Is it me? Another bad taco lunch in Colorado.

Santiago's - Denver

 

I've been going to Santiago's for years. Only a few bucks in the car console?  That equals a chicken, rice and green chili burrito including a drink.  Need breakfast burritos for the drive up to Folsom Field for a CU Game?  Our car always pulls in to Santiago's. 

Guess what?  Never in all my visits have I had a taco from Santiago's.  In fact I wasn't sure if tacos were on the menu.  Also this was my first time actually eating there.  They have several locations in the city and most, I believe, are to-go only.  The one on this visit was Santiago's on Leetsdale where they offer dine-in. 

The place was a nightmare.  It wasn't overly busy, but I had to ask customers what to do as nobody who worked there was welcoming.  Do you seat yourself? Is there a waitress or do you order at the counter?  I'm sure the 3 tables I asked these questions to were happy to have some stranger interrupt their lunch.  Finally after 7 minutes I got up to get myself my own menu.  Eventually the waiter came over and it was basically what do want?  How hard is it to be friendly these days? 

Placed my order for the Tacos Al Carbon, and wishing instead for my usual chicken and rice burrito.  The price tag was $8.95 for the taco plate and my burrito is always $2.50.  I'm just so over these places charging almost $9 for 3 tacos.  Nobody wants the beans or rice.  Charge me $6 for 3 tacos! 

The food finally arrives.  3 soft corn tortillas (greasy as all heck), filled with grilled steak that was so rubbery that I couldn't get through two bites. Some pico, beans.... Check please.  I mean that's it.  I couldn't stomach 2 bites of this stuff.

So what do I say?  What do I tell people to do when deciding on Santiago's?  I'm not sure if it was this particular location and that if I go to Santa Fe or Broadway I'm going to get the best tacos in the city, or if it's the wrong item to order at any of the locations.  If I order my standard breakfast burrito from this Leetsdale location next time, is it going to totally suck?  What's a person to think?  This is where consistency comes in with these chain restaurants.  You can't have the best people with smiling happy faces working at your S. Broadway store and then the unhappy bunch at Leetsdale.  Same for food!

More than likely I will NEVER order tacos ever again at Santiago's.  I will never go to the Leetsdale location either.  So what can I say?  If you want a breakfast burrito, Santiago's in Englewood and over on Santa Fe is excellent.  Need tacos?  I would not send you here. Sorry management at Santiago's.  It was that bad. 

So my September rut continues.  I haven't had this many bad experiences in bad tacos since spending some time in Florida.  I think I need to take a break from exploring for the rest of the month and regroup for October.  I'm only going to visit places where I know I'll get great service, good food and decent prices.

Santiago's website:

http://www.eatatsantiagos.com/

Jack-n-Grill should be called Bland-n-Not Good

Jack-n-Grill
Denver, Colorado


You know how you get all excited to go to one of your favorite places to eat? 

That was me the other day.  We decided to go to Tamales by La Casita in the Denver Highland neighborhood.  It was the perfect plan.  I was definitely getting a shredded beef burrito this time. My pal, I'm sure, would order the green chili.  The plan would have been great if we didn't take a detour to a local bar to do 2 rounds of cocktails. 

After cocktailing it, we walked over to La Casita.  On approach, the people we could see in the windows eating dinner, made us that much more hungry for one of our favorite places.  So when I pulled door number one and it was locked, I just figured, that's odd, then door number two.  Locked as well.  My friend then saw the sign.  Closed at 7pm.  It was 7:07pm.  Arrrrgh!  I didn't even think to call or check their website to make sure they were open.  Who closes at 7 these days?  Isn't everyone in the city open until 10 making tacos and burritos?  I guess not.  In the past I have only been here for lunch, so it just never registered with me to inquire about their hours for dinner.  Drat.  What do we do now?

After a few, let's go here, or let's go there, my partner in crime suggested Jack-n-Grill on Federal.  OK.  I had been there once before.  I couldn't remember if I liked it or not.  It was ages ago.  I'll try it again and it's pretty close by too.

The sign on the wall at Jack-n-Grill is promising. The sign says that they were on the Travel Channel's "Man vs. Food".  That's cool, right?  Well maybe.  Doing "research" on this place, I think the award was presented back 4-5 years ago, and, well,  things change.  Things change a lot.

 



It was pretty divey inside and that's fine.  We were seated in the bar and pretty much everyone is seated in the bar, as the bar is weirdly in the center of this establishment.  Menus were presented and both my friend and I at the same time commented on the high prices.  Burritos, tacos all listed with numbers like $12.95 or $14.85.  If we were at La Casita our bill would be total $15 for the both of us.  This is not looking good. 

As the place is just not doing it for me, I go the safe route and order a Pacifico and two chicken tacos. My friend orders a bowl of green chili.  After enjoying my warm beer for 5 minutes the waiter returns with our order.  Oh, here we go.  Should I even bother?  OK, the green chili that I tasted, was very familiar to me.  I'm a Progresso Soup person too (it's great for a cheap meal at home, but not something I'm looking for at dinner out on the town).  That's what it tasted like.  Someone opened a can of veggie broth/soup and dumped some canned green chilies into it?  And the pork?  It was ground pork!  In green chili?  Who does that.  Oh gross.  The tacos.  Well the boiled shredded chicken (or maybe it was canned as well) was flavorless. The pico de gallo, just tasted like tomatoes.  Bland, bland, bland.  It's not even worth my time to describe.

 

 

The bill came and of course with 2 beers and two dinners it was about $30 with tip.  What a waste.  I didn't even have the energy to complain.  What am I going to say?  We were on our way to La Casita and settled on this place?  We were so disappointed that really nothing could be done to save the night.  But you know what sometimes you have this exact type of situation and you DO GO SOMEWHERE ELSE and you know what?  You find another gem. I love those nights!  This wasn't the case.  It was so draining to be there (hence my crappy food pics).  All I wanted to do was go home.

