All You Knead1466 Haight StreetSan Francisco

Me and my friend found ourselves on the Haight after a tattoo session at Braindrops and decided to catch a grub after words. We decide to forge the usual pizza and burrito joints and look for something new. Which is how we came upon this spot.

There is mad seating in this joint and the service is aight. I started off with a PBR (effen hipster) and ordered the roast beef sandwich with a bloody mary to boot. That piece was brought out on a 7" toasted sweet rool with a onion and tomato combo that tasted alot like pico de gallo. Sooooooo gooooood. and the bloody mary, while not a Zeigiest BM, was pretty good. I gotta feeling I will be making a few trips back.

Torta Real 13th and taylor

Its been a while since Ive blogged. Havent really com across anything new, after a while all tacos start tasting the same. Last Friday i was on a solo lunch mission craving for a phat steak, i made some wrong turns driving around and gave up the steak craving. I ended up rolling down 13th street, I saw a Mexican Super Market called El Sol and saw a big sign saying TACOS, and my taco craving begun. I pulled in parked my ride and walked inside the store asking for tacos, dude at the register directed me to the taco truck parked outside a little mexican lady was in there i didnt notice she was there at first. I scoped the menu and saw they had a whole array of Tortas (mexican style sandwiches), I'm not into tortas to much so i went for the tacos. Each taco cost $1.50 and basically they give you meat and a tortilla. They have a little salsa bar with lemons, red sauce, green sauce, cabbage, and jalapenos with carrots. My order was called and when i got my tacos i noticed they were not the tiny ones but 2 full size tortillas and alot of meat. I dressed them up with some green and red sauce, sprinkled some cabbage on top and began the attack. First bite is always the best bite, you know wheter you should continue or you made a huge mistake. I wash shocked, my taste buds were dancing the meat in these tacos was some of the best meat ive tasted in a long time (no gay jokes please). It was tender and not dryed up like some taco places tend to be. I was in love. I totally recommend it. I gotta try a Torta one of these days to see how those are.

Puerto Azul Restaurant1072 Lincoln Ave, San Jose, CA 95125

I use to frequent this joint up the street from here that shall remain nameless, Tlaquepaque, they serve good food and a gift from the gods called a Chavellas. Then the place went all facist on us, rules rules rules, they seemed to come up with a new one ever week. No seperate checks, No alcohol till one order, no seating till everyone in your party is there etc. etc etc. not to mentian that their service was suspect.

Well along comes Puerto Azul. This place has one of the friendliest staffs i've come across. Always on top of things. ready to refill your drinks, hook you up with more salsa and chips, willing to put up with your drunken party with a smile, solve algebra problems for the kiddies, answer lifes questions and so on. you get the idea.

I'm not going to sit here and lie to you the tacos and the burritos are your average fare. but just about the rest of the food is off "le hook", as ze french would say. I've had the Ceviche for dinner. This is not your traditional style ceviche. This piece was soup bowl size big. Massive prawns in cooked in lime juice with onions tomatoes and a ring of cucumbers. Sooooo good. Of course my dum ass thought that wouldnt be enough, judge from other place of gotten this at, I ordered 4 carne asada tacos, which were q-ed up outside, ON A GRILL. with a side of grilled onions and peppers.

I've also devoured the Chicken Enchiladas In Mole Sauce, and as the Gay Volture would say "Dalin they are to die for."

Be sure to peep out their lunch buffet. Ceviche for days kid!


Enchiladas In mole Sause

Chavellas Suck It Tlaque!

Enchildas Get Their Close up.

Omogari Korean 154 Jackson St San Jose, CA

GAAAAAAAAAAANGSTA!

Chavez Supermarket2327 Mckee Rd.

that's right! i finally hit up Chavez Supermarket for some Tacos. i was warned that the price per Taco was about $2.50 a piece, and they were right. so i was bored last night and decided it was time to hit up Chavez Super. i walk into Chavez and order one Taco de Carne asada..just to give it a shot. they give me my Taco and i take a seat to enjoy the mountain of a Taco i was given. luckily they give you two tortillas because the Taco was piled with CARNE!! i put some of the food on the other tortilla and start to put the grub on. the meat is cooked just right and loaded with flavor! they put beans in my Taco too but, that was optional. I should have orderd two because that was one mean Taco. i will definately hit this place up again...next time i'm going to get 2 Tacos though. hey, even cooler, i killed two birds with one stone...i did a lil grocery shopping after i ate my Taco. :)

thanks for the tip Frank!

