Food Truck Friday - Tacos El Tajin

I'd always been intimidated by the long lines that grow at Tacos El Tajin starting very early. But what I never observed was just how quickly that line moves. As I learned on my first visit there this week, they are a well oiled machine!







One person takes orders and relays them to the people cooking from the first window at the back of the truck. Orders are called out as they are ready from a second window, midway down the truck. Then a third guy, standing curbside next to a condiment table, focuses only on payments. The whole thing went so smoothly that before I made it to pay, I had my tacos in hand. It looked like more complex orders might take a bit longer, but I didn't see anyone waiting long.







Their menu is also designed for speed, with their 10 menu items numbered and with clear pricing right where you need them and big enough (and not in someone's handwriting) so that it's easily read. There are five meat choices (Asada - Steak, Pollo - Chicken, Al Pastor - Spice Pork, Carnitas - Refried Pork, Lengua - Tongue), all with English translations. Sides are available to customize your choice, but also kept to a short list: rice, beans, avocado, cheese and extra meat. Only the drink menu is somewhat long. I figured I'd start at the top, and go for the #1: 4 tacos for $5 special.







I went with my taco truck standby, the lengua (tongue) as my first taco choice, on two tacos. I decided two meats would be the best option, so I'd be sure I knew which was which. 4 different meats can get a little confusing, I've learned. The lengua was tender and flavorful, and the start of the tacos, with just cilantro, onion and lime wedges to accompany them in the small double-corn tortillas. Of course, I couldn't resist the super-hot sauce (in the yellow bottle), plus some tomatillo salsa and crema. Even with a little crema, I was feeling the heat for awhile after eating.







I also went for Chicken tacos, which were on the dry side, so I'll probably stick with lengua or try the pork options in the future. I'll be heading back soon to try a torta, most likely... or maybe just more delicious and quick tacos.

Food Truck Friday: Tacos El Asadero

I'm having a little 'staycation' this week, extending my Memorial Day weekend a couple extra days. So today's Food Truck Friday gives you a break from the South Lake Union focus, and takes us instead to my neighborhood: South Seattle.







There are two buses in South Seattle converted to food trucks, both named Tacos El Asadero. I'm not sure if they're the same company, but I do know the one on MLK and Othello - right next to the Light Rail station, is delicious. A couple friends of ours moved to our neighborhood but a little closer to El Asadero, and go there a LOT. Somehow, though, Dan & I have never made it together - but I've been on my own. Way back in October 2010, I visited to try the Lengua Mulitas, ordering from the window on the side of the bus. Lengua is tongue - one of my favorite cuts of offal and a favorite taco filling. The tongue was tender and the tortillas were crisp, and, like everything I've ordered, it came with two little sauces - green and red.







This week, I returned for the Spicy Pork Torta - a Mexican sandwich. Given the spring rains this week, the window was closed - but the bus itself was open. I hadn't realized it, but most of the bus interior is a dining room, complete with a TV showing telenovelas. There was a group already eating inside when I arrived, but I opted to get my food to go - since Hilo was waiting patiently in the car. The sandwich was very messy (the spicy pork kinda fell everywhere, to Hilo's delight), but was full of flavor. It wasn't hot spicy, though, so I poured on the red sauce to add more kick.







I'm not sure whether the return of Huarachitos, which is going in right across Othello from El Asadero, will lead to them moving or struggling, but I know I'll be back to try more of the menu, and don't doubt our neighbors will, too.

Palace Kitchen PreFunc

Dan & I met up with some friends from our supper club to check out the Rocky Horror Show (a stage rendition being done by several friends of ours), so beforehand I met Dan at Palace Kitchen for a light dinner and a cocktail. We had planned to meet at a bar in Belltown - but everyone seemed so darn young down there. When did we get so old?



I sipped on a couple Orange Spritz cocktails (bourbon meets creamsicle), and we ordered some bar food to tide us over. I couldn't resist the Fried Pig's ear after seeing the girls next to us order it. It was beautiful, and I can't resist trying offal dishes when the opportunity arises.



Our bartender likened them to tortilla chips crossed with beef jerky. The guy sitting next to us, who I convinced to try a little piece, said it reminded him of popcorn. His vegetarian date wasn't game, so I couldn't get her opinion. (I did love that he ordered a big, bloody steak.) The strips of fried ear were a little chewy, but no where near as much as a jerky, and it had tons of great pork flavor. I would order it again in a heartbeat.