 

So here's what I learned.  Don't go to places that have an old banner waving in the wind from 2009 saying they were on the Travel Channel. It doesn't mean anything, and that if I want to go to Las Casitas I need to skip the 6 o'clock happy hour and get my buns to that place by 6:58PM.  Lesson learned.  Damn you that second 6:45PM margarita cocktail.  You totally screwed up my evening.

 

Jack-n-Grill info (not sure if you need it!)

Address: 2524 Federal, Denver, CO 

http://www.jackngrill.com

http://www.travelchannel.com/video/adam-battles-7-lb-breakfast-burrito-12284

 

 

Taco lover always, but now a Slopper lover too!

Gray's Coors Tavern
Pueblo, Colorado

Found myself in Pueblo, Colorado this month for the big to-do.  The annual Colorado State Fair.  Last time I had been to Pueblo was about 7 years ago and that was for a backyard barbeque and then we zipped back up to Denver.  I've always vowed to get back to Pueblo and actually SEE the city. 

We crossed the Arkansas River into the fairgrounds (did you know the Arkansas River was the former Mexican border?) and had a great day at the State Fair.  Saw a lot of cows, horses, chickens, but the food was your typical funnel cakes and cotton candy, and that's not going to cut it.  I did see some folks selling some Pueblo style sausage called Kolbase (not to be confused with Kielbasa), but I'm in Southern Colorado and all I can think about is GREEN CHILI. 

For years my Pueblo friends, who now live in Denver, have been raving about Gray's Coors Tavern. Some simply call it Gray's Tavern or Gray's.  They went on to tell me about this steelmill bar and how they serve up the Slopper.  This food item is found in Pueblo and a few parts of Colorado Springs.  A burger, served in a bowl covered in green chili.  Sounds like a hot mess!  Even searching for photographs on the internet of what a slopper is all about, not one picture made the dish look remotely appetizing.  But again, friends from Pueblo, and friends who just had been down there from time to time, said hit up Gray's Tavern, you will not be sorry!

 

Entering Gray's parking lot, it's your typical divey looking place in a blue collar part of the city.  They did have a patio area, but we needed some shade inside.  Enter 1935, ok maybe 1975.  The place was built in the 1930s, but maybe had a remodel in the early 70's.  And by saying that, I'm meaning that it's very cool!  Something to be said for a place with history, retro signs, wooden booths, and a friendly waitstaff that will tell you what else you NEED to hit up in Pueblo (hello Taffy's... loved your Orange Aid slushy drink that the girls at Gray's told me about... but that's another story!).

 

 

 



 

Browsed the menu, but who am I kidding, there was not a question in my mind on what I was ordering.  The only questions asked were if I wanted a double or single, and if I needed onions and cheese on top.  My party of 3 ordered three singles (in our case one double to share, and one single to save a few bucks).  That's plenty, right?  They also have these schooner glasses of Coors Banquet but sadly we didn't partake.  Hey, I have to drive 2 hours back to Denver.  I'm responsible! 

 

So out comes the SLOPPER.  It looks totally like crap in a plastic bowl.  I swear my high school cafeteria in the 1980s had the same style bowls and red plastic water cups... anyhooooo...   I take a quick photograph, see below.  Gross right?  Waitress comes back with a bag of oyster crackers.  I'm like I didn't order any soup.  She explains they go on top.  OK.  Not messing with tradition in Pueblo. 

 

 

My first bite.  I finally understood what the fuss was all about.  This slopper put me back in my childhood home having a burger in my Mom's kitchen, where she had buttered a pan and seared the edges all crispy and almost a charred flavor.  Then the green chili hits you, loaded with pork.  Spicy!  You remember Yes, Yes You Are, in PUEBLO.  Homeland to the green chili of Colorado.  The cheese is American and perfectly right in this combination and on top, onions and oyster crackers.  All this sits on a hamburger bun buried on the bottom.  It's there sopping up all that green chili.  It's heaven. 

I devour my Slopper in 5 minutes and then have one regret.  I didn't order the double.  I totally should have ordered the double!!  I Facebooked the whole experience, and my pal back in Denver from Pueblo, basically tells me "I thought I told you... always order a double". 

The bill comes and you realize how cool Pueblo is.  Our lunch was like $14.00 (again, no schooners of beer, but if we did I'm sure it would have still been like under $25).  Is this 1975?????? I love this city.  When was the last time you ate out with two of your pals, at a bar, for 14 bucks?

It was time to go and I make a promise to myself to visit Pueblo again soon.  There's too much that we didn't get to see.  Mauro Farms to get Pueblo's famous pastries, the Riverwalk boat tour, and the farms where the Pueblo chilies are grown.  I will be back Gray's Tavern, I mean Pueblo!

So taco lovers, if you find yourself in Pueblo, maybe this one time put the tacos on the back burner and seek out a Slopper.  Think of it as a taco burger in a bowl.  The flavors will be very recognizable and you will not be disappointed.

Info on Gray's Coors Tavern:
515 W. 4th
Pueblo, CO  81003

(no website, however they do have a presence on Yelp! at - http://www.yelp.com/biz/grays-coors-tavern-pueblo )

Slopper info on wikipedia too:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slopper

Margs World Taco Bistro or Margs Wraps? What would you call it?

Margs World Taco Bistro or Margs Wrap Restaurant? 

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Margs World Taco Bistro has been on my radar for the last few weeks.  It seems that every one of my foodie Facebook friends has done a Foursquare check-in at Margs in the month of July. My friends' reviews and Yelp reviews for Margs actually have not been that great, but that's OK, as my friends also like places that I can't stand and Yelp, well you can only trust maybe 25% of the reviews on that website. 