Tacos Al Carbon1733 Story Rd

Yo! whaddup parrrdy people!? long time no blog, eh??
well, since my partners in crime have fell off the face of earth, i guess i'm the last man standing. don't think i was slackin in my mackin though...i was scopin out spots to throw the grub down!! i took some recommendations and hit up a spot i was familar with. Yo, Paul, what was the name of that place again? sorry, you know my mind is cloudy...but yeah, i'm lookin to blog that spot next!

so, let's get down to business!
Tacos Al Carbon has been a long time resident of San Jose's very own East Side. you can't talk about the legendary Story and King roads without mentioning Tacos Al Carbon. it's been a late night spot for years, and if you don't know, now you know! me and my buddy Mike were going to hit the town in search of some fine featherd females and good times, when my other homie Darlene calls me up. she tells me, "Danny and Raphael ditched me!! those fuckers went to Portland without me!!"...after i laugh that one off, i ask her if she's down to chill with me and Mike. she's game...so, we all head out for a night on the town. after a lil bit of driving around we decide it's time to get some munchies. we searched around and landed at Tacos Al Carbon. we get seated and they hand us the menus. upon inspection i notice the prices on the menu...jeebus this place is pricey!! $13 duckets for a shot of cognac...$30 for a sixer of Coronas...$3 bucks a Taco...are you guys nuts!?! well, Darlene reassured me that the price was because of the atmosphere...that's pretty much what you're paying for here. the place is big, nicely decorated and LOUD! they either have live mariachi, a live band or both. the place can get jam packed so its actually pretty cool if you're looking to parrrdy like a mexican! the food was actually good, and i got a good laugh seeing two guys being serenaded by the mariachi..ahahahaa. i asked Darlene to be a guest blogger for this place, so here is her run down of Tacos Al Carbon...

Darelene:
It was a couple of Fridays ago at about 11:30pm. I was chillen with my homie CRISPYPATAS and one of his boyz. We were Downtown, ready to get our drank on when all of the sudden we get a wiff of some good smellin tacos. We're on South First Street and as all of you San Jose'ers know, there isn't a taqueria, taco truck, or taco stand in sight. We can't get the aroma outta our heads. So, plans start taking a drastic turn, for the good of our stomachs. Gettin our drank on now takes a back seat to the hunt for some late night grub.

Our late night mission leads us to the King and Story area. We take a quick look around as we're driving and decide to head into and old school spot called Tacos Al Carbon. We walk in, seat ourselves and soon notice two guys in the corner, gettin serenaded by mariachis. It seems kinda odd to me but the waitress distracts me with a menu. As I open the menu, I notice that the prices are pretty steep and I only have a twenty on me. So, I order two tacos, one of carne asada and the other of carnitas at a pricey $2.95 (due to the homemade tortillas).

As we’re waiting for our order, we notice that we haven’t been offered chips and salsa and staring and laughing at the two guys getting serenaded again. I ask CrispyPatas, “Hey, do we get free chips and salsa here?” He doesn’t seem to know, so he asks the waitress first if they are free and we get an order since they are. The salsa is has a good flavor and has a decent amount of heat. This place is really loud and we’re yelling at each other, acting like we can hear what each other says. It was a atmosphere though.

Our order is served promptly. The guys get their orders (Super Burritos) before me. That wasn’t cool. I finally get my tacos. They look and smell good, served with onions, cilantro, and chile on top and a lime on the side. I comment to the guys “My tacos look really big” and Marcos asks if that is all I’m having. From what I can see, two tacos were just right. They were packed with meat and did I mention the tortillas were handmade...yeeaaaah! These tacos were worth the price due to the amount of meat, the spices and the tenderness of both the asada and carnitas.

