Taking it To The Street (Taco)

Maybe it’s just me, but my experiences with the old school, traditional Mexican Taco Truck can be summed up thus:

1. I’ve never had a bad meal with a long-established traditional taco truck
2. Even an average meal at a taco truck rates as a satisfying meal

As time has marched forward since my move to Ohio, I've collected a lot of photos and notes on a fair number of the area's taco trucks. This is by no means definitive or even close to a sampling of every truck that's out there, but I figured it was time to wipe the plate clean, so to speak, and knock out a blog post on what I've found.

A flight of beer from Mare Island Brewing, which pays homage to the blue-collar
workers and servicemen who worked at Vallejo's former Naval Shipyard

My first foodie-style venture I actually wrote about was indeed a taco truck crawl, roughly a dozen or so years ago. Traveling through Vallejo, a traditionally blue-collar town centered around its Naval submarine shipyard, taco trucks are a perfect fit for the area. Based on my samplings, the trucks here averaged higher than those you might find in other more well known cities in the Bay Area (more on that below.) In fact, continual good experiences with taco trucks throughout the area influenced one of my food choices on my first visit into Columbus in 2007.

South x Southwest (Pt. 2): Creme Clouds and Gringas

A metal die-cut plaque details the family roots of Columbus' Merion Village

As mentioned in my previous post, my coffee at Das KaffeeHaus was meant to put some caffeine into the system to get me fully awake for the day. It also had a secondary purpose of slowing me down so I could digest the rich Beehive Bite sweet treat that I had acquired from My Old World Bakery, an old-school neighborhood shop located in Southwest Columbus. By the time I departed the space, I was ready for some more exploring the city's south and west sides.

Tacos Twos-Days: Hass and Bakersfield

When I think of the concept of the food crawl, the taco is just about the perfect vehicle for an elongated effort. When I first got the foodie bug back in San Francisco, my first such quest was all the local taco trucks I could find within a week's period. Once I moved to Columbus, one of my favorite food related excursions turned out to be Columbus Food Adventures' Taco Truck Tour, which shined a light on something I hadn't expected when I moved over here but found quite exciting in Columbus' plethora of traditional taco trucks.

My first preference is almost always going to be the taco truck street taco, but being a fan of the taco concept in general, I like venturing into pretty much anything taco-related, whether it be traditional, fusion, or homemade (our own Filipino adobo shredded chicken tacos have become some our own dinnertime favorites.) This post covers two places I had been intrigued by for awhile in the northwest-based Hass Taqueria and the Short North's popular hangout Bakersfield.

Primos Carnales: Barrio (Cleveland) and Condado (Columbus)

What do you get in Ohio when you blend together fancified, customizable tacos, a good selection of adult beverages, and a restaurant space splashed liberally with Day of the Dead-styled motifs and similar decor?

You get restaurants like Cleveland's Barrio and Columbus' Condado.

The common denominator with these two kissing cousin eateries lies in one Joe Kahn. Kahn started up Cleveland's Barrio in 2012 in the Tremont neighborhood; its ncreasing popularity prompted a second Lakewood location in 2013. As it turned out, Kahn wouldn't be much longer for the Cleveland market after its opening, as he sold the rights to these restaurants to his partners with the intent of bringing the concept down to the Columbus area.

Since Kahn's departure, Barrio has since continued to grow, opening a third location at the 5th Street Arcades in the Gateway area of downtown right around (appropriately enough) Cinco de Mayo of 2014. Two-and-a-half hours southward on I-71, Kahn's Columbus-based Condado was setting up shop in the Short North, already the home of a very well-received and similarly fancy taco and adult beverage oriented Bakersfield.. Kahn opened the doors to Condado just over one year ago in November of 2014.

The interior of Barrio's Gateway location in downtown Cleveland

My first visit of these two eateries took place at Barrio at their newest downtown location. Sporting an outdoor patio area (perfect for casual dining in the warmer months) and a main dining area with a centralized bar area, it was evident that this eatery is a natural draw for some post-work libations for area workers: a steady flow of patrons filtered in after I took my seat at the bar area. Interior decor was dominated here by spiky-star light fixtures and a Day of the Dead mariachi band mural.

Condado sports its own festive interior at its Short North location

In contrast, Condado's interior decor is a bit more varied: what seemed to be a town fiesta mural dominated one side of the room, while the rest of the room was dotted with tilework, animal and human masks and skulls, and a large "Tacos Delicioso" sign. Here, the bar lies to the rear of the space; individual and longer bench-style tables, the latter featuring some neat swing-out stool seats, dominate the central area of the space.