Thursday, I went for drinks and dinner at a business meeting at NORTH in Cherry Creek.  That place totally bites, but whatever, this is a review about Margs!  Anyway, after the meeting, we were in the mood for some additional beverages and decided to walk over to 1st and Fillmore. 

If you haven't been over to Cherry Creek North in a long time, Margs is where the old Einstein's bagel shop was located.  Margs shares that enourmous patio area with the Starbucks at Fillmore, you know the one, where you people watch while drinking your morning lattes?  That's THE corner in Cherry Creek North.  Hello people watching opportunity on the patio! 

Unfortunately zero tables on the patio that were available for a party of four (it was like 10PM too!). I can never seem to get a good parking place or table lately.  Seems there had been some tequila promotion or something, as there had to be 25 people wearing free promotional cowboy hats with some tequila I've never heard of.  Anyway, we went inside and some hipsters were paying their bill and we managed to score 4 barstools.  Next up, Pacifico and time to look at the taco menu!

Out of the 4 of us, I was the only one eating here.  Did I mention we had already eaten dinner at 7PM at NORTH?  Ok, well it was 10PM now and I was hungry again.  Got a problem with that?  The taco menu looked really good.  You can go with a 2 taco platter for $8.25 or 3 for $9.95.  Comes with rice and beans, so it's not a bad deal.  Plus, it's here in CHERRY CREEK, where everything is like $18min for a plate of food. 

I went with the Korean Pork, Carnitas, and the Margarita Shrimp.  The Korean Pork tacos were slow roasted natural pork with pickled cucumbers, scallions, hoisin sauce and sirachi.  OUT OF THIS WORLD FLAVOR. If you're going with a 2 or 3 plate here, get this one for sure. 

The Carnitas were also very tasty.  Same pork as the Korean Pork tacos, with a pepper salsa, serrano pickled red onions, queso fresco and a bit of lettuce.  Yum! 

The Margarita Shrimp tacos were a big miss here.  I'm not a huge black bean fan or really that much into corn salsa.  They are also served with avocado.  IMO shrimp tacos, you just have to keep it real simple.  Shrimp, queso fresco, cabbage and tortilla.  That's it!

From the bartender Doug, I learned that Margs makes their own hand pressed flour tortillas. The torts tasted great.  Here's the weird thing though about Margs tacos.  They are served on a plate, folded over, and then there's a toothpick inserted in them to hold it together.  While this doesn't make the tacos taste any different, I couldn't help but just be a little bit weirded out by it.  I felt like I was at the Smiling Moose restaurant eating a Caesar salad wrap.  Don't wrap up my tacos please!!!!!!  It aggravates me and a lot of others.  And the toothpick thing (see my photo at the top of this post), don't place toothpicks in my food unless it's a Tuna Sandwich or something at the local deli.

Asking the staff about the toothpicks and wrap-style tacos, I received the same answer from 3 different employees.  Something about that they aren't trying to be a taqueria but want to be a bistro. Huh? Because there are so many bistros famous for their tacos, right?  Whatever.  I just feel that if they lose this plated presentation, toothpicks, wrap-style and all, they would please their customers ten fold.  The employees seemed to give me the impression that they are asked this same exact question over and over.  Seems they might want to bring this to the head honcho's attention on the next all-staff-meeting. 

Will I be back?  Yes!  I'll put them on my re-visit list for sometime in September to see if they're still serving up wraps.  Yes, unfortunately, that's how I would describe them to another person who is looking for a good taco place in Denver. Actually, if someone asked me "where can I get a really tasty wrap sandwich in Denver?" --- I'd direct them to Margs.  I guess it's like if a hot dog place served hot dogs on a French rolls instead of a hot dog buns.  Would that be a "Bistro Dog" of some sort?

So that's my 2 cents on Margs.  Yes, they should just call themselves Margs, and not Margs World Taco Bistro, whatever that means. 

More Info:
Margs
200 Fillmore
Denver, CO
303-321-6274
www.margstacobistro.com
(also a location in LoDo at 1519 Wynkoop)

Wahoo's - South Denver location. Great spot to eat lunch on the patio.

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Lunch at Wahoo's Fish Taco:

Been busy entertaining friends and family from the East Coast and guess what?  They aren't all about eating tacos.  Can you believe that?  Had my fill of burgers and pasta this week!  Today, finally, I had a day to catch up on my love of corn tortillas and decided to make a trip over to Wahoo's Fish Taco.  http://www.facebook.com/wahooscoloradofans

It was just me today and it was a work day.  Many emails to return, texts to send, but I wasn't going to skip lunch.  Not to mention, we haven't had a blog update in quite some time.  Nothing better than having a table to myself with a taco and a diet coke.  Nobody bugging me, enjoying some food and getting things done.  The vibe at Wahoo's is great.  I always feel like I'm somewhere coastal like Hermosa Beach.  Surf boards, bumper stickers all for the eye to see.  Hipsters mingling with old folks.  It's just a generally cool place to hang. 

I know what you're thinking, that I went with Fish Tacos, but actually I ordered a chicken taco. Suprise, surprise!  The counter person suggested the Cajun spices/chicken taco, but I told him I'd save that for my next visit in August (who am I kidding?, see you next week bud).  I always feel super healthy when I eat Wahoo's tacos.  They go easy on the extras.  You get chicken, tomato, and lettuce.  I don't think they even ask you if you want guac or sour cream.  Plus you don't need it.  The taco was filling and with a drink I spent maybe 4 dollars and some change. 

