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.