Along with atmospheres geared for socializing, both places are equipped with adult beverage choices to help loosen diners' tongues. Margarita and tequila options as well as a good selection of craft beer on tap are available at both locations, with several handles devoted to local Ohio-breweries.

Like many similar restaurants, its easy to gorge too much on the pre-menu chips and salsa, and these are generally fairly addicting renditions. I also got the chance to try the basic guacamole at Barrio, which is both a notch better than most and a fairly large helping for the price paid.

Obviously, tacos are the main way to go at either of these eateries (though Barrio in Cleveland does now offer a brunch with a couple of non-taco items), and I imagine your decision will really be influenced with how hard you want to think. Both places offer both build-them-yourself or pre-designed varieties which they dub "Taco Suggestions."  With my first visit being to Barrio, I was dead set on mastering the make-it-yourself system, which is done with Scantron-like forms to mark off tortilla types, toppings and proteins.

The ordering forms at both reminded me of the Scantron forms
I used to take a myriad of exams at the college level

Though taco trucks are definitely my preferred source for tacos, I do like the opportunity to experiment with the multiplicity of options at both these eateries. In reality though, you as the diner are at least partially to blame if your combo doesn't quite work out taste-wise. Perhaps the best (and only) way to figure out what works long-term is through multiple visits and narrowing down what's truly appealing and what's merely ancillary.

In contrast, with my chances of dropping of Condado on any given day being a lot greater, I wanted to test out some of their items on their "Taco Suggestions" menu for future "don't want to think about it too hard" days. The pork-based "Poncho's Ghost" (a hard shell with pulled pork, red cabbage, onions and tomatoes, cheese and ghost pepper sauce) was the clearn winner from my batch of tacos, cementing my feeling from Barrio that the pork and flavorful ghost pepper sauce (despite the scary sound, this sauce's heat level is toned down a bit at both locations) are go-to items in future visits.

Experience with the taco ordering process at one of these eateries
will easily prepare you for dining at the other

In terms of other proteins, the chicken featured in tacos at both locations (at Condado, the chicken came with the Herve Villechaize, a soft shell taco featuring lettuce, onions, tomatoes, smoked cheddar, pineapple salsa and habanero mango BBQ sauce) was just a touch dry on its own but otherwise well-grilled. The story was similar with Barrio's chorizo: it sported less kick than I might have liked, but it was otherwise perfectly tasty.

The only quibble I have with Condado's vegetarian El Posada (featuring a flour shell, tofu, chipotle honey, jicama, queso fresco, salsa roja and pineapple salsa) was not so much with the taste (I appreciate that this option is on the menu; Barrio sports a similar item in their Saturday Night Live punnily-named "Curd Ferguson") but the size of the tofu. With the slippery interior, the tofu tended to come out whole from inside before I could bite through these big pieces. Perhaps I'll just have to try to master the art of eating tofu in a tortilla the next visit out, or maybe take a knife to cut those cubes to a more manageable size next time around.

Barrio
503 Prospect Ave (Gateway)
Cleveland, OH 44114
216-862-4652
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Condado
1227 North High Street (Short North)
Columbus, OH 43201
(614) 928-3909
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Cantina Chronicles: Local Cantina (Clintonville)

Open now for not quite two months, Local Cantina's new location in Clintonville is the third of this local mini-chain of casual bars serving Mexican-styled eats that strives, per its motto, to "Eat Craft - Drink Craft - Live Local."

My spouse and I had dropped by their first location in Grandview for a beer earlier this summer and got a taste of George Tanchevski's version of a neighborhood hangout (Tanchevski also is involved with other local establishments such as Aladdin's and Local Bar.) However, the new Clintonville location is the first where we were able to sample the edibles, during a visit with a large group of associates.

This location is somewhat smaller space-wise than its Grandview cousin; we found it can be a challenge during busy times to refill your bowls of free chips and salsa from their dispenser located in the far southeast corner of the room, or just navigate through the area in general. This space tends to be loud both audibly (a combination of normal conversation and the pumped-in music) and visually (the same quirky decor follows here from original Grandview location, with a mishmash of items crammed onto a smaller display area that does try to emphasize the restaurant's "Live Local" part of their motto to a certain degree.) 

Local Cantina has brought its Mexican-styled eats and a visually busy
decor to its new and quaintly-sized Clintonville location

Their "Eat Craft" portion is represented by a selection of Mexican-styled eats. Their basic taco options ($3 - $3.50 each) shouldn't be mistaken for their taco truck brethren, but they are decent fare to munch on while sipping your beverages. Out of the four varieties we sampled, the roasted carnitas with pineapple mango salsa was our favorite.

