. We wound our way through the avenuse for approximately 15 minutes and finally arrived at our Noriega street destination. La Playa taqueria resides at 45th avenue just a stones throw from the beach. As we walked inside, I was imediately struck by the surfboard menu hanging above the cash register. I ordered a mahi mahi and a carnitas taco (In a very fingish move, the Finger went with a burrito), and we sat down to await our meal. P.S. In a surprising turn of events, the Mahi Mahi with mango salsa was far superior to the carnitas, but both were delectable.

Day 152: Casa De the Senor

Day 151: T-Bell

Day 150: Casa de Senor Salty

Day 149: La Parilla Grill

Day 148 Mijita

It was a dark and stormy night .......... sorry, already used that one. However, it was a dark and stormy night, and the E.P. and I needed to make our way to the Hotel Vitale for some surprise birthday cocktailing. Not actually knowing where the Horel Vitale was, we were resigned to another night at Rico's until I decided to embrace 21st century technology, and use my computer to mapquest the hotel and any Mexican restaurants in the vicinity. To our great surprise, Vitale is directly across from the Ferry Building! As you already know if you tuned for TDT day ?, Mijita (one of my top tacos from the year so far) is in said Ferry Building, and is open till 8PM on Friday! In a potent 1-2 weekend punch, the E.P. and I hit Mijita hard for a couple of tacos, and then hit the Vitale even harder for a couple (and maybe a couple more) El Toro's stouts (the Guiness of Mexico).

Day 147: Chipotle

It was my misfortune to be out working this rainy thursday afternoon. Forced to head south of the city in the midst of what van only be described as a torrential downpour, I decided to take advantage of my proximity to the only Chipotle in the area and complete the taco filling quad-fecta at this tasty Mexican chain. Having already sampled the chicken, steak, and pork tacos, I was left with the barbacoa (spicy shreded beef for all you gringos) for my meal today. After successfully navigating the strange assembly gauntlet Chipotle utilizes, my tacos arrived with the necessary mound of lettuce to hide them from the prying eyes of other patrons. As snuck the tacos out from their vegetable camoflage and into my hungry maw, I was pleased that todays carne filling held it's own in comparison to los autros Chipotle choices. Any way you order them, Chipotle makes a tasty taco!

Day 146: The Celebrity Cafe

Could there be a better way to refuel in the middle of a busy work day than with a tasty trio of tacos? I shoud think not! A three chicken taco plate from the Celebrity at approximately 13:00 hours American this afternoon filled me up without slowing me down, and provided me the energy I needed to finish my cases with the enthusiasm so important in the world of body part sales! Oh, yea!

Day 145: Casa de Senor Salty

As I perused the meat department at Safeway this evening, I was pleasantly surprised to find. Alaskan Sockeye salmon on sale in the fresh fish case. I decided a number of months ago after buying a pound of shrimp that I later learned had been farmed in China (They went straight into the trash. I am not a big fan of eating anything grown or raised in the Peoples Republic) that when it comes to animal products, I would severely limit farm or foreign raised meats or fish. This salmon purported to be wild caught in U.S. waters, so I decided to throw caution to the wind in the pursuit of tasty fish tacos.

Day 144: Rico's (again)

It was a dark and stormy night. The wind whipped through the trees as ominous clouds pelted those unlucky enough to be outdoors with golf ball-sized drops of rain. Being a practical taco-loving senor, I was not excited at the prospect of being one of the unwise persons foolhardy enough to brave the ferocious weather this MLK evening, yet my fridge was lacking in proper ingredients with which to create an acceptable meal for my daily requirement. Enter the Executive Producer: my salvation for the evenings meal. After enjoying a couple of bottles of vino roso while watching "Knocked Up" (funny movie), the EP was hungry enough (and filled with just the right amount of liquid courage) to make the perilous journey around the block to pick up tacos from Rico's (along with another bottle of vin). Out into the frigid night he went with nary a concern for his own safety; thinking only of ensuring the continuation of my taco streak. That, my friends, is the definition of dedication! Not sure if he would return triumphantly with tacos in hand, or be engulfed by the storm and washed into the bay never to be seen or heard from again, I anxiously watched the seconds tick by on numerous game clocks as ESPN continued flashing highlights on the T.V. Thankfully, the E.P. (and my tacos) returned safely (if slightly drenched). Tacos were eaten, vin was drunken, and all without me having to leave the comfort of my couch!

