Taco Taco

Back from our California adventures, Cher and I found it necessary to recreate our favorite activities on the east coast.  Soo we trekked it up to Central Park and rented beach cruisers at the Boat House (only 9 bucks an hour!), then went on a lovely little bike ride. Okay, to be honest, it was about 102 degrees, 400% humidity, and half of the ride was uphill.  Not cool, not cool at all.  See me on my bike above? Yeah, that's my uphill face.

Next we dragged our sweaty little bodies up to 89th Street where we found Taco Taco, a place that promised crispy tacos, ice cold beer, and...well, that's all we needed.  Cher had the "Taco Americano," which pretty much sounded like something your mom would make on taco night back in the day....crispy shell, ground beef and all the fixings. Though the shell was superior to your average grocery store variety (Old El Paso, anyone?), these tacos weren't anything too exciting, so I won't elaborate much.  I also tried a Michelada, something I've been curious about for a while.  Beer mixed with fresh-squeezed lime juice, hot sauce, poured over ice in a salt and chili lined rim. Sounds dreamy. Umm..not so much. I was so sad that I didn't like this, and I'm not necessarily giving up just yet. New York Magazine listed Taco Taco as a critics choice, but we weren't really that thrilled by anything. Disappointment city!!!

Great Mex: Our Inspiration

While visiting friends in Newport Beach, Cher and I discovered our 2 summer obsessions: beach cruisers and tacos.  This occurred to us as we were riding our beach cruisers en route to eat tacos.  Ahh, the simple pleasures in life. We ate at Great MEX several times during our stay, and it was heavenly for us East Coast chicks. On our first ever Taco Tuesday (the west coast version at least), we sampled one of almost everything: carne asada, carnitas, shrimp, grilled fish and crispy chicken. While the shrimp was a favorite of our native friends, Cher and drooled all over the blissful crispy chicken tacos. Never had I crunched into something so wonderful and moan-inducing (a clear sign that I am enjoying my food).  Cher moans too, but it's usually in pain from eating too much. Again, a good thing. The taco of choice was comprised of a crisp fried shell surrounded by moist shredded chicken filling, topped off with some cheddar and lettuce...simple and satisfying. While discussing the lack of an equivalent crispy taco back home, Cher and I realized that we had a mission, a duty, a calling from the taco gods above. New York has good tacos, and we must find them.  Alas, the blog is born.  

Before we left for another EPIC bike ride, a table of 13 year old surf rats forced me to chug 2 Pacifico's and stole our tortilla chips. We miss you, California.