**sorry no picts of the place at this time...the outside is under reconstruction and i cant find the pict of the Taco...grrr...**

Aloha Kitchen1041 E Capitol Expy

Whaddup parddy people!? I scoped out another spot for all you foodies out there. This time around I hit up some Hawaiian Cuisine. Where you ask...Aloha Kitchen, that's where!! I seen this place the first week they opened...about a year ago. I walked in around 11:45 and checked out the inside. I had looked over the menu while I was there and everything sounded so tasty! I spoke with the manager and he took my email addy down to send me a menu via email. i had already eaten twice before i came, so i picked up some Hopia, just to try it out. That Hopia was damn good!! it was like cocnut jell-o, but way better...i highly recommend you try some.

Fast forward a year later and I'm hearing good things from a few people that actually ate there...some cousins, and a few friends from Hawaii that were staying out here in SJ. My Hawaiian friends even gave this place two BIG thumbs up. So, I made it a point to visit the place myself and blog it!

Last friday, after running an errand, I was driving around looking for a place to put the grub on. I was close to Aloha Kitchen, had my camera in hand and decided it was time this place got blogged. So I enter Aloha Kitchen and order up some Breaded Mahi Mahi, Fried Shrimp and Chicken Katsu. While I'm waiting for my grub one of my cousins who told me about the place walks in...very good sign! My order is up and they gave me a styrofoam plate (there is a reason behind the foam plate, check their website for more details!) loaded with 2 big scoops of rice, a scoop or macaroni salad, and a bunch of deep fried MEAT! the portions were way worth the price...it's like they were trying to fatten me up for Thanksgiving or something! The Mahi Mahi was on point, and so were the large shrimps. I didn't know Katsu was fried as well, or I would have ordered the BBQ Chicken. The Katsu was great, but it was too much fried food for one sitting. I had to give my cousin half of my chicken, it was so big! Check out the amount of food in the pict, and the prices aren't bad either for the amount of food they give you. They also give you tartar sauce and some teriaki-ish type of dipping sauce, both were excellent compliments to the food. I am mos def going to hit this place up again and again and again. Here is a link to their website...Aloha Kitchen...check it out. They even have a spot out in San Leandro. Oh, one other thing I forgot to mention, they're open til midnight...in case you get them midnight munchies!!

look at all that FOOD!!

El Taco De Oro Some Random Ass Street In Alviso

Ive been hearing about this Taco Truck for years, literally. I was really beginning to think the damn thing was an urban legend. That is until today. Jesse here at work brought up the joint and I said "Fuck it, lets see what all the hype is about".

I cant even begin to tell you where this peice is at because we made some many rights and lefts that I lost my sense of directions, but when we got there it was all worth it.

I ordered 4 super tacos de carne asada. Them the meat is cooked just right, not that like that stuff that borders on gum like quality you get at other joints. They came topped with cilantro, onions, sour cream, and shredded cheese, which set that shit off. i washed it all down with an ice cold mango Jarrito. Just one word somes up this place, LEGIT!

Las Tinajas 2338 Mission Street, San Francisco CA

Have you ever found yourself in the City By The Bay and wondered "Is there such a thing as spanish speaking asians?" on top of "Where can one feed a cow size hunger?" Well today is your lucky day cause I know a place where you can kill 2 birds with one stone!

La Tinajas in the Mission is just the place you are looking for. This Nicaraguan joint is run by a Chinese speaking couple it it fuckin holds it DOWN! Youd think they have a cattle ranch out back judging from the amount of carne asada being ordered and the massive portions they hook you up with. Bistro introduced me to this spot a few years back and it has become one of my favorite joints in the City. I usually oreder the Carne Asada Estilo Nica. Med rare. The plate comes with a heart helping of beans and rice, fried bananas, a carmelized banana and a salad, which on this trip i was not hooked up with, but no matter cause i couldnt finish the damn thing. Bistro odered something similar but it came mixed with pork and beef and the same fixens. He got his salad. Bastards.

Notice Something Missing? Yeah Im Still Bitter.


Someone got there salad. DAMN!


Deserts off the hizzy.


So are the drinks.


Guess what guitar Im buying when I start my band.