After lunch I was ready to leave, but then my cell rang.  Decided to take my call out on the patio (loaded with umbrellas and tables) and well, one 10 minute call catching some rays, turned in to me "working" out of the Wahoo's patio area for a better part of the afternoon.  Note to self, when I want to work outside in a quiet space and eat tacos, head to Denver's I-25 and Hampden's Wahoo's Fish Taco. 

#TacoTuesday - join us on Twitter for a taco discussion!!! TONIGHT!

LIVE Taco Discussion starts now!  (4:15PM Pacific)

Have you joined us on Facebook?  Like us at - http://www.facebook.com/TacoNoseBest or followed us on Twitter? http://twitter.com/TacoNoseBest

Well today is Taco Tuesday, or if you are a hashtag kind of guy or girl, it's #TacoTuesday (hello Tweeps and Instagrammers).  I've already hit up Del Taco for lunch, and it was delish as always.  Went with the Chicken Carbon Tacos today. YUM.

Tonight we are grilling up some fish tacos at home, and making a super nacho plate for an appetizer.  The Sol beers are chilling in the garage fridge (strictly our beverage refrigerator), the table is set, and the itunes play-list (called Taco-Tuesday-Tunes) is ready to click.  First song on the playlist is 5 O'clock Somewhere by Alan Jackson. Isn't summer just the best time of year?

Tonight we want to have a patio discussion on our Twitter feed.  Wanted to invite our followers there to instagram us their pics, twit-pic, or however you share you foodie pics.  We're going to be RT'ing our favorites!  Talking some tacos, sharing our favorite places, our must-try-food-trucks, and general #TacoTalk. 

Will you join us? Let the games start now.  DC Taco is already past dinner, but I have a feeling he might be still enjoying one last taco.  Rocky Mountain Taco (me) is turning on the BBQ grill.  West Coast Taco is still probably savoring lunch.   

Hope to see you on Twitter tonight.  Remember our twitter address is:  http://twitter.com/TacoNoseBest

Happy Tacos, happy times, happy #TacoTuesday.

Tacos on 4th of July? That would be a YES people!

After I finish this blog entry, I’m off to Safeway to do my 4^th of July grocery shopping. 

You know the deal, some paper plates with stars all over them, bratwursts, buns, mustard, Cool Whip (making one of those American flag Cool Whip cakes this year, holler!!).  But things are different at our home.  We usually need a bigger shopping basket, as we don’t stop with the typical standard fare.

What’s the addition to our 4^th of July menu?

Shrimp tacos!  On our picnic table, next to the potato salad and watermelon, you’ll see various dishes of guac, pico, and cheese.  You'll also see us grilling up some good sized shrimp next to the burgers and brats.  Shoot sometimes the smoker is going too if we're making ribs (we like to eat, here I go off on a tangent again).   Not one, not two, but at least three varieties of tortillas.  Salsas, well that usually turns in to some competition with one of our guests bringing over his favorite or my husband making his world famous salsa. 

Who says you have to eat pasta salad on Independence Day?  Is that written somewhere?  So that’s what’s on the menu in this household on Wednesday.  Tomorrow’s shopping trip will be all about the beverages.  Do we go with traditional red, white, and blue beer (Budweiser), or Coronas and Pacificos? 

Happy 4^th of July everyone.  Have a wonderful celebration with your family and friends. 

LIME - went in for a cocktail, ended up having a taco. Greenwood Village, CO

        

LIME, An American Cantina

5425 Landmark Pl.

Greenwood Village, Colorado 80111

http://www.eatatlime.com/Landmark/Landmark.html

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Thursday was a warm evening (they all are in Denver during the summer) and it was one of those busy work days that needed to be rewarded with a cocktail.  My friend was really in the mood for margaritas somewhere in the Tech Center.  Well we're not going to Darcy's Irish Pub for margaritas, that's for sure!  We both agreed with visiting a place we both have liked on previous visits, but hadn't been by in quite awhile:  LIME. 

There are four LIME restaurants in the area, and this one is great because it's in the Landmark, an outdoor lifestyle type plaza where you can stroll around to shops, a movie theater and a good selection of restaurants.  Most of the restaurants here have wonderful patio seating and LIME's is one of the nicer ones.  It's tucked back a bit in the shade so you just don't get blasted by the Colorado sunshine. 

We ordered up two margaritas, called the "mini-mighty"  listed at $7 on the menu (and their margarita menu is pretty big).  I believe they were about 12 oz., which was perfectly enough for us.  Joshua, the very friendly bartender (we had to be sat inside  at the bar, due to the patio being jam-packed) offered us the menu and informed us we can go the al la carte route on a couple of shredded chicken tacos.  Love that.  Again, what person eats 4 tacos in one sitting?  Calorie-counter here, reporting for duty! 

The chicken tacos come with guac, lettuce and pico de gallo.  I swear there was sort of a ranch- dressing-sour cream thing going on inside it as well.  And I liked this ranch-sour-cream-thing-thank-you-very-much! They totally were what the doctor ordered after having one "mini-mighty" marg.  Those cocktails are potent!  This evening was a short and sweet cocktail hour. One taco, one drink, with one friend.  Fridays are food numerous friends, many cocktails and a bazillion tacos! 

We asked for our bill and guess what it was Happy Hour or #HH in twitter-speak!  Holler! My $7 margarita was $3 and my taco was $2.50.  Um hello?  $5.50.  That's just crazy good.  Joshua also told us about the $1.00 tacos on Taco Tuesday.  Will definitely be placing LIME on my Taco Tuesday rotation (doesn't everyone have a Taco rotation?). 

Taco Nose Best Stars:

Margarita - 5.0 stars

Chicken Taco - 4.5 stars

Bartender - Josh gets a 5.0

Atmosphere - if we were outside I'd give it a 5.0, but inside more like a 4.0

Parking - a huge lot at Landmark, but it does fill up by 5:30PM due to the movie

 theater so I'll give it 4.0

Can't wait to return to LIME!  Maybe next time their Larimer Sq. location. 

