Taco and Salsa Truck, Mills and Main

When I started this blog 10 years ago, I wanted to talk about tacos, surf shops and coffee. Since then, I've discussed guitars, ukuleles, watches and anything else that comes to mind. I realized that a few new taco trucks have popped up, and I haven't said anything about them.

I've also decided that tacos are pretty easy, and there isn't much to distinguish one from another. I've had tacos from this truck before, and at $2.75 each, they're on par with most other tacos in the area. If you need a taco, these are fine.

Reading their handwritten sign, I asked what a 'Quesabarba' was, and the guy at the counter said that it's a quesadilla with barbacoa meat. I asked how big it was, and he showed me an 8" corn tortilla. Another customer said it was good, and just order two. I did, but didn't ask the price, ready for a shock when I was wrung up. "$9," the counterman said, a price I was willing to pay.

In spite of my ethnicity, I don't really know much about barbacoa. The definition on the internet says it's slowly cooked and seasoned meat, usually goat or lamb, but also beef head or possibly pork. It's usually served with barbacoa dipping sauce. 

After a few minutes, I got my order. On the ride home, my car filled with the smell of barbacoa, and I was pretty excited.

Opening up the quesabarba, it was as advertised, a quesadilla filled with beef barbacoa.  A cup of barbacoa sauce came with it, which I dipped into before each bite. I caught some of the smokiness, onions, garlic, and cilantro in the sauce, which made the quesabarba tender for every bite. 

I had a Modello Dark here at home, which went perfect with the meal.

Again, I haven't had barbacoa that often, and don't really have much of a reference for it. The sauce was actually very similar to the birria sauce that they use at Pablito's Tacos over on the Avenues. 

I'd like to explore birria/barbacoa more, to mix up my taco diet.

As for Taco and Salsa, I'll be back.

Pablito's Tacos

Pablito's Tacos

Coronavirus or no, I still love tacos.

In the background, here in my backyard, the soundtrack to some 'Bollywood' film is playing. Not sure why I have this...

Pablito's Tacos is across the street from the Red Barn Market, in the parking lot of Iglesia Apostolica. (this church would sometimes serve tacos out of a pop-up). The Red Barn actually rates it's own entry, and maybe I'll get to that soon. They've got good meat and a good deli section. 

I'd initially planned on getting a bean and cheese burrito from the Red Barn deli-the beans are good, made in manteca, the way my grandmother would have, and it's only $3.50. But I noticed that Pablito's was open, and so changed up my plan.

I ordered the birrias taco, and I was just going to get an asada taco to go with it. The kid at the window suggested the gordita, and if he felt good enough to suggest it, I figured that I'd give it a whirl. I also got a can of Dr. Pepper to wash it down, for a total of $7.50.

At that price point, the bar is pretty low-if it's edible, it's probably worth it. I noticed that on their signage, they mention $1 Tacos on both Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons, which I'll have to come back to try.

The wait seemed a little long, but not bad, and the food-well, it was pretty good. Everything was fried, of course, but not too greasy, and the birria sauce had a good smokey flavor with just a bit of spicy. There was plenty of meat in both items, and enough birria to dip both. The gordita looked more like what I would call a crunchy taco, with cheese and lettuce, but with some birria sauce, it was quite tasty. And he fished the Dr. Pepper out of a cooler of ice and water-Nothing quite like an ice cold Dr. Pepper.

No chairs or tables were out, so I plopped on the steps of the church in the parking lot. The lot was in the center of a complex of buildings-the taco truck is owned by the church-and several men walked by, seeming to do different things and all asked if I enjoyed the food and thanked me for stopping by. 

So, does it match up to my favorite taco truck on the Avenues of Ventura? No, but this one is open in the afternoon, so I'll be back.

 

Tamales Alberto, Echo Park

I've been writing a book about a guy from Echo Park in the '40's, and though nothing may come of it-I've tried to write books before and nothing has come of them-I have an idea and a timeline, and now I just have to get it all done.