Meng's BBQ3309 San Felipe Rd

oh, you thought i was done, huh!? nope! i have another post for you foodies! This time around it's Meng's BBQ. yeah, Mengs, like when Manolo from SCARFACE say, "Aye, meng...i want my name on the back of chics asses". anyway...let's get on with the show.

so, i'm driving around downtown Evergreen looking for a bite to eat. I am sick of fast food, so i'm looking for something good. i couldn't find anything that tickled my pickle, so i call up manang Chrystelle. "Aye, sexy manang", i say. "i need some food for my belly, where should i eat?!" manang tells me i should hit up Mengs, since i'm in the area. i get the directions and mosey on down to Mengs. this place is a real hole in the wall, but as soon as you walk in you're greeted by an elder manang with a big smile and the smell of fresh Philipine food. the first thing i spot was a tray loaded with pancit...my favorite!! well, next to shanghai, pancit is my favorite Philipino food. (is it philipino, or filipino?! idunno.) my tagalog is limited to words like bomba, sexxxy manang, mamone, puto, and some other words which i dont know the meaning too...see what happens when you work around a bunch of crazy filipinos!! hahaha...ok, ok...anyway...so i go for what i know...i order some pancit, and some BBQ meat on a skewer. i take my food to go and hit up my secret lunch spot. (see photo below for the wonderful view i get while eating lunch) i get to my spot and proceed to inhale said food. i thought it was beef, but it turned out to be PORK! well, that pork sure was good, cuzz i smased both skewers!! the pancit wasn't as great as i thought it would be though, but that's me. i got spoiled when my ex-company would have pot lucks and someone would bring in some homemade pancit. i think the next time i go here, im bringing some filipino folk with me to help me order. there's nothing but manangs behind the counter, so you know the food is authentic. i just never seen orange pancit...usually its white. they did throw in some lemon, so they know whats up. i dont know of many Philipino spots besides Goldylocks and JollyBee...so it's kind cool to find a nice lil spot. if any of you know of a good Philipino spot, let me know...i have a hankering for some good pancit.

the grub a dub dub

my spot...not yours.

Taqueria Lorenas854 N 13th St

Whaddup parddy people!!?? Long time no Blog!
Well the wait is now over! Here's a fresh post for all you foodies.

About 10 of us went to Disney on Ice this weekend, and right after the show, we decide to hit up Taqueria Lorenas. "Cool!" I said. I had my camera and a nice appetite, perfect way to get my Blogg on. This was my first time eating here, so I didn't know what to expect. They have a pretty nice sized menu, with a large variety of meats to choose from. The Tacos are $1.48 each...not too bad. I had my kids with me, so I order them both a chicken quesadilla de harina (flour). I ordered my self 3 Tacos...1 carne asada, 1 lengua and 1 CHORIZO! The Tacos were served up with chips on the side. They have a salsa bar, but they asked me if I wanted everything on my Tacos, so they put the chili on it themselves. The meats were not bad, nothing speacial, but not bad. The lengua was a lil bland for my taste. I do have to point out that they threw in large chunks of RED onion on my Tacos. I like onion, but not so much. They also threw a buttload of chili on my Tacos. All that extra onion and chili really made my Taco experience a bad one. The onion and chili taste stayed with me until the next morning. I should have orderd my Tacos naked, since they have a salsa bar complete with lemon, cilantro and onions anyway. Other than that, the Tacos were not bad. My son was so busy playing with his cousin that he forgot about his quesadilla. I wound up taking it home and eating it the next day. The chicken inside that quesadilla was pretty good. I can see myself coming here again, but now i know how to order my food when i do.

Beer available everywhere excepthardcore muslim nationsand parts of utah

The Nectar Of The Gods...Now if I have to write a review about one of my top three favorite things on earth, im a gonna throw a bottle at you...and it wont be empty...just kidding...it will...cheers!

Taqueria Cancun2288 Mission Street San Francisco, CA

Whos that gangsta wearing glasses?

Ah Taqueria Cancuns...A diamand in the ruff is what i would venture to call this place. An thats not stretching it either. The Mission late night is Gnarlssssssss. Bistro and I happened upon the place once back in September but being that I was in a drunken stupor I didnt remember much about the spot other than the grub was FUCKIN AMAZING. Let me repeat FUCKIN AMAZING. i cant tell you how much i was craving for a burritto after that first encounter...well i got my chance this last friday.

The Bist and I found ourselves on the Haight around closing time and decided to catch a grub at this place, being that i was pretty sober compared to the last time we where there, i knew i would have a better opinion of this place.