Day 143: Rico's

Today marked the closing of a major chapter in my year of tacos. No longer will I be able to end my weekends by watching Sunday night football while enjoying tasty, tasty Rico's. Sure, the Super Bowl is in two weeks, but that day historically involves more extravagant culinary options than take-out tacos. Thus, the Green Bay-New York game was my last chance to enjoy Rico's while sitting on my couch with a pair of delicious tacos in front of me and life-size football action on the one and only Goliath (I have a very large T.V. that earned this nickname due to its enormity). While the outcome of the game was not quite what I had expected, my chicken tacos were superb, and I ended the football/taco season on a very high note.

Day 142: El Burrito Express (Divisadero)

Day 141: Taqueria San Jose

Friday, my Grandfathers turned an amazing 92 years old (must be the tacos)! After a long first day back at work after my Boston excursion, I was left with a scant half hour to grab a taco and make it across the city for a birthday dinner celebration with my family. On my way to Bay street (the easiest way from mi casa to the sunset), I happened upon a parking space directly in front of Taqueria San Jose (thank you taco gods). With little time to spare, I sprinted inside to grab a taco to go for the ride to the West side. As I drove away, I opened the container containing my south of the border snack and was confronted with what appeared to be a sea of guac and sour cream. I poked around until I discovered some beans and a tortilla beneath the ocean of condiments, but was forced to pull to the side of the road before I could even attempt to eat this massive compilation of taco ingredients. After making an enormous mess of myself (thankfully my taco came accompanied with a bountiful supply of napkins), I continued on my way to dinner content to know another daily taco was in the books.

Day 140: Rico's

After a frigid yet very fun couple of days in Boston, I was in need of some San Francisco tacos to get me back in the swing of things West Coast style. My flight arrived at 6PM, and I was back in North Beach just in time for a 7:00 trip to Rico's. As you can see by the picture, I was so enthusiastic to be eating a taco in weather that was above freezing that I had made it through the majority of both tacos before I realzed I had forgoten to take a picture. Luckily, just enough filling had fallen out of my tacos that I was able to create a third taco with one of the extra tortillas for a salvage picture.

Day 139: Casa de Gump

My plan for todays tacos had been to make my way down to Fenway and hit up the taqueria (alegedly the best in the city) next to the ball park. This was not in the cards for my second day in Bean Town. Dr. Scott (the TDT's medical professional) prescribed sandwiches for lunch, and, by the time dinner rolled around, it was far too dark and cold to attempt the planned mile long taco trip. Luckily, we had run out of beer and needed to take the short block long trip to Shaw's market to replenish our supply. While the Dr. used his vast medical knowledge to choose the proper beer selections for tonights festivities, I rounded up some tortillas, beans, and chicken. There was salsa and guac left over from the previous evenings meal, and with all the appropriate ingredients assembeled, I was ready to "cook"! Before you could say "Hola taco especial! Que paso?" I had whipped up a tasty pair of my favorite treat and my daily TDT duty was completed.

Day 138: Sol Azteca

Beantown!!!!!!! Finally, some decent Mexican food in the land of the Irish! The Gumpus had done some very important research into the taco options available for delivery (it is like 12 degrees here, and no one in their right mind would go outside in search of such a tropical meal), and Sol Azteca won the TDT lottery for Tuesday nights taco-ing. We ordered online, and, in a very reasonable 30 minutes, I had my tacos without ever having to set foot outside the apartment. Tasty shreded chicken encased in crispy corn shells proved that Boston does offer some fine Mexican cuisine inspite of its Northern European history.

Day 137: Andele at SFO: Back to Beantown

With a 10:20 flight out SFO to Boston this evening, I was looking forward to Andele tacos all day. I arrived at the airport food court at approximately 9:52PM American, just as they were begining to shut down for the night. Apparently, if you are flying after 10PM, you have no choice but to go taco-less. Luckily, Andele takes orders up until that 10PM cut off, so I was able to grub a taco in the 4 minutes before I was supposed to board my plane. With a happy taco-filled belly, I luggaged myself into seat 17A and immediately passed out for the duration of the 6 hour flight to New England.

Day 136: Jay in the Cray

2 tacos for 99 cents had to make the year of tacos. A quick stop by Jack in the Box on the way home from Tahoe and my tacos were done for the day for under $1 American.