Local Cantina's Unibrow habanero poppers and tacos (top). Free chips and salsa
(bottom) are available to all; dips like the queso fundido (also pictured) are also available

Even better was their "Unibrow Poppers" appetizer ($4), which was something of a challenge/dare by our colleagues. These habanero poppers with jalapeno jelly were prepared well and packed a good dose of heat, but my spouse handled these fairly easily and was nowhere near asking for the complimentary glass of milk offered by the restaurant as heat relief.  Other than a this and other select appetizers and craft sides, other dining options include "Can-tizzas" (their take on a Mexican-style pizza), quesadillas, nachos and salads. Prices are generally pocketbook friendly, as no food item chimes in the double-digit range price-wise.

Local Cantina does do the "Drink Craft" portion of their motto pretty well: craft spirits are integrated into their cocktails and margaritas, and they offer a nice selection of craft beers (including Ohio-based breweries) both in bottle and on tap. On this visit, draft beer options from Columbus breweries like North High, Seventh Son and CBC were available, along with selections from Ohio-based Fathead's, Great Lakes, Brew Kettle and Jackie O's.

Local Cantina
3126 N High St (Clintonville)
Columbus, OH 43202
(614) 754-8554
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Pastoral Education: Charritos

This picture is proof that I am still learning new things about food.

The taquerias and taco trucks around my former stomping grounds of the San Francisco Bay Area were often good bets for a cheap, tasty and filling meal.  And without fail, I requested that at least one of my street tacos on every order were filled with al pastor, preferably the spicy variety.

Places like Taqueria San Jose in the San Francisco Mission District, or taco trucks like the Guadalajara Taco Truck (at the corner of Ohio Street by sheer coincidence) nearer to my home in Vallejo, would always be special visits, as I knew my taste buds would be dancing to a savory symphony of flavor.

I learned then that the places to get al pastor were those with a trompo, where marinated pork was wrapped around a vertical rotisserie spit and slowly cooked over a gas flame and sliced off by the cook when another order was received. No rotisserie spit meant you had little to no chance of getting the very best.

Since I have been to Columbus, I haven't really endeavored to sample street tacos in general, and frankly I don't know why.  On one early visit, I ended up at Taqueria Los Primos (I was actually trying to find Junior's Tacos at the time but was unsuccessful) and ended up with a variety of tacos, including al pastor (which was a solid version, from what I remember.)

In my first year of residence here in 2012, I made the grand trip over to the Columbus mecca of al pastor, Los Guachos.  And I admit, it wasn't what I was used to - the pastor, while juicy and tender, had a sweetish flavor which I learned came from their use of pineapple.  A pineapple was placed at the top of the spit to drip on the meat to give it a crispy, carmelized exterior, and a sliver of pineapple was included with the tacos themselves. I went away not necessarily disappointed, but perhaps a little confused because it simply was a taste profile I had not been expecting.

Forward to the present with Charritos, a newish Mexican restaurant located in the Arlington Pointe strip mall in Upper Arlington.  I had seen the "Now Open" signs driving by the area in the previous months, I had been craving something along the street taco vein in the past week or so, and my spouse and I were both on our own for dinner that day.

I walked in to a space with a few diners and very high ceilings; in fact, you had to crane your neck a bit to look at the main menu board overhead (thankfully, they had copies of the menu as well as a chalkboard with the daily specials posted next to the cash register.)

The only workers visible to me at the time were (I presume) the husband/wife co-owners of the restaurant, who were running around trying to keep on top of things.  That didn't stop the husband, a quite personable fellow, from chatting me up after I had walked in and surveyed their menu.  It looked like he had experience in food service in the past, as he fluidly from task to task while keeping his conversation going.

I was here for the al pastor no ifs, ands or buts. When I put in my order for four tacos ($6 plus tax) he mentioned that I should come in on Mondays, when they have a two for one al pastor special.  As I nodded my agreement, he shouted out some directions to his spouse and proceeded to assist another diner.  Soon after, he went to the trompo to slice off what looked to be some truly delicious pork.

My tacos all came with double tortillas with ample amounts of chopped onions, cilantro and al pastor. The al pastor?  Not spicy, but definitely closer to the versions I have had in California and quite tasty.  The red and green sauces that came with the order were nice renditions, both sporting the tang of vinegar and the green sauce bringing more kick.