We strolled up after having searched high and low for a parking spot, which almost takes an act of God to do in the City. The spots has one of the loudest decors on earth, your assualted with like a million colors the second you walk in. That and the sound of Mexican beats coming from the juke and the smells of the grill cooking up some marvelles grub.

I went ahead and upgraded my burritto this time to a wet burritto (no racist jokes here people, Im brown and proud beatch!) The carne asada is grilled to perfection and wrap in a store bought flour tortilla with all the trimmings and then the burritto is thrown on the grill once more, for what? dont know dont care. It is then topped off with off with enchilada sauce, melted cheese, pico, crema, and guac. Scarfed that bad boy down in seconds and washed it down with a modelo. damn!!!! The chips and sauce...if you forget to ask for some your playin yourself. top 10 material saucewise.

Oh almost forgot to bring up the natives. You get an assortment of characters at this location, there are three, well at night anyways. The thugs, hustlers (me), pimps (me), hippsters (JRNO) and trannys (JRNO) and so on. Shit we got to see some cat hang cuffed, layin on the sidewalk, surronded by cops, in a pool of his own blood! Hows that for realness!!!

La Virgen watch over all.

Sliders1645 W San Carlos Street San Jose CA

When we first agreed to change our tacoteam blog to the hungry Hungry Hippos, Crispy Pata suggested that he was going to blog Sliders...my response? FUCK ALL THAT. Thats my joint. It was a race against time to beat PatasUno but me and Bistro represented kid!

This place is run by Koreans and let me tell you they can hold it down burgerwise son! Hey Clarks. Kirks. You should come down, these cats hold clinics everyday. There menu consists of burgers, steak sandwiches, chicken sandwhiches and the such as well as some rad extras like my personal fave fried eggs.They use only the freshest quality meat and their condiment bar is second to non. They have this rotating grill going that cooks them bad boys up lovely.

I odered the 8oz combo with chilli cheese fries and a hienieken. I had them throw a fried egg on my burger for a bone more. What?! how much was this meal fit for a king? 8 bones playa. Beat that Clarks. So mossie your bellys down there and judge for your self. Oh and they sell fried chicken too.

La Guadalajara Market #11661 Alum Rock Ave.

Ok, my last post was pretty heinous. To make up for it I decided to scope out a more familiar spot. La Guadalajara is an old school spot in San Jose. It's been around for years. They offer many different Mexican staple dishes on the menu including Tacos, Burritos, Tamales, and chili rellenos but, I was here for Tacos.

They have a pretty big selection meats, all in front of you so you can see what's going into your Taco. I ordered up 1 Taco de Asada and 1 Taco de chili colorado and my cousin orders 2 Tacos de carnitas. We took them to go, and when the lady asked me if I wanted "con todo" (with everything), I kindly replied, "si, en la lado por favor" (yes, on the side please). I get home and open up the box to find my Tacos intact, salsa on the side, and ready to eat! The carne asada was on point, chopped just right, and very tasty! The chili colorado was chunky, tender, and flavorful too! The Tacos also come with rice and refried beans, making this a very hearty Taco. If you don't like beans and rice, you can ask them nicely and they won't put it in there. My cousin made the mistake of eating twice before he came, so he couldn't eat his other Taco. No problemo cuzzo...I got your back! So, I smashed that Taco as well. The carnitas were on point too! For $1.99 a Taco, you really can't go wrong. Two Tacos are like a meal wrapped up in two tortillas. (each Taco is wrapped with two store bought, but tasty, corn tortillas) I would highly recommend this spot if you are looking for delicious, fairly priced, Authentic Mexican food. The service is excellent, and pretty fast too! Great spot for lunch!
look at the size of these bad boys!
nice selection of meats and foods
they sell many authentic Mexican products too
they also carry Pan Dulce, in case you want a lil something for the sweet tooth! :)

La Esperanza Market1201 E Julian St.

Ok, people...not every place I review is going to be a good one. Here is a perfect example. I walked into La Esperanza Market looking forward to some dollar Tacos but, I was stopped dead in my tracks when I witnessed something very terrible. I saw the cook chopping some meat, turn around and whack that same knife on the edge of the garbage can. my first thought was, "OMG Chase, that's freakin naaassssty!!!" I turned tail and hauled ass outta there. I don't care if that can was used solely for Taco scraps, that's just bad practice. That was a BIG NO-NO in the food industry...the cook might as well have been smoking a cigar while prepping the Tacos. Eat here at your own risk!

