Three Item Combo for Meester Ben

[Ben]

I am patting myself on the back today.

There's not a lot I miss about California, but one thing I really miss is Rudy's Mexican in Santa Barbara (going on the third generation of family running it when I left), where I used to always go for the three item combo of crunchy tacos (your choice of shredded beef or shredded chicken, mix and match) with a side of refried beans and rice.

These are not your Taco Bell, Taco Time, or Tacos Tacos Tacos Tacos Tacos tacos, with the premade dry and hard tortilla shell. While the shell is "crunchy", it's also still semi-limp so you can stuff it with stuff and not have it crack. And Rudy's always stuffed them full and didn't skimp on the meat and cheese - they were a handful. So Mexican crunchy tacos vs American style. I have never found them in Mexican restaurants or taco trucks here (and only rarely in CA, actually). Even if other stuff is authentic blue collar Mexican, they all still make the stupid tiny street tacos for hipster white people that give you a measly two bites and they're gone.

So anyway, I had such a craving that I decided to try and make them myself today. The meat and stuff is really easy, but I wasted five tortillas before  I figured out the right timing to get them "semi-soft but crunchy". While not exactly like Rudy's, I got pretty darn close, which I could tell from the grease dripping out of them as I ate them. 

My Mexican nephew in law taught me how to make the Mexican rice with the tomato paste last time he was here, so I had a pretty nostalgic experience for lunch today. The only thing missing was the owner's daughter ( who said the crunchy tacos were her favorite too) yelling out "Three item combo for Meester Ben!" when they were ready. 

Anyways, crunchy tacos are back on the menu boys!

[MillCreek]

If you have a good Mexican rice recipe we would all be interested.

[Ben]

It's a basic recipe on the rice:

Heat up a little oil in a pan.
Add a few slices of onion and a couple of garlic cloves.
Let them cook until you smell them.
Add a cup of rice and let it brown while stirring it.
Add two cups water.
Add a small can of tomato sauce.
Add some Knorr chicken bullion.
Bring to boil, then simmer and cook until liquid is absorbed.

[charby]

Corn or Flour Tortillas?

The small street tacos? I don't think they are hipster tacos, the 1st and 2nd generation Mexicans from Vera Cruz make them here all the time. So I'm guessing the small tortillas are from their home area.

I'm headed to Mexico for Thanksgiving time and 10 days after Christmas, I'll report back what the local eat at their restaurants in the neighborhoods off the tourist routes.

I'm checking out Mexico as a potential winter home in retirement. My Spanish is pretty weak but if I like it there, I'll be taking a couple semesters of Spanish at the local community college. I probably should anyways because I'm running into more and more Spanish speakers when doing my job.

[Ben]

Corn.

And they're hipster tacos because all the dumbass, progressive, democrat voting, birkenstock wearing, hire illegal nannies and housekeepers, "look at me I'm international", stupid dumdumdummedydumdum white idiots order them so that they can say how hip they are ordering real and authentic Mexican.

Then the taco trucks charge as much for three crappy tiny little tacos that don't come close to filling you up as they do for a ginormous burrito because of a bunch of moron "I went to private school" whiteys. In the meantime the actual Mexicans are ordering tortas and flautas because who can fill up on three tiny tacos?

[charby]

When I get street tacos here, they are usually overflowing with meat. 6" corn tortillas.

3 for $5 from either a cantina or a roach wagon, a side of beans and rice and I'm pretty satiated. Especially if you add a couple of margaritas on the rocks.

They come with a fork because meat falls out when you're eating it.

We got a joint here called LuLu's margaritas bar, owned by LuLu and her husband Luis. Most of the time I am 1 of maybe 5 gringos there, rest are latinos. More so after 7pm when locals are done with supper.

[K Frame]

You cultural appropriating bastard, you!

My absolute favorite tacos are fish tacos, but most of the places around here use tilapia because it's cheap.

It's also gross.

I always ask what kind of fish they use. If it's anything but tilapia, I'm having the fish tacos. If it's tilapia, I'm having the tamales (another of my absolute favorites.)

And, as always, I'm reminded of this... I have NO clue where it came from anymore, but it still makes me laugh.

Customer: Que tipo de carne es esta?

Waiter: Raton, Senor...

Customer: RAT? YOU SERVED ME A *expletive deleted*ing RAT?

[Ben]

You cultural appropriating bastard, you!

My absolute favorite tacos are fish tacos, but most of the places around here use tilapia because it's cheap.

That's another one I miss. In Santa Barbara, the Mexican places would get the fish straight from the commercial fishermen at the harbor, so stuff like fresh Mahi tacos were pretty commonplace, and a big difference over stuff like cod or whatever.

[charby]

Cod makes a pretty good fish taco.

I hate Pollock (churched up as Alaskan Walleye) for fish tacos.

[Ben]

Cod makes a pretty good fish taco.

Somebody from Iowa would say that. Don't you have to go make yourself a baloney, cheese product, wonder bread and miracle whip sandwich? 

[charby]

Somebody from Iowa would say that. Don't you have to go make yourself a baloney, cheese product, wonder bread and miracle whip sandwich? 