Now here's he where the learning came in: I had not detected the same level of sweetness with Charritos' version of al pastor, save for the carmelized bits.  And I swore I did not see any hint of la piña in or around the trompo.  But yes, that first picture said otherwise - there on top is a large hunk of that yellow fruit, which helped with the nice carmelized exterior on these slices of al pastor.

More learning took place with my research performed by me shortly after my Charritos meal.  I found that pineapple use for al pastor was fairly common depending on the region in Mexico.  Also, I found that while there were places in the Bay Area that used pineapple for their al pastor preparation, it was a little on the uncommon side.

I think two future visits are in order.  One is a return trip to Los Guachos to experience their food with a mind more well-informed and a willingness to expand my horizons.

The second visit is a return to Charritos.  Yes, the two-for-one al pastor night sounds perfect for a truly tasty chowdown, but I look forward to sampling other menu intriguing menu items like the tlayudas, the cubacharrito torta, and the Oaxacan melted cheese appetizer) have me intrigued.  There is definitely something quite tasty cooking up behind these doors.

Charritos Mexican Grill
4740 Reed Road #103 (Google Maps)
Upper Arlington, OH
(614) 929-5866
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Food Trucks to the Second Power (Pt. 1): Stacey's Five Dollar Hollar

The Northern California food truck scene had long reached the maturity stage by the time had departed for the Columbus area late 2011. Well-established congregation areas for the new wave of food trucks such as Off The Grid were commonplace, while the old-school taco truck areas along International Avenue in Oakland and other Bay Area locales continued to chug along as usual.

Columbus' food truck scene has grown quite a bit since I've been here, and while it is still somewhat a work in progress, the momentum is there to make it an established part of the community. Regular events and congregation spots like the Food Truck Court in Columbus Commons and Dinin' Hall in Franklinton seem to be doing well.  In addition, a host of new Columbus-based breweries (another similarly exploding scene) have regularly scheduled food trucks to provide some tasty eats with their brews.   And similar to the Bay Area, Columbus has its own taco truck areas to boast about, concentrated mainly along the southwest and northeast quadrants of the metro area near the I-270 beltway.

Recently, I was on a rare day away from my usual lunch environs due to a doctor's appointment.  which meant I had limited time to dine.  Thus, my minimum preference was to find a place that both was along the way and where I could get fast service without it being traditional fast food.  Additional preferences would be to try a place I hadn't been to before and sporting something cuisine-wise that I hadn't tried recently.

My mind's gears were spinning as I was driving from the Ohio State main campus toward Upper Arlington when Stacey's Five Dollar Hollar, a food truck stationed at the corner of Kenny Lane and Lane Avenue, came into sight.

It definitely fit the first two preferences and would probably fit the third, provided it wasn't too busy.. In addition, I recalled from local media articles I read that their focus was a Korean/Southwestern fusion, and that boded well for my generally spicy-food loving self.  So why not?

Upon reviewing the menu, I saw that Stacey's had just about every quick grub thing you can imagine (hamburgers, gyros, french fries, mac & cheese, etc.) in addition to their Korean fusion items.  Their signature item seems to be "The Freak" sandwich, a hearty grub item where you can throw just about anything they have onto a 12" slab of bread (there's a twice-the-size "Super Freak" and the smaller "Freak Jr." available well.)  But today, I was determined to have Korean and ordered up two Korean Tacos and a side of onion rings (see, I told you they have just about anything) for $6.

As it turns out, you don't have to order "The Freak" to get a lot of food, because there was plenty in my tray for me to munch on.   As with anything touted as fusion, the amount of cuisine x to cuisine y is going to vary; in this case, the tacos were pretty much southwestern with a Korean tinge.  This ratio went more to the latter when I mixed in the small tub of Asian slaw and the very tasty gochujang salsa (tomato salsa w/Korean chili paste) into the tacos.

The onion rings were almost certainly not from scratch, but I do appreciate that option in general and they were fried up well.  In addition, there was a smattering tortilla chips thrown in to add a little crunch to the bounty.

Bottom line: even if the Korean ratio might not have been as high as I might've wanted it, I did enjoy my tacos and I did get quite a bit of food for what I paid.  The service I received was both prompt and friendly.    Overall, folks who are sporting both big appetites and somewhat tight pocketbooks could probably do a lot worse than grab a bite at Stacey's.

Stacey's Five Dollar Hollar
868 W. Lane Avenue (West Campus)
Campus Pitt Stop/Penske Rental
(614) 902-7013
Website

2017 Update: Stacey's Five Dollar Hollar food truck operations appear to be officially halted as of the end of 2015.  However, the related Facebook page still seems to be sporadically updated.