Taco Bell

Whaddup people! Your boy is back with another round of Taco Posts. The Taco Blog appears to be neglected but, that's not the case at all. I've been gathering content for the Blog in the meantime so, I'm back with a few places to speak on. Oh, last night I added a new pict and some info about La Toluquena #2. It's a must see! Now, let's get this started...

You should have seen this one from a mile away! For this post I decided to review the one, the only, Taco Bell. Why, you may be asking? Simple..Thee name of this establishment has the word Taco in it and I had to put it to the test.

Let me clear up one misconception about Taco Hell..I mean Taco Bell. This is NOT authentic Mexican food. You will NOT find Mexican Pizza's, Enchurritos, or Chalupas south of the border...sorry to bust your bubble. This is the Americanized Fast Food version of Mexican cuisine. You can find a Taco Bell in almost any part of the good ole' U.S. and A. They're basically a chain restaurant like Mickey Deez, Burger Kang, and KFC. If you're looking for authentic, quality Mexican food, you might want to refer to one of our other Taco posts.

The Tacos at Taco Bell consist of a crunchy Taco shell, "just-add-water-ground beef", shredded cheese, and shredded lettuce. You have a choice of Hot suace, Fire sauce, or Mild sauce...each one comes in a tiny lil packet. This Taco tastes like a Taco, it even looks like a Taco that you see on a box of El Paso Taco Shells. They're not too bad, but it's nothing like a real Taco from a local Taqueria. They do offer soft Tacos but, they come with a flour tortilla, not corn. flour bad, corn good. Taco Bell is sorta like a guilty pleasure for most people. You know you shouldn't be eating it, but sometimes it does the trick. You can go ahead and eat here if you don't care about the quality of food you put in your belly...I'd rather have some real Tacos though.

Hungry Hungry Hippos

So... as you can tell, it's been dead for a while. It's not that we don't like tacos anymore it's because we eat other things besides tacos. Our passion for food has inspired us to turn a new leaf in the history of the The Great Taco Blog. We have officially converted the Taco Blog into (drum roll please...) HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPPOS! Yes, we will now blog about all the different food encounters we have in our travels near and far. We think this will add diversity and new weekly content to our beloved blog. So stay tuned and come along with us on our adventures in food.

Btw... in a few days the URL of the Taco Blog will change to hungryhippo.blogspot.com

El Grullense1175 E Julian St # 5

Some of you might be saying, "It's about time!" Others may wonder why. El Grullense is like the 7-11 of Taquerias in San Jose. They're everywhere, literally. There is about 3 or 4 (maybe more) within a 5 minute drive from my house. El Grullense (or El Grullo as many have dubbed it) has been around for as long as I can remember. Does anyone know what a Grullense is? Last name maybe? I've eaten at a few of them during my lifetime. Today I will review just one.

This Grullense sits in a lil shopping center on Julian and 24th, right next to San Jose High School. This one has been there for a while too, not sure how long though. I came here for the sake of the blog. I already know where my money will be well spent, but I like to live dangerously.

I walk up and order my usual...1 Taco de Asada, and 1 Taco de Lengua. Before I could walk into the spot, I got a call from my daughter...she wanted me to pick her up, so I took my Tacos to go. I took Bistro's advice and asked for the salsa to be put on the side, "please". (remember your pleases and thank yous people, you'd be surprised how far being simply courteous can get you!) I sat down to wait for my Tacos and snapped a few picts of the inside. The place is well kept, nice mural on the wall and even has a jukebox to bump some rancheras while you eat. My Tacos show up a few minutes later and I'm off. After going to pick up my daughter and driving home, I open up my plate to find that my Tacos are in perfect condition. No greasy wet mess, no soggy Tortillas..just warm Tacos waiting to get sexy for me. So I dress up my Tacos and dive right in. The Carne Asada was a lil fatty, but had a nice flavor. The lengua was cooked just right and also had a nice flavor. The price tag wasn't too bad...I paid $2.80 for that late night snack. I wish the Asada wasn't as fatty as it was, or I would recommend eating here. I would recommend this place after suggesting somewhere else first, but that just my opinion.


Tacos all dressed and ready to go.


the layout of the place, not bad.