Aw the lunch of champions, missing the iceberg lettuce on it.

Seriously, north Atlantic fried cod is really tasty for a fish taco.

My favorite is trout that I just caught and cooked next to the stream I caught it and flaked into a fish taco.

[BobR]

Somebody from Iowa would say that. Don't you have to go make yourself a baloney, cheese product, wonder bread and miracle whip sandwich? 

Is the baloney fried or smoked? If it is I am down for that!!!


So the taco shell is actually more of a soft middle, crunchy edges type of thing? Mine come out like that quite often.

bob

[Ben]

Seriously, north Atlantic fried cod is really tasty for a fish taco.

I would guess that cod is the most common fish taco fish, especially at Mexican and run of the mill restaurants. When living or traveling on a coast, I used to always get my fish tacos at seafood places, which is where you would have the options of mahi and ahi and stuff.

[Ben]

So the taco shell is actually more of a soft middle, crunchy edges type of thing? Mine come out like that quite often.

bob

Yeah, pretty much - kinda softish at the fold. It works out great for leaving a pocket to stuff full of stuff without the stupid shell breaking in half.

[K Frame]

I doubt that many restaurants are serving up North Atlantic Cod these days. It's still in short supply and very costly due to fishing limits due to the lingering collapse of the cod banks.

Almost all cod sold in the United States today is Pacific Cod.

[Ben]

I doubt that many restaurants are serving up North Atlantic Cod these days. It's still in short supply and very costly due to fishing limits due to the lingering collapse of the cod banks.

Almost all cod sold in the United States today is Pacific Cod.

I'm sure that's correct. I don't know anything about cod past that it seems to be the most common beer battered fish in the freezer section. 

[K Frame]

North Atlantic Cod is wonderful stuff...

Fortunately, Pacific Cod is very, very similar tasting, so it's a good substitute.

[Brad Johnson]

We're in the heart of TexMex country but still have to endure the hipster street taco craze. Three Dorito-sized tortillas with craze-of-the-day meat and a drizzle of "Wonder Sauce!!". Meh. I'll head to Nora's or Montelongo's, two local old-school hole in the wall Mom & Pop places. For the same price, they they serve heaping plates of the real thing with a side of bottomless house-made tortilla chips and salsa.

Brad

[Ben]

We're in the heart of TexMex country but still have to endure the hipster street taco craze. Three Dorito-sized tortillas with craze-of-the-day meat and a drizzle of "Wonder Sauce!!". Meh. I'll head to Nora's or Montelongo's, two local old-school hole in the wall Mom & Pop places. For the same price, they they serve heaping plates of the real thing with a side of bottomless house-made tortilla chips and salsa.

Brad

That's what I'm talking about. You have to find the run down mom and pop places to get the "home cooking" stuff that fills the plate.

Sadly, I looked at Rudy's on the googles, and I guess the kids are expanding to multiple locations, including richy rich Montecito, where all the movie people live, and they are starting to look modern. The original Rudy's is in the run down part of town, by the 7-11 where the drunks and homeless hang out, and is (or was, at least) pretty run down looking inside, with 1970s furniture. Probably the majority of vehicles in the parking lot were trades people's pickups.

[Kingcreek]

We have 5 Mexican restaurants in our small town. One is mostly Americanized. One I haven’t tried. The other 3 are pretty authentic and family owned/operated and represent different regions.
My favorite one is a little family joint with just a few tables. The young son is the only one that hable englais. Everything is spotless clean and fresh. The mexican tacos are corn tortilla with onion and cilantro and choice of meat. I practice my espaniol and they laugh at me.

[BobR]

North Atlantic Cod is wonderful stuff...

Fortunately, Pacific Cod is very, very similar tasting, so it's a good substitute.

Back when Atlantic Cod was plentiful and I did a deployment to Keflavik Iceland I probably ate cod 5 times a week (or more). The galley had it at every meal and the USO did a fish fry weekly and then the Marine Barracks did their fish fry every Friday night. One of my top fish for eating, along with Ling Cod, Sculpin (and other rock fish) and Burbot.

bob

[K Frame]

Back when Atlantic Cod was plentiful and I did a deployment to Keflavik Iceland I probably ate cod 5 times a week (or more). The galley had it at every meal and the USO did a fish fry weekly and then the Marine Barracks did their fish fry every Friday night. One of my top fish for eating, along with Ling Cod, Sculpin (and other rock fish) and Burbot.

bob

So YOU were the cause of the cod wars! Trying to keep your hungry maw fed!

[charby]

I doubt that many restaurants are serving up North Atlantic Cod these days. It's still in short supply and very costly due to fishing limits due to the lingering collapse of the cod banks.

Almost all cod sold in the United States today is Pacific Cod.

Well that explains why I haven't seen it for sale in fish tacos for quite a while.

[Ben]

And I had mahi mahi tacos for lunch just now. Kirkland frozen mahi, which is not comparable to fresh, but it's not bad for what I can get in potatoho. 

[RocketMan]

Speaking of mahi mahi, the restaurant inside the Honolulu Armed Services YMCA used to serve a killer fried mahi mahi dish back in 1976 or so.  Dang was it tasty.  I used to drop by there just for that dish.