Taco Matrix

Taco News For Friday April 13, 2012

Scotty — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 20:52:05 +0000

No bad luck for tacos today. Just good vibes! There’s lots of great stuff going on in the taco universe, so let’s check it out.

First, you may have heard of Gustavo Arellano, editor of OC Weekly, syndicated columnist of ¡Ask a Mexican!, and now author of Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America. He was just a guest on the radio show On Point with Tom Ashbrook. It’s not just about tacos, but it’s a great show. Click here to listen.

If you’re in San Jose, California tomorrow, please go to the San Jose Taco Festival. Lots of food, music and even an Air Accordion Competition. Click here for info.

And finally, via one of our perennial favorite blogs, LA Taco, enjoy yourself a tasty Lego Taco today, from Lego artist bruceywan.

I Heart Tacos

Scotty — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:29:41 +0000

The taco life continues unabated. Yesterday, I ate four fresh carnitas tacos at El Gallo truck in Medford. Lots of places have fake griddle cooked pork they call carnitas. El Gallo makes carnitas fresh on weekend mornings.
Anyway, I hear there’s a new Mexican place opening in Portland, Oregon called Corazon which means heart in Spanish. I’m sure it will be a great place. I’ve been using a couple of heart images locally for my small taco catering and taco night ventures for a few years now.

Immaculate Heart of Mary, Trademark & Servicemark, Scott Wilson, 2009

Since we’re both in the State of Oregon, I just want to claim my turf, that this particular image, “The Immaculate Heart of Mary,” painted for me under commission by artist Jaime Bryn, belongs exclusively to me, Scott Wilson, and that I have been using this heart and other heart images in my taco catering business in Oregon since 2009 and will continue to do so. This is my trademark and service mark claim to the heart/corazon images.

Pig Butchery Class & Pork Taco Lunch Big Success

Scotty — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 22:55:19 +0000

It doesn’t get much better than this. I raised two pigs this year, both of them finished on heirloom apples and Asian pears. Mark practiced his class on the first pig, which was the main course of my wife’s birthday party. Two weeks later, I hosted a Pig Butchery class with Mark “The Butcher” Disharoon. Four students braved 25 degree weather for the class. Mark broke down two sides of pork, one with skin on and one without. He demonstrated cutting options for each piece of meat. Afterwards, we all enjoyed tacos of shredded pork in a tomatillo salsa, rice, beans, and salsas. The pork came from the first pig we butchered. We’re looking forward to doing it again next fall.

Mark "The Butcher" Disharoon discussing pork cutting options.

Mark "The Butcher" Disharoon's Tools.

Mark "The Butcher" Disharoon's Pork Butchery Class.

Still Life With Pork Loin.

Side of Pork on Table with Tools.

Pork Taco Buffet Lunch By Scott Wilson of TacoMatrix.com.

Taco News For Saturday November 12, 2011

Scotty — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 17:02:15 +0000

Deer Crashes Into Taco Mac in Georgia Town

Pig Butchery Class on Saturday 3 December 2011

Scotty — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 16:32:09 +0000

Pig Butchery Class and Pork Taco Lunch
Cost $75
9 AM to 1 PM
Williams, Oregon

Featuring the Butchery of Mark Disharoon
Pork Taco Lunch by Scott Wilson

Mark will discuss the structure of a side of freshly butchered pork and demonstrate how to efficiently break it down into primal and subprimal cuts. He will also discuss options for utilizing all the cuts, from cut and wrapped for freezer to preparing the meat for charcuterie.

Following the class, Scott Wilson, author of Tacos: Authentic, Festive & Flavorful, will serve pork tacos with side dishes and salsas. Scott will have copies of his book available for $ 15.

After Mark’s class, you will have the knowledge to begin your quest in pig butchery. You will have a basic understanding of how to break down a side of pork and probably be able to do it.

El Mundo Taqueria in Oxford, Mississippi

Scotty — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 22:34:20 +0000

I was passing some time looking at barbeque videos on the Southern Foodways Alliance YouTube page when I ran across this little clip set to Doris Day singing Tacos, Enchiladas, and Beans. Enjoy.

Pork Tacos From Farm To Table

Scotty — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 21:03:07 +0000

This summer has been great for tacos. Some of our favorites were cooked in the Caja China

Taco News For April 30, 2011

Scotty — Sun, 01 May 2011 00:43:04 +0000

The Cilantro Harvest

Have you ever seen cilantro being harvested on a large scale? Look at the size of the field.

Seattle Taco Truck Challenge Today

A radio station called The End 107.7 is hosting the Seattle Taco Truck Challenge today. I hate to be underwhelmed by it but the website lists only four trucks, one of which is Molly Moon’s Ice Cream. They don’t say what the prizes are, but if it’s a sunny day in Seattle and you’re eating tacos, that’s prize enough.