One word: WOW - Tacos DF in Denver, Colorado

Tacos DF

2020 S. Parker Road, Denver, CO  80231

(303) 671-2986

__________________________________

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Today I found myself on the east side of Denver close to Aurora.  I don't normally get over here to Parker Road & Iliff Ave., so I used my handy-dandy Yelp App to see if there were any good taco places mentioned.  Typed in tacos with "my current location" and B-I-N-G-O!  up popped Tacos DF.  Where the heck is Jewell and Parker Roads?  How did I ever get around in 2005 before GPS in my car and, of course, my foodie Iphone applications?  This taco stop is an easy one to miss.  Hidden in a small strip mall between a liquor store and wireless shop, my friend/passenger yells, "there it is!"  Two U-turns later we enter the parking lot. How many times can I mention, how excited I get for huge parking lots or tons of street parking in Denver?

Getting out of the car, I knew this was going to be good!  I just had that feeling.  A taco person just knows (or nose) these things.  Did a quick crossing of my fingers that this place will take a credit card, and headed inside. 

Tacos DF was pretty packed for a Monday before the lunch hour.  As we headed up to the counter, a mouth watering salsa bar is the first thing you see.  Holy cow this is going to be good.  Don't look, at the salsas, don't look at the salsas (I tell myself). Concentrate! You need to go to the counter and place your order. (Yes, they take credit cards, yay! We don't have to go to the McDonalds down the road with my MasterCard.) 

After a couple of minutes of "why don't you get this, and I'll get that" we decide on two Asada tacos and two Al Pastor tacos.  Behind the counter they also have your typical Mexican soft drinks, Horchata, Tepache, Tamarind, Mexican Coca Cola.  Love that!  

Even with the busy crowd of people inside, our order was super speedy and we were at that salsa bar 5 minutes later and ready to get down to some serious business.  What was really cool, in addition to all 5+ salsas, was this sort of a salad bar area if you will, with extra items like, lettuce, limes, cilantro, tomatoes, onion, jalapenos.  This is my kind of place. I like toppings and extra wonderful things to place on my tacos. 

All I can say is WOW.  One bite of my Al Pastor sold me!  I think I called 3 people to tell them how awesome this place was on bite number 2.  The marinated pork was probably the best I've had in Denver.  Just the right amount of flavor, juices, which sometimes can be tricky with Al Pastor.  Tacos DF serves them up with lettuce and cheese, and I added onions and tomatillo from the salsa bar. My "side dish" today was Tacos DF's sort of pickled jalapenos that were also at the salad, I mean, salsa bar (see in the photo above).  Washed all this down with a Mexican Coca Cola.  My lunch date gave me a big bite of his Asada tacos, and another WOW!  Note to self: get one asada and one al pastor next time. 

The bill for two of us at lunch:  a little over $11.00 for 4 tacos and 2 drinks.  We left and headed to the golf course.  What a great start to a casual day.  Would of been even better if we had a few more minutes for dessert (they had Flan and Arroz Con Leche). 

On hole number two at Kennedy Golf Course we were talking about Tacos DF's salsa bar and reminiscing about it (it has been a whole 55 minutes ago).  We realized we didn't snap a pic of the salsa bar (such blogger tragedy).  I actually thought, maybe we should head back there to get the photo and while at it, get two more tacos.  Unfortunately, we didn't make it back today, but now it's my excuse to hit up Tacos DF for dinner later in the week.

Taco Nose Best Stars for Tacos DF:

Food - 5 stars

Service - 5 stars

Parking - 5 stars

Atmosphere - 3.5 stars

A Classic Car Show and Tacos? Sure! - Colorado

 Classic Car Show and Tacos?  A perfect Saturday afternoon. 

The plan today - hit up the 2012 Summerfest at The Landmark in Greenwood Village, CO.  I think my exact words were “let’s go to The Landmark and check things out, and then afterwards we can find a cool taco place to have lunch.” 

From the brief blurb I read on Twitter, the Summerfest was going to be a Classic Car Show with your typical booths selling beer, popsicles, and then those booths trying to get you to sign up for something boring like car insurance. 

Wow, did this little Fest blow us away.  First, the cars.  We saw Mustangs and Malibus from the 1960s, Race Cars, Model T’s, even Flight For Life, a sponsor, did a helicopter fly over.  Very cool, but where’s the beer booth?  Found it!  Shortly after a light beer (ok 2 beers), we scoped out the food stands.  Fro-Yo, sushi, sandwiches,  AND  then we found the taco stand.  Well not really a taco stand, but the Doubletree Hotel booth, making kimchi, pulled pork tacos. We stopped dead in our tracks, chatted, tasted, and learned all about their amazing little café called Zink.  Wow, these Korean street tacos were excellent.  The Asian BBQ pork was smoky and perfectly seasoned.  Then a bit of avocado and some chili garlic salsa.  Sign me up. Doubletree/Zink even served it with a lime wedge.  Now this is a classy, Classic Car Show food booth!  I love garnishes!! 

The people running the Doubletree/Zink booth were all employees too. One from Human Resources, another from the kitchen, another worked the front desk - just really cool to see them excited about the restaurant and festival, even though most of them don't work directly with food day in and day out.  They were having a blast, despite the 90+ temperatures, and really sold us on stopping in to Zink’s actual restaurant in the coming weeks. They informed us about some of their other menu items including burgers, sliders and wraps.  Sounds like the perfect lunch destination when some friends visit next week.  You can find more info about Zink here at: http://www.zinkdtc.com/

Another Great Day in Colorado!  A FIVE star day for sure.  Now what's for dinner?  Maybe shrimp tacos at home.  I'm tired and need an evening of air conditioning. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Summerfest: http://greenwoodvillagechamber.chambermaster.com/Events/details/2012-summerfest-at-the-landmark-7548

Doubletree by Hilton

7801 E. Orchard Road, Greenwood Village, CO  80111

http://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels/colorado/doubletree-by-hilton-hotel-denver-tech-center-DENEWDT/index.html

Zink: http://www.zinkdtc.com/

I've eaten at the first Chipotle, have you? - Denver, CO

I've eaten at the first Chipotle, have you?