So I've walked Echo Park a few times since the summer, and what I'm seeing is a neighborhood in transition, what was a somewhat frightening part of town in the 80's now being filled with both hipsters and homeless. I'm getting good ideas and background for my book, and that's all good. Maybe in a few years, I'll have it finished and my blog will be looked at as my early writings, and isn't it obvious how talented I am. Or not.

I was hungry as I walked the area last week, and I was going to go to a food truck that I'd seen every time I was there. It's always crowded and smelled pretty good, but when I walked up to check it out, I noticed that the health inspector gave it a 'B'. I'm not opposed to eating someplace with a 'B', but something has been bothering my stomach the last few weeks, and I didn't feel like risking it.

I continued on, and noticed Tamales Alberto. They had other items on their menu, and since I'm not a big tamale fan, I figured I'd try something else.

I walked into the small dining area and up to the register, ready to order a burrito, which I saw on the menu. I noticed a tray of tamales, and they smelled good, but I still wasn't planning on buying one.

I should mention why I'm not a tamale fan. My wife buys them, and I'll eat them, but I always find them a bit dry. Sometimes they're too spicy, sometimes they're nothing but masa, and sometimes they just aren't good. There's a tamale man who comes through my neighborhood from time to time, and we usually buy, but mostly because he seems very nice. I'm never sure what he's going to have, and there's nothing that I feel I really want. For Christmas this year, we bought some tamales from somewhere in Oxnard, and they just weren't good at all.

Tamales, I could take 'em or leave 'em.

I was hungry, though, and they had a place to sit down, so I picked out two, pork with red sauce and pineapple.

The pork with red sauce was excellent! The masa was moist, with a strong corn flavor. There was a good amount of pork, and the red sauce had a hint of heat.

Then the pineapple...I had a flash back to being an 8 year old boy. My grandparents on my Father's side had a place that they liked going to, but I don't know where it was. They would bring back tamales for my family once in a while-I think my father liked them, but I don't remember now. I was a little, fat kid who didn't like anything spicy, so they would bring me sweet tamales. I seem to remember those have cinnamon and raisins, and weren't spicy at all.

This pineapple reminded me of that. The corn tasted almost like a cornbread, and with the pineapple, it started to take on the qualities of a pineapple upside down cake. It was great!

So after devouring both (with a can of Coke), I decided to have one more. I went for the chicken mole. The mole had a bit of heat and a bit of sweet, and it soaked into the masa, spreading the heat/sweet combination into every bite. The chicken also picked up some of the mole flavor. Another excellent tamale.

And I was out under $10.

Taqueria Vallarta, Ventura

Taqueria Vallarta

278 E. Main Street

Ventura, CA  93001

Most of the places in the downtown area of Main Street are expensive, and not that expensive is bad-it's just that I can't always afford it. Sometimes I want to eat fast, cheap and not in a chain. There's a Subway on Main, but who wants to eat there?

My wife turned me on to Taqueria Vallarta years ago, going there with some friends of hers who worked at City Hall, which is a few blocks away. Taqueria Vallarta is across from the Mission, and is very reasonable for the area.

The service is fast and friendly. It's a clean space, too, though it has a worn look to it. They have a fresh juice bar, which my wife has ordered from. It's not a Jamba Juice kind of place, though, with no added sugar, just the blended fruit flavors.

But I wasn't there for juice. I had a ceviche tostada and an two asada tacos, along with a small Dr. Pepper. It came out to just under $9. 

When you order, they hand you complimentary chips, and the salsa bar, though not extensive, serves up a bit of fire.

I put my chips down at an indoor table (they have some outdoor seating, too), and went to the salsa bar, serving myself some pickled, spicy onions and one of their salsas. I brought them back to my table, and was just settling in when my order was up. 

Not worth a special trip, but I find that I end up there often, and might come even more if parking were a bit more convenient (free parking is located around the corner). My family will eat there, and I can feed them for around $40, which is a plus, too. It's certainly the best lunch deal on Main Street.