Will Taco Bell Sue the Law Firm That Sued Them?

Taco Bell is pissed off. They’re quarterly earnings were down as a result of the lawsuit against them claiming their beef was only 36% beef. Taco Bell CEO Greg Creed says he will be meeting with franchise partners in the coming weeks to decide if they will sue Beasley Allen, the Alabama lawyer group that sued the Bell.

Truly Mexican, A New Cookbook By Roberto Santibañez

Roberto Santibañez, chef of Brooklyn’s Fonda restaurant has a new book out called Truly Mexican. I watched the promo video and it looks pretty good. Darn near makes me cry watching him cooking the tomato and serranos on the comal, then mashing them in the molcajete.

Roberto Santibanez: Truly Mexican from William Hereford on Vimeo.

Feast Of The Brave Taco Truck

This new taco truck that’s tooling around the New York area is being put on by Dos Equis Beer, a decent brand in my estimation. Their Most Interesting Man In The World ad campaign is decent too.

The truck is serving up veal brains and crickets.

Easter Tacos

Scotty — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 19:29:54 +0000

WTWJE? What tacos would Jesus eat? I think he might like eggs and chorizo, having built up a three day hunger in the crypt. I sure enjoyed my egg and chorizo tacos this morning. It seems like tacos are resurging again after several quiet months.

Lawsuit Against Taco Bell Dropped

You may recall that Taco Bell was being sued for allegedly selling beef tacos that only contained 36% beef. Well, they came back swinging and now the lawsuit has been dropped. For the record, they use 88% beef in their beef tacos. Frankly, I prefer my beef tacos to contain 100% beef. Now they want an apology from the law firm that sued them. Watch the video of Taco Bell’s CEO Greg Creed. Notice how perfectly he touches his finger tips together after he gestures for emphasis.

The Last Fiesta

Detail of The Last Fiesta by Artist Chris Parks of Pale Horse Design

Take a click over to Pale Horse Design’s gallery of images in which the above picture is split up and affixed to 12 individual skateboard decks.

Look At This Fuckin Hipster Food Truck

Yes, that’s the name of this blog, in which are displayed, photos of aforementioned food trucks. Not just about tacos obviously, but they do appear from time to time.

Taco News For Fat Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Scotty — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 05:20:04 +0000

Today is Fat Tuesday friends. What better way to celebrate than with tacos. Today, from 4 pm until ?, there will be tacos at the Cafe, morphing into a dance party with the Vida Girls. I have a certain nostalgia for Fat Tuesday, under another name, el “Coso”, from the Carnaval de Tenerife, in the Canary Islands in Spain. My favorite day, though, is on Ash Wednesday, with the Burial of the Sardine, a long and arduous parade of mostly men in black, many in drag as nuns and widows in mourning, following a fairly large effigy of a sardine, filled with explosives, and held aloft by mourners. Why so Sad? Because the Carnaval is officially over and Lent begins. In Plaza de Espana, they light the sardine, and flaming projectiles shoot out everywhere, sending people scattering. That’s aught to do with tacos, but it’s certainly 2nd Level Kevin Bacon.

Gettin’ Sick of these Mutha’s Yet?

Andrew Zimmern and Rick Bayless get together to eat tacos and in Chicago. Don’t pay attention to the poser fest, especially Rick. Keep your eye on the tacos. clickety click for vid.

Wall Street Journal Says Taquerias at Gas Stations are a New Trend. Not True.

Anyone who has been anywhere between Salinas, Ca. and San Mateo, Ca. since the mid-1980′s will call balderdash on the gist of this Feb 26, 2011 article in the WSJ. Thing is, those taquerias are in real gas stations, not nostalgic remakes devoid of the fumes, stench and freakiness of urban and suburban mostly corner lots. My favorite was always El Grullense #5 at the corner of Spring St. and 5th Ave.

Andrew Zimmern and Chris Cosentino Eat Crisped Pig Intestine Tacos

Another vid of Mr. Zimmern eating tacos. Kinda fun.

Bill Esparza Eats Killer Birria for Breakfast in Guadalajara

Here you can see a birria de chivo scene being run out of the back of a pick up truck that’s in it’s 26th year, according to Bill Esparza, author of the StreetGourmetLA blog. Looks like a dandy breakfast. Way up north, I was happy merely to get some awesome spicy chicken tamales in a parking lot in Medford, Oregon last Sunday. So good and moist. No salsa at all necessary.

Facebook Founder, Mark Zuckerberg Eats Chicken Tacos

Rather than eating diamonds and gold dust, Mark Zuckerberg chose to eat chicken tacos for lunch recently, actually going out and ordering AND eating the tacos all by himself. Without any concubines, succubi, cherabim, nor seraphim that his billions of dollars could obviously buy him.