If you're a taco fanatic and find yourself in Denver, Colorado, a must see is the original Chipotle Mexican Grill, located near the University of Denver campus.  Address:  1644 E. Evans Ave, Denver, CO  80210

Everyone has their own Chipotle story.  You were skiing the Rockies and stopped on in for some grub, calling the place Chi-Pol-tay, (you now know the correct pronounciation thanks to Steve Ells being on some reality foodie show a few years back).  You grew up in Denver, and now live in a state that has only 2 Chipotle locations (both over 25 miles away) and it saddens you every Taco Tuesday.  Am I right?  Feel free to leave a comment on your Chipotle story below!


My story goes back to about 1994ish, I was doing a promotional event for the Honey Baked Ham Store and was hungry for lunch.  What was I going to do?  Devour a spiral ham and turtle cheesecake?  My co-worker Kim and I headed back to our office on the lookout for good tacos (most of my stories start with "we were just looking for tacos").  We stumbled on to Chipotle on E. Evans, and thought we would give it a try.  That day, walking in, I had no idea this concept would blow up into what it is today.  Shoot, Steve Ells probably was one of the 3 or 4 employees at the counter making our lunch that day!! I remember being confused by how to order, as the assembly line way of ordering tacos was fairly new in these parts.  That day, I'm sad to say, I even ordered the burrito instead of tacos.  Yes, shocker!  I think it was perhaps because tacos weren't even listed on their menu yet.  It was a burrito type place.  We received our lunch, and were smitten.  I think I personally told 75 people to immediately drop everything and go to "my new discovery."

You all know the rest of the story.  Chipotle conquers the country and a new one pops up on a corner each and every day.   They're giving the public some great and quick food for a very decent price. Today I went with the chicken, and you can't go wrong, their grilled chicken is amazeballs.  Added some brown rice, green tomatillo and pico de gallo.  Perfect food to give me some power for the gym in an hour.  I find myself here all the time and I'm always happy with my lunch or dinner choices.

Make a point of swinging by the original sometime.  The staff will even give you a nickel tour of the weird crawl space in the basement (see photo above).  You'll be amused at how tiny the first location is and of course take a pic outside the door to upload to your Facebook page if you're a true taco nut!

Stars for the Original:

Food - 4.5 stars

Atmosphere - 5.0 it's the original place people!

Employees at this location - 5.0 (they're happy to take your photo eating at the original!)

Parking - negative 4 (I've never seen a parking space available since 1996 in this neighborhood)

Benny's Tacos Venice

 I love tacos....  I love breakfast...   I love breakfast tacos?   Of course I do! 

 Benny's is one of my favorite taco joints in all of the land.  It's the little restaurant that can...  Many places just want to get by but Benny's takes the "taco stand" to the next level.

It's counter service but everything is made fresh with smile.  I've been there many times for tacos, but the other morning I decided to stop in for breakfast. 

Without too much though we ordered both the breakfast quesadilla and the "steak & eggs."   What we got was a little bit of breakfast heaven....

 The steak and eggs ended up being a huge portion of carne asada that made my morning.   Served with black beans, chips and guac, what more can you ask for? 

The quesadilla was simple goodness with fluffy eggs, cheese and crispy bacon.

I often start my mornings with a run on the beach, but mainly so I can take the day off for a Benny's breakfast.... and you can bet I'll be back for the tacos and burritos too!

 

 

Benny's Tacos

427 Lincoln Blvd

Venice, CA 90291

310-396-8749

 

Fernando's Taco Inn, Los Angeles

Some car washes have a hot dog or taco stand attached as a bonus so customers can grab a bite while they their cars cleaned.  At Fenando's I think it's the opposite... the car wash opportunity is the bonus and the tacos are king!

Right across from the Staples Center and LA Live you'll see the car wash, and Fernando.  I'm lucky enough to work just up the streets so I'm a walk in regular aside from my dirty car needs.

They may be famous for the "Carlos" but I'm a fan of the street tacos.  I usually get 3 a la carte... asada, al pastor, and carnitas.  At $6.00 for the 3, you'll be stuffed and loving it! 

On a side note, check out the salsas, they have one of the hottest green salsas I've ever tried, and the dark red is super smokey and sultry.

Fernando's Taco Inn

815 West Olympic Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA 90015

(213) 489-7615

Rubio's - Colorado/Exposition, Denver, Colorado

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Decided to kick off the long Memorial Day Weekend, with lunch at Rubio's, 703 S. Colorado Boulevard, Denver (Belcaro Neighborhood).  Rubio's is a small taco chain, with locations in California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Arizona.  You can find a location near you by clicking on their website:  http://www.rubios.com/ 

The thing that keeps me coming back to Rubio's is:  the salsa bar!!  I really like having a choice of 4-6 salsas to dump on my tacos.  Secondly is the vibe.  Have you been to a surfer shack restaurant in Hermosa or Huntington Beach?  That's what this place feels like, and NOT like a sterile cafe, in a strip mall, in Central Denver.

Today's meal was Rubio's street tacos.  Can you say 90-100 calories per taco?  Had two carnitas and a diet drink, which means, 200 calories for lunch (and will be able to have frozen yogurt without the guilt later!! YAY!!).  The street tacos are served with guacamole, cilantro, and onions. Substitutions are perfectly fine, and with no additional charge.  I went with cheese instead of the guac and then headed to the salsa bar (my favorite thing about Rubio's!!)