Drum Fan Deli (Pa Lee's Liquor)

Drum Fan Deli

(Also known as Pa Lee's Liquor)

4160 Donlon Ave.

Ventura CA  93003

I'm not sure for how long, but for a while now there've been signs on Market Street for the Drum Fan Deli's $1 taco, and I've been meaning to swing in. I do have one memory when it was only Pa Lee's Liquor store, and that is while I was sitting at the corner, waiting for the light to change. A young guy ran out of the store, holding a bottle, and an old, asian man, who I assume was Pa Lee, was running out after him yelling something. The light changed, and I drove on.

Okay, back to the Drum Fan. According to some reviewer on Yelp, Pa Lee has headed off to the big liquor store in the sky, and his son has taken over the business, adding the deli.

Concerning tacos. Honestly, it would have to be pretty bad for me to say something negative about a $1 taco. If it has meat and sits on a tortilla, it's probably worth a buck. With that in mind, the bar is set pretty low for the price point.

I walked  in, and it was a s small liquor with a clean deli counter. There was a list of sandwiches, on the side, all reasonably priced. But it was the tacos that brought me in, and that's what I ordered. They have two kinds, a beef barbacoa and a pulled pork. I opted for two of each. I also noticed my favorite corn chips, those from Taco Works (made in San Luis Obispo, and featuring paprika as their 'secret ingredient'), and I picked up a bag and a Dr. Pepper to wash it all down. 

The order was up pretty quick, and I started with the barbacoa. Moist and tender, with plenty of meat and fresh onions and cilantro, along with a mild salsa, it wasn't bad, and certainly worth a dollar.

Then, I had the pulled pork. That was really good! Made in the Korean style, it was both sweet and spicy, with a generous amount of meat on the tortilla. A really pleasant surprise, and the type of place I like to find for this blog!

I'd have paid twice as much for the tacos and not given it a second thought.

Lalo's Ventura

Lalo's Fast Food

1580 N. Ventura Ave.

Ventura, CA  93001

Lalo's is one of two places that the old timers talk about when heading to the Avenues. (Johnny's Fine Mexican Food on the other end of the Avenues is the other), and I went there a lot when I first moved to Ventura. But I generally like sitting inside when I eat, and I don't like to bring food home, so I usually head to Cuernavaca (a place I really need to write about here).

But Cuernavaca is on a two week holiday. I was out bike riding with my daughter and taking pictures for my other blog (consider this a shameless plug for my Pictures of Ventura Churches photo blog) on the Avenues, and my daughter and I were really hungry. 

Seafood through this door

Whenever I drive by, there always seems to be a crowd, but the line moved pretty fast. I felt 'surf and turf', and ordered a pulpo (octopus) tostada ($5) and a carne asada soft taco ($2).  My daughter opted for the quesadilla con carne asada ($6.50). I had the Mexican bottled Coke and my daughter went with a Lime Jarrito.

Strangely, at least I thought, I had to go around the corner from the order window to the screened-in patio area to place my tostada order. The tostada was up first. Some sort of  mayonaise-based white sauce and avocado, with tapitio and lime, all on a crunchy tortilla, it was fresh and good.

 The rest of the food came up a moment or two later. My daughter powered down her quesadilla, and said she really liked it. The taco, though meaty, was a bit chunky and chewy, and would have benefitted from having the meat cut a bit smaller. Also, I thought the red sauce tasted like a ranchero sauce and not really a salsa. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't what I expected. Still, I'd eat it all again.

A couple of other quick asides. The stand is attached to a house and car wash. I don't know if everything is connected to one another-the paint scheme is all the same, which is why I have that impression.

It's worth a trip.

¡Loteria Grill! Westlake

¡Loteria Grill!