Day 135: The Bridgetender

After a spectacular day of skiing at Alpine Meadows, the E.P. and had become both famished and parched due to the high altitude exertion involved in a day full of steep trails and large Foster's. I had recently revisited the previous few months of TDT e-mails, and had come across one from a friend of one of the co-taco quality comptrollers (thank you Kate) extoling the virtues of the fish tacos at the Bridgetender in Tahoe City. Since it was on the way back from the slopes (and came so highly recommended), the E.P. and I decided it was a necessary stop in out taco travels. After ordering a pair or 22oz Mirror Pond's, we got down to business. One fish and one carnitas taco each for the E.P. and myself ended an epic winter day in the mountains. (Note: the Bridgetender tacos came in flour tacos, and, inspite of the recently uncovered evidence firmly backing said flour tortilas as legitimate in the year of tacos, I couldn't stop myself from hitting up Sancho's in Carnelian Bay to grab a corn tortilla taco on the way home from the Bridgetender)

Day 134: T-Bell

The Cheezy Gordita Crunch. A taco with spicy cheese sauce wrapped in a gordita bread thingy (it's like a cross between a pita and a crumpet) with cheese binding them together. After seeing a commercial for this marvel of the Mexican food world, the Executive Producer posed a very interesting question: "Why is that not on the menu all the time" (The Cheezy Gordita Crunch only shows up for limited periods during the year). I don't think there is an acceptable answer to this question because these things are outrageously good!

Day 133: Taqueria La Cumbre

I can safely say that after 131 days of TDT, I was fairly certain that I had seen every conceivable means available of assembling a taco. Now, I am not saying I had experienced every kind of taco out there (never would I claim such knowledge of the infinite versatility of the mighty taco), but I figured there were only so many ways to put stuff into a tortilla. Such is the folly of mankind. In a tale that is as old as time itself, I followed in the footsteps of innumerable other "great minds" who claimed to have achieved a level of experience with a subject (be it politics, religion, or tacos) so complete there was no aspect of it with which they were not familiar. As has happened each time man has overstepped the bounds inherent in his finite mind, I was put back in my place today at Taqueria La Cumbre. At the majority of taquerias, each taco comes with two corn tortillas. When I am feeling particularly health conscious, I will discard one of these tortillas, thus lowering the calorie and carb content significantly. This was my plan today, but when my two deluxe chicken tacos arrived, I was perplexed to find them stuck together! La Cumbre had put cheese in between the tortillas giving them an extra level of queso-y gooiness! Humbled by this as of yet unseen preparation technique, I ate my tacos and mused over what other secrets of taco-ism I might uncover before this amazing year is over!

Day 132: Casa de Senor Salty

Along with the taco holder I received from my Aunt, I also received a tortilla press from my Grams (creator of the Senor Salty doll and ornament), a taco/salsa cook book from my sister, and a tortilla warmer from mom and dad. A pound of shrimp, some fresh pineapple salsa, and these fabulous presents were all it took to make what may have been my best tacos ever! I'll let the pictures tell the story!!!

Day 131: Rico's

I received a very nice message from GoDaddy.com (the hosting company for the web site). The representative (I believe his name was Dan) asked if I was happy with GoDaddy's service, and ended the message by wishing me "good luck" (with a definite chuckle in his voice) on my quest to complete the year of tacos. I must say, this was a very nice touch. I highly recommend their services to anyone looking to start a web site to document a dream of their own. Now, the tacos. I was supposed to hit up "Taco Tuesday" with the Zimmer girls this evening, but, as happens from time to time, I was forced to return to work late this evening. Luckily, I had made a stop by Rico's early in the afternoon. I had received a taco-holding stand from my Aunt Mimi for Christmas, and decided it was about time to put it into action. A pair of carne tacos looked very comfortable perched in their individual stalls, and, in line with the new TDT picture quality standards, I used my new SLR to take this spectacularly composed shot with Senor Salty lurking in the background.

Day 130: Rico's

As I was looking back at some of the Daily Taco pictures from the last few weeks, I have noticed that most of them are less than professional looking. As I puzzled and puzzled as to why my marvelous tacos looked so blurry and grainy, I happened to look at the lens for my camera phone. What should have been a clean, clear piece of glass seemed to be covered with a film which looked suspiciously like salsa! A quick swabbing with a moist paper towel and the problem seems to be rectified. Irregardless, I have decided to attempt to take more pictures with cameras other than/better than the one housed in my phone so that, hopefully, the deliciousness of my daily taco will be more accurately and vibrantly conferred to you, the Senor Salty faithful. Now , the tacos. With the BCS championship game on the T.V., a quick trip to Rico's for some tacos to go seemed like an easy way for the E.P. and I to get dinner, fulfil my daily requirement, and manage to catch the majority of the game. The arctic chill had carried over from Sunday, and the short block and a half walk mercifully ended inside a warm Rico's dining room. A short wait for our food, a chilly stroll home, and we were once again seated in front of the T.V., only now more suitably equipped with a pair of grilled chicken tacos with guac each.