With two tacos, of course I need to go with two different salsas.  Today it was the smokey chipotle and the other was a tomatillo.  Had to say the smokey chipotle was the clear winner as it was full of flavor and really complimented the carnitas. Tomatillo seemed a bit watered down and not a huge amount of flavor. These street tacos never fail.  Filled me up, and all for only $6.23 including my drink.  It's getting more and more difficult to find lunch for under $10.00 and when I can be full and not blow my calorie budget, I'm just one happy person! 

This is definitely a restaurant to put in your Chipotle, Q'doba "taco rotation".  Totally a different experience and flavor, but with similarities too.  Also a side note:  Rubio's catering menu is off the dial!  With pool parties and summer get-togethers who the heck wants to deal with cooking for friends?  I don't!  For $42 bucks, you can get Rubio's Tacos A-Go-Go which will feed up to seven people (tacos, 2 side dishes, salsas, tortilla chips, plates, napkins,cutlery).  All you need for a party is a case of Pacifico Beer and dinner is done! 

Rating for this week's lunch:

Food - 4.5 stars

Atmosphere - 5 stars

Staff - always pleasant at this location!! 5 stars

Parking - a ton, it's in a strip mall next to King Soopers grocer - 5 stars

El Centro DF, Washington, DC



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Here's our latest review from our blogger "DC Taco":

If there is one thing this city does well it is brunch.  Sunday brunch to be precise. Washington DC has made this special occasion meal into an art form. An art form weaved into the social fabric of the city.

I was nosing about my own business last weekend when a friend of mine mentioned he was going to brunch at a place called El Centro DF. A new place to him and a semi regular haunt for me. After a bit of prodding about how much I love tacos he relented and invited me plus two joiners.

The place is teaming with tacos. They have the usual suspects tacos de barbacoa and carne asada. Where they get it right is not limiting their menu to the usual. The brunch menu includes egg and machaca, egg and gualjillo chile and egg and rajas tacos. Did I mention the brunch is an “All You Can Eat” option for 35USD? So many tacos so little time.

The table of seven shared all of the tacos presented. Nopal, Barbacoa, Lengua and Carnitas were the favorites of the table of seven. The tacos come two to an order so we loaded up double and triple ordering when we got our nose to the grind stone.

There are three settings the main floor dining room/lounge, a roof top deck and a basement. As alluring as a basement sounds it turned out to be the perfect setting for our group. The rooftop deck way too hot, the main floor too loud the basement was cool and allowed the group to cut loose and have fun as it should be. We stayed for a couple of hours and were never made to feel rushed.

The All You Can Eat Brunch also included and adult beverages…yes adult beverages. The brunch includes all you can drink from a selection of cocktails just don’t go crazy. The drinks include a Bloody Maria, Michiladas and seasonal Aqua Frescas. The Bloody Maria is the Mexican take on the Bloody Mary. We were not able to partake in the Bloody Maria as they forgot to have the mixer on hand. At first we were told new mix was being made and should only be a few minutes. After several requests we were told there will be no bloodys. We would have been okay with this answer to begin with it seems trite to hear it after several requests.

The management did apologize and offered other drink options to us not normally on the brunch menu.  Kudos to the management. Next time let us know up front.

Overall Centro DF gets three and half tortillas out of five. Taco Nose Best cannot wait to check out their Sangria Sundays, Margarita Mondays, Taco Tuesdays and Latin Thursdays especially Taco Tuesdays. ¡buen provecho!

Herdez Salsa on sale BOGO this week @ Safeway

Have you ever tried Herdez Salsa?  The first time I ever tried it was in Riviera Maya, Mexico. I purchased this at a small groceria in Cancun and was a bit skeptical as it was, well, jarred salsa!! Back at the condo we had rented, we dished it up for chips and as a topping for our homemade tacos.  First thought was holy Toledo this stuff is great. Back in the states I continued to purchase this product all the time.  I learned that Herdez is the #1 Brand of imported salsa consumed in the U.S.A. 

Today, while shopping at Safeway, I saw the big yellow and black BOGO (buy one get one) tags on Herdez.  We're going to need a bigger shopping cart! I love making homemade salsa and pico de gallo, but sometimes those unexpected guests arrive and Herdez is great to always have in the pantry.

The deal at my local Safeway, in Denver, for the BOGO was only $2.59 for two or in my case, $7.77 for 6.  Side note: 7's are my lucky number!  Did I mention this blog's name came about from the Kentucky Derby?  Darn you Daddy Nose Best!  Anyway, I stocked up on 3 red (Herdez calls it "Casera Hot") and 3 green (verde). This will hold me over for a while.  This weekend, I may even break open a jar for our Memorial Day BBQ.

Get out those Safeway cards people and get in on this BOGO deal.  Happy eating. Happy tacos.

Texate, Santa Monica, CA

I've never been to Oaxaca, but I sure do like their tacos!  I'm not even sure what makes them distinctly Oaxacan.  Because of this I can't tell you if Texate is authentic, but I can tell you it makes a terrific Taco Tuesday Treat!

On the way home from work I had a last minute idea to visit Texate.  It's a hole in the wall place next to the bowling  alley on the south side of the Pier.  They have a great patio and bar that is set up to party.  

My happy hour treat consisted of two azada tacos and a margarita.  From what I can tell, "azada" is pretty much like "asada" but a bit more smokey and saucy. 
The fresh guac and chips were awesome too! 

