Tour de Taco Part II...

Tour de Taco Continued…

We had a pretty long ride to the next stop too after Honest Tom's. We trekked up to Shifty's Tacos and grabbed some more beers and our tacos. Here I wound up ordering the shifty taco, a combination of chicken, chorizo and maduros. Again I wish the taco had another tortilla layered with it, but the flavor was very good. It was spicy and sweet and not overly stuffed which is nice. Sometimes when tacos are stuffed with too much fillin, it falls out and the taco cant support it. It was a little too juicy for me though. I don't need juice flying out the other end and splashing everywhere as it falls out. Flavor was real good though. I'm a taco purist, but this place very successfully does things not so authentically. Definitely worth a visit.

Stop number seven was up next. We made our way over to the oval to hit up Vernalicious. I had ordered the pulled pork taco with cheddar cheese, pickled jalapenos, cilantro, guacamole and a squirt of bbq sauce. The combination of these things does not sound all that delicious, but in practice, holy crap it was good. I think the real key to this taco was the charred tortillas. Double layered, charred to perfection. I was surprisingly fond of these flour tortillas, but I think it was because of the char. It took a little bit of the chew out of them, and added another depth of flavor. They held up really nicely with the pulled pork in them. The pulled pork wasnt overly juicy, which was great because it didnt run out of the taco when it was bitten into. The guacamole was fantastic! It was super limey and had a nice bit of heat to it. The thing that tied it all together surprisingly was the cheddar cheese. I thought it was going to overpower it, but it simply brought it all together in a flash of cheesey goodness. This was a very nontraditional taco, but one of my favorites of the day. I will definitely be back to Vernalicious to delve into more of their deliciousness.

I was really starting to feel the fullness about now. Luckily we had a bit of a wait once we made it to Taco Riendo, the 8th stop on our tour. I wound up ordering the taco de cachete or steamed beef cheek taco. They had an amazing outdoor space and their selection of traditional Mexican cuisine is fantastic. The taco was perfect. Two steamed corn tortillas, filled with exactly the right amount of cooked beef cheek, and then topped with cilantro and onion as only the purest of tacos are. I seasoned it up with a bit of lime juice and the spicy orange salsa which I am pretty sure may have been chile de arbol. It was absolutely perfect. The heat was intense, but it didnt overwhelm the taco at all. This was one of my favorite tacos of the day. Everything about was in perfect proportion. Everything was seasoned right, it was just a really well executed taco. They have a nice selection of jarritos as well, so that always wins points with me. It was a great spot and is definitely worth a return visit when the taco hunger strikes me again.

I was really looking forward to stop 9 on our tour because I had heard a lot of good things about it. Sancho Pistola's was the stop, and it was awesome. It was the first place of the day that had a full bar, so without hesitation, I ordered a margarita. A large reason for this was I was 8 tacos deep and I had zero room in my stomach for a beer. Thank god I got a margarita because I had one of those experiences you look back on and say damn, that changed my whole outlook on things. The pickled watermelon margarita on the rocks. Holy crap! I need this in my life every day for the rest of my life. I had every intention of only having one, but after tasting it, and immediately sucking down the whole thing in mere seconds, I had to have another one. It may have been the best drink I have ever had, and it changed my perspective of rocks vs. frozen margaritas. All rocks, all day, forever going forward. No more frozen.

To pair with my margarita, I had ordered the chicken tinga taco. Chicken tinga is a shredded chicken in a tomato and chili and chipotle sauce. Its sweet and spicy and just a little bit smokey too. It is great in tacos, and it was great in this one. Mine was a little bit cold by the time I got to it, not the fault of the restaurant, but my own, but the flavor was awesome. It was accented just a bit by the onion, cilantro and queso fresco dusting it received on top. The menu is fantastic in terms of both beer and food. No its not the most traditional place in the world, but its not trying to be. Its a reinvention of classic Mexican dishes and cocktails and they are done amazingly well. I will be back oh so soon.

Onto the last one, Loco Pez. Here I wound up ordering the al pastor taco. It is one of my favorite styles of taco, and I hadnt tried it yet that day, so I gave it a shot. I also ordered a classic margarita, because my friend had told me they were his favorites in town. While I cant say it was my favorite it was a very well done margarita. Again rocks all the way, and always salt on the rim. I sucked down another two of these bad boys quickly. I also scarfed down the taco. Thank god it was small because I had 9 others inside me already. The flavor was really good though. It had really nice, sweet a spice to it. The little tortillas were packed full of al pastor goodness. The decoration was really weird and not at all what I was expecting, but I am glad the name makes more sense now...Pez dispensers everywhere. Its a really fun atmosphere. I would definitely go back again.

I had about a 4 mile bike ride back to my apartment from there after all the tacos and margaritas, so it was an adventure to say the least. My firned told me before I left, tell your fiancé I am sorry I sent you home drunk and full of tacos. He wasn’t sorry, and I didn’t come home empty handed, so she couldn’t be mad. It was a hell of a day. I would do it over and over again. Next year, you're comin with! Cheers!