Day 129: Quixotes

A very fun yet rough weekend that included the spectacular wedding celebration of Doug and Court (two of the very first and most loyal of Senor Salty's fan base) ended with a very relaxing Sunday family taco outing in the beautiful West side neighborhood of Forest Hills. With the co-Taco Quality Comptrollers and mom and pop's along for an early dinner, we were brave enough, in spite of the arctic chill that had descended on the city, to eschew an automobile, and, instead, make the short walk to Dewey Blvd to visit one of our favorite taquerias; Quixotes. After placing our orders, and being beveraged we enjoyed some tasty chips and salsa as we awaited our entrees. I had ordered something with Diablo in the name which turned out to be a tasty carne asada steak topped with 4 super spicy shrimp. Accompanied with corn tortillas and the usual suspects of taco extras, I enjoyed concocting numerous combinations of differing amounts of steak and shrimp into delicious taco compositions.

Day 128: Ricos

Day 127: Chipotle

Day 126: Los Metates III

Day 125: My Kitchen

After another day of feeling (mostly) miserable, I headed home to watch some T.V. and lick my wounds. In need of a taco after a hard day at work, I decided I would try to take advantage of the leftovers in my fridge for one more of my 366 days. After retrieving the "to go" box from my fridge and peeking inside, I was disappointed to see that the only remaining of my once hearty band of stalwart taco soldiers looked quite peeked. I was still feeling slightly queasy at this point, and wasn't sure if I wanted to push my luck with this, the last remaining vestige of Mission grub left within the comfortable confines of my home. As I pondered the questionable nature vs. the inherent deliciousness of my (or really any) three day old taco, the answer to this riddle of old Mexico came to me in a flash of brilliance. I would use the still mostly viable taco fillings while supplementing with a fresh tortilla, queso, and toppings. 45 seconds in the microwave, a scoop of guac, and a generous splattering of Cholula quickly brought this franken-taco gloriously back to life in a most amazing (and very tasty) manner.

Day 124: Casa de Senior Salty

Yes ladies and gentlemen, as you already know if you watch "Daybreak" on KOLO channel 8 "The Ocho" in Reno, the Daily Taco has made it to the small screen. KOLO's morning anchor (Anne Cutler) happens to be a friend of the TDT Co-Taco Quality Comptrollers, and heard about our little experiment over the weekend while Senior Salty's minions were vacationing in Tahoe for the New Year's celebration. Being as impressed as you might expect after checking out the site, she decided it was a news-worthy endeavor and featured it on her morning news segment. If you think I am making this up, please revisit the post from day 122. There is a comment from Anne Cutler, and she is definitely on the KOLO website as the morning and early afternoon Anchor. Outstanding. Now on to the tacos. On the day that the Senor Salty reached this momentous T.V. Moment, the Daily Taco almost met it's demise. I felt so incredibly awful after New Years Eve that I was unsure if I would be able manage to get an entire taco into my upset stomach. I waited as long as I could, and around 6:30 I decided to take my chances since I could tell bed time wasn't more than 30 American minutes away. I fished a leftover taco out of the to go box I had taken from the party (thank you Katie for forcing me to take some leftovers with me because I surely didn't have the motivation to make it outdoors to get my taco), poured on a little guac, and went to town. The intense taco training I had undergone over the previous 123 days (especially the 6-9 Cav Especial) was the only reason I was able to successfully finish every last bite. Even in my less than healthy state, my meticulously trained body overcame the queasiness rumbling through my tummy, and the streak of taco's remained unbroken.

123: New Years at the Marquis

This year, December 31st marked a momentous occasion in the history of the Daily Taco. Day 123 is the official first day of the second trimester of my year of tacos. What better way to celebrate the completion of one third of my days of tacos than with an abundance of Mexican food, Pacificos, and fans of the Daily Taco. After picking up the $400 American worth of Pancho Villa, it was back to the Marquis pad to set up, and get to partying. G.I. John (freshly returned from Iraq) took it upon himself to give me a lesson in army culinary ops by creating the 6-9 Cav Especial as the meal which would mark the beginning of the TDT's second third! Apparently, when you are in a combat zone, the alloted time for eating is severely limited. This being the case, the approved solution for getting as many calories/nutrients in your system as quickly as possible is to take a helping of everything you can find and either throw it in a tortilla (an Iraq taco/6-9 Cav Especial), or onto bread (an Iraq sammy I would guess). As I watched John go to work, even I was amazed at how much stuff he was cramming into this taco. The original taco fillings, a piece of quesadilla, the fillings from a burrito, chips, guac, salsa, sour creme, and a cup cake on top for good measure. To moisten the entire taco combination (for ensure easier swallowability) the whole concoction was topped with a Jack Daniels "floater." Eating this taco was going to be a formidable challenge in and of itself, but then John dropped the stipulation that really set the Iraq taco apart: it had to be completely consumed in a maximum of 10 minutes! Wow! I made it with a few seconds to spare, but the 6-9 Cav Especial was a worthy gate keeper on my path into the next phase of my year of eating a taco each day.