There are lots of taco venues to hit in LA,  I'll definitely be back to Texate for another HH treat.
Texate
316 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica

Service - 4 stars
Food - 5 stars (can't wait to go deeper into the menu)
Atmosphere - outdoor patio 4 stars, inside 4 stars
Plate/Presentation - 3 stars
Parking - 5 stars

Freebirds World Burrito, Marina Del Rey, CA

On Saturday I was driving home from an event and I had a taco attack... you know when one minute you are cruising with the top down thinking about the weekend and the next you are getting light headed from the suddenly noticed absence of tacos in your stomach!?

The quick cure was to be a place that I had driven by several times but had yet to check out, Freebirds World Burrito.  The sign seemed cool enough and usually a burrito joint can be a speakeasy for WCT... World Class Tacos.

I became a bit skeptical when I walked into a chipotle style assembly under the guise of a don't give a bean attitude.   While there is nothing wrong with this custom creation while you wait service, they missed one key ingredient... an adequate portion of meat.  They seriously used an industrial measured teaspoon to dispense the amount of meat that would a nacho bite if that.

You probably can't see from the pic, but I did try the carnitas, asada, and chicken tacos.  Sadly they had potential, but I just wished they had finished making the order.

Stick to the burritos...

Service - 3 stars
Food - 2 stars (would have been much higher if they put a full portion of meat in the taco!)
Atmosphere - outdoor patio 4 stars, inside 3 stars
Plate/Presentation - 3 stars
Parking - 5 stars

Del Taco, Englewood, Colorado

Del Taco, Englewood, Colorado

Rocky Mountain Taco here (that's my handle here at Taco Nose Best) blogging for duty!  It's Sunday, which meant running 2.5 miles on the treadmill then off to run errands for the rest of the afternoon.  Had 10 minutes to grab a bite and decided on Del Taco.  Not a first timer for me at Del Taco.  More like my 348th time.   Where the heck did I find that number?  Anyway, Del Taco fit the bill as the only bill I had in my wallet on a Sunday afternoon was a 5 with some change in the cup holder of my car. Pulled up to the Englewood location - Broadway and Belleview. 

Here's the rundown of what we ordered.  Taco al Carbon with chicken, 2 regular tacos, a Churro (we're only human here), diet coke and a water.  Total damage to my wallet $5.76.  Taco al Carbon treated me right, I love that they double the tortillas at Del Taco, where they could just as easily give you one that would fall apart.  The double tort gives the taco stability.  I like it.  They tend to go a bit crazy with the cilantro, but other than that, the Taco al Carbon was tasty and did the trick.  Shared the churro with my "lunch date" (180 calorie churro in 1/2 means only 90 which isn't too bad on the waist line).  He had the two other tacos and didn't offer me a bite, so I can't comment on those. What always gets me pumped about Del Taco is their drink sizes.  Has anyone noticed how the drink cups keep shrinking? I ordered a small at Taco Bell and they gave me what looked like a kid's cup.  The "smalls" at Del Taco are what other fast food restaurants would call a medium.  And guess what? A small is only $1.59.  Yay inexpensive drinks too!

This location was fine for a quick lunch.  Clean, friendly staff, and the food was quick and perfectly presented.  Yes, we at Taco Nose Best go to chains too.  Got a problem with that?  Kudos Del Taco.  You got us in and out of your restaurant quickly and for a great price. 

Stars:
Food/Presentation - it's fast food, so can I really give it a 5????? - 3.5
Service - 4
Parking - a bazillion spaces to choose from - 5
Atmosphere - again chain, so it's a - 3.5

Patzcuaro's Denver, Colorado

Patzcuaro's

5 stars or 5 tortillas?  I guess Taco Nose Best needs to come up with a rating system for all the restaurants we'll be visiting in the coming weeks.  For now let's stick with stars.

A gorgeous day in Denver and it's a Friday so that means one thing, TACOS.  Well in my brain, every day is taco day.  Today's visit was to the Highland neighborhood in the Mile High City (that's Denver folks!).  Pulled up on 32nd Avenue to Taqueria Patzcuaro.  Immediately, I knew I'd be having a great lunch hour, as I saw a beautiful patio with Tecate umbrellas.  Eating outdoors is always a plus for me.

Waiter (Host) was very friendly and set me up at a great table and immediately brought over a basket of chips-n-salsa.  A place that just brings chips over without asking, receives a plus in my book.  Glancing at the menu, I immediately noticed that the taco plates are 4 to an order.  Who eats that much at lunch?  Not this calorie counter.  Yes, I count calories and eat a ton of tacos throughout the week!  Waiter suggested I go al la cart and that's exactly what I did.  A basket of chips, salsa, one carnitas taco and a diet Pepsi. Perfecto!

Service was speedy which makes me happy.  Then the "eh" happened.  What's the saying?  Presentation is everything?  Maybe if I had ordered the full plate of 4 tacos it would have looked better?  My small dessert plate of taco with "taco juice" and a glop of guac, just didn't please my eye.  No cilantro, no diced onions, just very plain.  Looks aren't everything though.  I wish that was the case, but the carnitas taco wasn't special.  Not bad, but not great either.  A bit dry, but what saved it was the homemade corn tortilla.  That was great. 

Will I be back?  You'd probably think my answer would be no.  But that's not the case.  This patio is something I need to check out at the 5 o'clock somewhere hour.  As this was lunch, I didn't partake in any Margarita action.  But seriously who doesn't love a good patio even if the food is so-so?  My next report will be all about that AND I will give it one more shot on the tacos.  Maybe chicken next time.

Service - 4 stars
Food - 3 stars
Atmosphere - outdoor patio 5 stars, inside 3 stars
Plate/Presentation - 2 stars
Parking - 5 stars ( Hello, parking is something I always think about when going out for a meal!!!)

          
Taqueria Patzcuaro - 2616 W. 32nd Ave, Denver, Colorado 80211

Taco Nose Best - we're just getting started!