flea at laff #9: choncho's tacos.

snack: grilled fish tacos
drink: mexican coca-cola

for me, it was one hell of a long, lazy summer, one with diminished writing output, copious beer drinking & scant traveling, one that was wholly unproductive but one that was at least occasionally punctuated by mostly-satisfying saturday trips to the brooklyn flea. since the summer officially came to an end last wednesday, on the previous saturday i decided to make one final summer trip to the flea. the weather report for the day: pretty rad. it was jeans weather but sunny & mid-70s. none of that disgusting sweaty summer weather. i'm pretty sure that stuff's done for the twenty-ten. thank jebus.

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snackdown! - 1.22.10

during a week where the entire country was going apeshit over the special election in massachusetts for the late ted kennedy's former senate seat, there were a number of food-related stories that provided a bit of a distraction from the bombardment of political coverage. whether it was the demise of the deep dish or the death of a taco magnate, anything was a welcome relief from the constant "coakley is totally going to blow it" cycle of news.

• story numero uno...mamma mia! there's a trouble down at the pizzeria! on wednesday, boston-based restaurant chain pizzeria uno announced that, in an attempt to save the company, they were filing for bankruptcy. it's been rough going for them recently, what with the poor economy & rising cost of ingredients & whatnot, but i think we all know what the real reason behind their downfall is though...deep dish pizza is lame. (boston globe)


• on sunday, the world was saddened to learn of the passing of taco bell founder glen bell. at the same time, they were surprised to learn that taco bell was named after its founder. mr bell, who founded the chain back in 1962, saw the need to bring mexican food of sketchy origins to the american public. over the years, he achieved that dream & in the process, made a great impact on american cuisine. without him, we may have never known what the hell a "gordita" is...& that would just be sad. (npr)


• with this weekend's afc championship game between the ny jets & the indianapolis colts only two days away, the ny daily news' matthew lysiak has already headed out to indy for the big game. while out there, he's worked himself into a tizzy because he can't find authentic ny style food such as bagels & pizzas & egg creams. to this i offer a hearty "duh." you're in indianapolis, dude. you don't go to brazil in search of sushi. (ny daily news)


• since i'm a glutton, i shove food into my mouth all day long, pretty much right up until the point where i fall asleep. apparently i shouldn't be doing that though. according to lar rune foleide, some science guy who studies dreams, if you wolf down a couple of slabs of roast beef or a bucket of deviled eggs just before heading to bed, there's a good chance that you're going to have some messed up dreams. i guess that explains my "wall street banker/astronaut dog with the head of cuba gooding jr" dream from a few nights ago. (tahlequah daily press)


• monday may have been MLK day, but it wasn't the only important holiday this week, as tuesday was national popcorn day. the holiday, which celebrates the wonders of the air-popped corn kernel snack, is a rather mysterious one, as the national popcorn board doesn't even know how it got started. they do know that the average american eats a quart of popcorn a week though, so if you haven't had any yet this week, you've got a lot of catching up to do. (phoenix new times)

nosh nook #183 - wednesday, november 25, 2009

taco: the rules of engagement (link)
11.24.09 - washington city paper - by tim carman

tacos! i have this one friend & boy does she love tacos. girl is CRAZY about tacos. she'll call me up on the phone & we'll be talking & out of nowhere, she'll be all, "hey shawn. i want tacos." every time, i assure her that the only way to fix that is to eat some tacos. usually, that seems to help. i mean, why not? you can't beat a good taco. as long as it's well made & obviously soft shell, tacos are pretty much the bomb. there are a ton of good taco joints here in the city & at the moment, my fave is brooklyn's calexico (winner of the 2008 vendy awards). over the past few months, i've been making a bunch of stops there, specifically for the tacos. other than the twenty minute wait for two tacos, i have nothing but raves for them, with a special place in my heart reserved for their carne asada tacos.

tacowise, it looks like the d.c. area's doing pretty well these days. according to washington city paper (the only alternative newspaper in d.c.), there are a ton of places around the city where you can grab a couple of simple, tasty, mexican-style tacos. they might not be entirely authentic (many are made with pre-made, flour tortillas), but for the most part, they're still good. in rosslyn (VA), there's district taco, whose chorizo-and-bacon breakfast taco "possesses genuine crunch, provided by tiny crumbles of crispy bacon, which contrast perfectly with the fluffy yellow curds." dupont circle's tomatillo taqueria has barbacoa and carnitas tacos, "which rely on marinades and long, luscious braises to provide their succulence and understated flavor." taqueria la placita (in hyattsville, MD) has al pastor tacos that are apparently to die for.

la placita also goes into territories that aren't for the faint of stomach. they have oreja (ear) & cueritos (pig skin) tacos on the menu. respectively, they have "a pleasant cartilage crunch" & a "soft and unctuous" pork flavor. those are two qualities i never want in a taco. they're not the only ones in the city serving weird-ass tacos though. there's also a place on columbia road NW called pica taco, who has a lengua taco which, "may force you to reconsider your aversion to beef tongue." sorry, but i will never reconsider my aversion to beef tongue. i'm all for non-"leftover pieces of the animal" tacos, but if i'm ever eating ears & tongues & skin, i want it to be because i've survived a plane crash & have no other choice.