I was more lukewarm about the Lavender and Goat Cheese Fondue, mostly because the apples served with it were mealy. I may have to try it again when apples are in their peak - rather than when we're all enjoying fruit that's been overwintering. Or maybe I'll just get a double order of ears - one for each side of my head, right?

Eating Blood, Tendon & Knuckle at Hoang Lan

The area around the Othello Light Rail station is jam-packed with restaurants - from Mexican to Cajun, Chinese to Southern, Thai to African. But more than anything, there are Vietnamese restaurants. I count about a half-dozen in a two block radius. But reportedly the best is Hoang Lan.



Not much to look at, it's your typical acoustic tile ceiling, formica tables kinda place, with a TV in the corner playing Vietnamese shows, and a clientele of exclusively Vietnamese folks. In fact, a fair number of the people eating tonight appeared to be family of the owners, as they all sat together to eat.

What's not typical at Hoang Lan is the soup. I'd read some reviews that claimed it serves possibly the best Pho in Seattle - a title it vies for with Pho Bac III. But I was there for something slightly different: Bún bò Huế.



Similar to Pho in many regards, Bún bò Huế is like its cousin from the wrong side of the tracks. Like Pho, it's a beef broth with vermicelli noodles (thicker here than at other Pho places). And it's served topped with onion and cilantro, with a plate of lemon wedges, shredded lettuce, bean sprouts, basil, jalapenos, and some sort of shredded vegetable we couldn't identify. But unlike the tamer Pho variations, Bún bò Huế has pork hock, pork blood cake, and delicious little beef tendon meatballs swimming in the broth, along with strips of beef. It's like a big bowl of offal, and it's really, really good. I can definitely see now why the words Bún bò Huế are bigger on the sign out front than Hoang Lan.

Dan stuck with the more familiar Pho Ga (chicken soup), which he said was equally great.

Quinn's Pub

A mutual friend of Serenity & I (Reuben) is in town this weekend, so after work today I walked up to Capitol Hill to meet Dan, Serenity & James for a bite to eat before meeting up with Reuben, his boyfriend, and a couple other friends.

Dan was craving burgers, so we headed over to Quinn's - which has been getting lots of great press (in addition to the occasional protester thanks to the seared foie gras on their menu).



I went for a Wagyu Beef Cheek Philly Cheese Steak sandwich, which was incredible. The meat was so tender, I had a hard time pacing myself. Thankfully, I shared half the sandwich with Seren & James, so that slowed me down.



Dan got his burger, topped with bacon and cheese and made from a half-pound of Painted Hills Farm in Oregon. I got a bite and it was really well cooked and very juicy. It was even topped with a little pink cow indicating it was medium rare.



We also tried out the Marrow Bones - a split bone roasted so that the marrow becomes a meat jam of sorts, then topped with a sweet jelly and served with baguette.



The meat jam reminded Seren & I of the very first episode of Powderpuff Girls, where Fuzzy Lumpkins loses the Annual Townsville Mall Jam Contest because his Meat Jam tastes like dog food - causing him to go crazy and use a meat gun to turn everyone & everything in town into cuts of meat.



I'm fairly certain if Fuzzy Lumpkin's meat jam had tasted like Quinn's roasted marrow, he could've won the blue ribbon.



Seren ordered one of the few non-meat options - a chickpea sandwich that reminded me of a falafel, but lighter in texture.



And after we were all finished with dinner, James & I decided to indulge in the Chocolate Nemesis.



Though my photo doesn't do it justice (the sun was going down and the restaurant isn't particularly well lit), it was a beautiful dessert of chocolate mousse over a shortbread cookie.

The Aptly (re)Named, Grand Jumbo

Philip was in town from LA this weekend, so we got together with him, Ruth and Paul at our place for a drink in the tiki bar to catch up before heading out to dinner. Dan and I decided to make dinner a surprise for everyone. I'd heard great things about a local spot from a coworker, and on the bus ride home this week realized they're having a grand re-opening, so it seemed like the perfect place:

Grand Jumbo Chinese Restaurant!



The restaurant was called Jumbo, but as part of the reopening, they've changed to Grand Jumbo. Having not been before, I'm not sure what else was involved in the reopening, but there definitely seemed to be some fresh stenciling on the walls.