180 Promenade Way

Thousand Oaks, CA 91362

Though I'm of Mexican descent, I'm so far removed from Mexico that no one would ever mistake me for being anything other than what I am-a white guy that tans well. In my younger days, I would be asked if I spoke Spanish, but my parents grew up in a time when speaking Spanish in school was frowned upon, so my grandparents didn't really teach them. My parents don't speak Spanish, and I only know what I learned in my high school Spanish class.

Growing up, I didn't really feel the need to eat Mexican food, and so I really didn't. My Mom was pretty good in the kitchen, but her mother wasn't, so she didn't really cook Mexican food particularly, nor did her sisters, so I don't have that comfort food association of Mexican food that some people have when talking about their mother's specialty. So Mexican food was nothing special. My dad liked crunchy tacos, so going out for Mexican food was a place that my Dad liked in East LA that served big, fat crunchy tacos with shredded beef, lettuce, cheese and tomatoes, with so much grease that it would drip down your arm. It was good, but not special.

When I was in my late 20's, I had a girlfriend who was a little older than me and made more money. I'd take her to eat, but that meant going to funky, cheap places like the Apple Pan (which is still there and still has no website) out on the Westside, Tommy's on Beverly and Rampart or if I had a bit more money, Gorky's in Downtown. But she had more money and had a been around a bit, so she could and would take me to places we couldn't go to on my budget. She was the one who took me to Tamayo's, an art gallery/restaurant that was only 10 blocks from the barrio that my mother grew up in. I remember looking at the menu and thinking that there were places in between there and my grandmothers where we could get the few dishes I recognized for half the cost. Up until that night, I had no idea that people would pay that much money for gourmet Mexican food-it hadn't occurred to me that Mexican food would be served in a 'fancy' restaurant.

I'd like to go into vivid detail of what I ate and how good it was, but honestly after almost a quarter century I don't remember. What I do recall is that it was pretty early on in our dating, and I was intimidated that she wanted to go out with me, and I was intimidated in the restaurant itself. I also remember that whatever I had was really good, and the margarita I chased it down with was excellent. We dated a for a few years, so if my nervousness showed, it didn't bother her. I really need to eat at Tamayo's again some time.

Wanting tacos in Westlake Village on a Friday night, I saw ¡Loteria! and remembered reading about their location in the LA Farmer's Market and how good it was, so I walked in. They brought me a menu and some chips, and the first thing I noticed was that this was not going to be the dollar tacos I had "Taco Tuesday" at the Oxnard Whole Foods Market-not that those were bad, and I'm going to have to write about my Whole Foods obsession soon. Tacos at ¡Loteria! are almost four times that cost, so the question becomes, "Are they worth it?"

I was going to get the Carne Arrachers plate, but the waitress recommended the tacos carne arrachera, which she said was pretty much the same but $8 less, which made sense to me. I ordered a beer, which I sipped while waiting. The chips were fresh and the salsa seemed to be a smokey tomatillo, but I can't be sure. It had a bit of heat, but not much.

The the tacos came out. Small pieces of beef on hand made tortillas, smothered in onions and cilantro, it smelled delicious. White rice and black beans filled out the plate. I started with a bite of the beans. I could taste the bacon, which added to the flavor. Then I tried some of the rice, which had a hint of cilantro and some other flavors. Both the beans and rice had unexpected tastes which made them better than what I expected.

Then it was time for the tacos. The beef was tender, with a hint of lime and a taste of beer. The tortilla was moist, and the onions and cilantro were freshly chopped, making for one great taco. And the best part-there were two more after the first. As the tortilla collapsed under the weight of the beef, I discovered that it all tasted better if I could balance some beans, rice and a bit of beef on my fork and get them all into my mouth at one time-that was delicious! A bit of Mexican beer, and it turned into a really great meal-reminding me that the cuisine of Mexico is more than a dollar taco.

It was expensive, but worth the cost.

On a side note, I was eating there toward closing time, and one by one the kitchen staff came out with meals and ate them at the counter. I thought that pretty cool.