The space lives up to the name - a HUGE banquet hall filled with dozens of round tables of various sizes - including large tables with lazy Susans in the centers - a stage, and a full lighting grid including disco ball. The ceilings are lofty and the walls between the restaurant and bar (BOSS Cocktail Lounge) appear to open up. It's obvious why they're advertising that they rent the space - it would be perfect for a large wedding reception, birthday or bar mitzvah.



The menu is also worthy of the Grand Jumbo name, with pages and pages filled with dishes ranging from the familiar (Kung Pao Chicken) to the exotic (Crispy Duck Feet).



We opted for mostly standard fare - BBQ Pork, Honey Walnut Prawns, and General Tso's Chicken - plus a recommendation from our waiter (Beef Short Ribs), one exotic dish that our waiter thought he was teasing me by suggesting, but I went for (Salt & Pepper Duck Tongue) and a pretty exotic hot pot featuring coconut, taro and duck.



Our waiter was enthusiastic and engaged, telling us some very interesting (though not always appetizing) stories of his childhood in Southern China. Everything was delicious. I even enjoyed the duck tongue, though I think I was the only one who did. It tasted like little bits of fried chicken (mostly crispy skin), though it was a little tricky to eat due to a small bone running through the center.

One might think the name Grand Jumbo is a little redundant, but given the size of the place, the depth of the menu, and the tall tales from the staff, it seems perfect to me. And we'll definitely be back for a dim sum adventure.

Memento Meal - Royal Courts of the Middle Ages

Our sixth round of Memento took place tonight, hosted by Kristin - who selected the theme "The Food of the Royal Courts of the Middle Ages". The dinner took place at Gerald's new apartment up in Northgate.



David and Carolyn started us off with their tasty twist on a classic 'meat' pie - using Coho salmon with a variety of fruits, richly spiced, in a whole wheat crust, created in miniatures as a perfect 3 bite appetizer to get our taste buds warmed up. As you'll see, it was practically an amuse bouche - given a distinctive theme tonight.





In celebration of the royal courts of the Philippines, Gerald created their national dish - chicken adobo - the way it might've been enjoyed by medieval royalty: featuring chicken hearts, gizzards and livers in a vinegary sauce, with rice. This was Memento's first foray into offal - and nearly everyone cleaned their plates. I really enjoyed the chicken livers, and now want to explore other dishes that feature them. The hearts were a little dense (not tough, however) and it was definitely challenging to look down and see a whole heart on your plate - aortas and all.





Dan & I did a take on a medieval 'sallat', focusing on the preservation methods so integral to eating in the colder months in the days before refrigeration. We combined cured meats (salami & pancetta) with preserved fruits and veggies (kalamata and green olives, hearts of palm and capers), plus some fresh red onion and grapefruit - the latter representing the access to traded commodities that only the royalty of the era might've enjoyed. We topped it with some goat cheese and almonds that were toasted in pork fat and topped with sel gris (grey salt), and dressed it with a mixture of local honey, grapefruit juice, and white balsamic vinegar.





Anna & Jason presented a beautiful dish of perfectly roasted poussin (young chicken) on top of a medley of foraged mushrooms (including morel and king bolete) with house cured pig jowl (known as guanciale), a shallot infused potato crisp (cooked in pork fat, I believe), and a simple yet flavorful saute of carrots and foraged sea beans. True to the royal theme, they didn't do the foraging - they left that to the folks from Foraged & Found Edibles.





Our second entree (and second meat pie) was courtesy of our host, Kristin, who created a decadent layered pie of chicken, turkey and duck organ meats, dried fruits soaked in brandy, duck confit, nuts and cheeses, all thickened with trotter gear (aka pig feet gelatin). In the center of each pie was a large bone with breadsticks tucked inside for enjoying the amazing melted marrow.





And finishing us off with the closest thing to a meat pie one could reasonably pass off as dessert was Marcy & James 'Lombardi Custard' - a rich and lovely pie of dried fruits (figs, apricot and dates) with parsley and a secret ingredient that I saw James putting in the pie but still didn't recognize. While I was washing dishes, he was crumbling a bright pink pasty stuff on the pies, his hands covered in it. Never in a million years would I have realized it was bone marrow. Contrary to what you might think, it didn't lend a strong meaty flavor to the dessert - but certainly added some of the richness.