Las Delicias, Ventura

Las Delicias

2611 E. Thompson

Ventura CA 93003

Like I usually do when I write these things, I check to see if the food place has a website. I didn't find one for the Ventura Las Delicias, but I did find one for the Santa Clarita location. I found the last sentence on the home page to the most telling-Each Las Delicias location is privately owned and operated. Prices and quality may vary depending on location.

The Ventura Las Delicias smells a little bit funny. Not "omigod run" funny, but funny. It conjures up Mexican restaurants from my past, but places where the food wasn't necessarily that good.

Since I was in the door, I figured that I'd give it a try in spite of the smell. Walking to the counter, things looked reasonably clean, which is always a good start, as did the rest of the restaurant. I actually really liked the look of the place. Orange walls with some faux exposed brick, a large Aztec calandar, and some paintings of romanticized Aztec warriors. On the walkway to the bathroom, there's a bunch of hand painted tiles on the floor that appear to be done by children, but I can't say that for sure.

You order at a counter, and it is easy to see the food being prepared. My daughter ordered the taco salad, while I had a taco and a pupusa plate. We were handed a paper tray of chips, and we walked over to a table to wait for our food. 

Interestingly, the tables had large pictures of various location locals. I walked over to the salsa bar and picked out four to eat with the chips. Both my daughter and I thought it was strange that when our second tray of chips came out, they were different than the first-tastier too. I don't know why a place would have two types of chips.

The food came out, and it was just okay. I thought my daughter's salad was a bit small, but she said it was fine. My taco and pupusa were certainly edible, but not outstanding. There are good Mexican restaurants nearby, all with a similar price points, so I don't know how long an okay Mexican place will last.
 

The Primos Tacos 805

The Primos Tacos 805

Corner of Ash and Main

(In 5 Day Tire Parking Lot)

Tuesday through Sunday 6 PM to Midnight

A new taco truck!

Driving my daughter from one side of town to the other, I noticed The Primos Tacos 805 a couple of weeks ago, and when I stopped in, I asked how long they'd been there. It's their third week was the reply, and business has been pretty good.

The trailer looks new and very clean. The price list was written by hand, and the woman at the counter still didn't have the prices memorized. They serve tacos, burritos, hamburgers, hot dogs, and what I was in for tonight, quasadillas. 

The owner was up in front when I walked up, and he suggested that I go with the carnitas in my quesadilla, which sounded good to me. The quesadilla and can of Coke came out to $7.25, which I thought was pretty reasonable. Looking in at the menu, tacos were a buck seventy-five, and I'll try some the next time I'm in.

It came up quick and was certainly tasty enough, served with pico de gallo inside and guacomole and sour cream on the side. Nothing to write home about, but certainly worth the stop. Everyone was friendly enough, the owner explaining that, like many in the food truck business, he'd been working in restaurants for years and wanted to finally do something for himself.

I wished him well. Close to the house, clean and fast, I'm sure I'll be back.

ConFusion Sushi Roll Tacos Truck

ConFusion

Sushi Roll Tacos

Food Truck

A recent Friday had me driving by the Pacific View Mall, inadvertently passing by on the third Friday of the month-Food Truck Friday! I was hungry, and knew there'd be no dinner at home, so it was the perfect chance to get a bite to eat.

All summer long, I'd been passing by the ConFusion food truck, and there it was. Usually, I see it parked on Main Street across from the mall, but every time I passed, I was either going someplace or simply wasn't hungry. So, though many interesting trucks were parked in the lot, ConFusion was the one that I most wanted to try.

The friendly counterman greeted me, and I figured I'd start at the top-the $9 Taco Combo. A quick look at the fillings list led me to pick the bulgogi cheese steak with onions and peppers (Korean style marinade) and the more adventurous candied bacon with napa pineapple slaw and citrus chipotle sauce. The plate came with corn, beans, and surprisingly, a 24 oz. drink.

It took a few minutes longer than I expected, especially since there was no crowd at the time, and was warm but not hot. It wasn't a whole heck of a lot of food, either. Still, it wasn't bad. And sure, if I had continued further on to the Avenues I could have had four tacos and a Mexican Coke for the same price, but it was nice to mix it up.

I didn't find the bulgogi to be all that amazing. It had different  flavor than regular asada, but not necessarily better. The candied bacon, though, had a sweet/spicy mix of flavor that wasn't bad, and something that I'd order again. I think the flavors might have been more pronounced if the food was warmer, though. 

The corn and beans were okay, too, and would also have benefitted by being warmer.

In the end, if I saw this truck again, I'd give it another try.

Spencer Makenzie

Spencer Makenzie's Fish Company

806 E. Thompson

Ventura, CA 93001

New Covered Patio and Outdoor Seating

There are a few places around the town that people rave about, and they just don't seem to do it for me. I like to think that I give them a couple of chances, but even then, nothing.

Spencer Makenzie always fell into that category. Opened about five years ago on the site of Kodani's, a great hole in the wall Japanese take out place that was fast and cheap, I wanted to like Spencer Makenzie from the first time I visited. But that first visit conspired against me.

It was shortly after they opened, and one of my children had some sort of thing at their elementary school. We were all hungry, and wanted to go someplace quick to eat. We arrived at Spencer Makenzie shortly before the posted closing time, and if memory serves, we were greeted a bit rudely at the door with something along the line of, sorry the kitchen is closed.

We trudged back out, and that's the memory that has stayed with me. That, and that Kodani's would serve meals as long as the owners were in the restaurant, which seemed like all the time.

I've gone in over the years since then, and it seems like things are always a little expensive, and no one is very friendly, so though the food was pretty good, I never became a regular. Lots of places to get fish tacos in this town where people are friendly and it isn't so expensive, especially if you're okay on the Avenues. The seating was always poor, the wait was long, and though it is very convenient to my house, nothing made me want to go regularly.

New Dining Area

But driving by recently, I noticed that they updated the patio seating area, and streamlined the outside. The original design mimicked a tug boat, which made for lousy seating in an awkwardly shaped dining room, and a patio area that was often too hot or too cold to sit at all. It added to the "Take your food and go" aesthetic of Kodani's, but didn't seem to fit what SMF was trying to accomplish, even though I never found them to be friendly.

But with a new look, there seems to be a new attitude. Stopping by on a recent Saturday, though it was crowded, we scored a table by the giant picture window inside. The waitress was friendly, and after taking our drink orders, our glasses were never empty-really an important part of the eating experience for me, and something that didn't seem to be the case in the past.

Though I don't generally like paying for chips, SMF makes theirs, and they were very tasty, especially with the rojo and verde salsas that come with them, and I actually ordered a second order after we polished off the first one.

I don't mind paying a little more if the atmosphere is good, and this time, it really was. My wife had the $5 Fish Taco, my daughters both Clam Chowder, and I went with an unusual choice, the $10 Poki salad, and all were quite good. The orders came up fast, and I found the service to be excellent-virtually unlike every other time I've been there.

SMF prides itself on it's hot sauces, and I found them all to be tasty and hot. Sometimes I'll try a hot sauce, and it just burns, almost for no apparent reason-hot to be hot, not to add flavor to the food.

My wife had all of us try "Little Sweet, Lotta Heat" first, and like the name says, it starts sweet, but then the heat builds in your mouth, and is touched off each time you put warm food in your mouth. It takes a minute for the heat to really build, but then it catches up. The other two offerings, "Caribbean Blaze" and "Sweet Chili Fire" also took a moment or two to develop their full flavor, but "Little Sweet..." was by far the hottest of the trio. I used a touch of "Caribbean Blaze" to spiff up my Poki Salad.

So, like Caffordite last summer (Aug. 11, 2013), I have to update my feelings on Spencer Makenzie. Maybe it just means that I'm finally-after 16 years-becoming a local. I'll be back to see if it was just a fluke, but I know there are times when I'm craving New England Clam Chowder, it it was pretty good here.