10,000 TACOS®

Today on the show, I want to share with you the extraordinary power of tacos. Now, this is a kind of force that isn't visible to the eye. I remember as a kid, when I looked up the definition of work, it said, "Work is the ability to produce power!" Well, the power of tacos definitely requires some work, and this work manifests in numerous ways.

It's a force that's somewhat elusive, hard to ...

Today on this episode I want to revisit what carne asada means, as it relates to getting together. If you ever get invited to a carne asada consider yourself special. That event is seasoned and the experience would just make it taste better.

I also want to tell you what this mea...

Taco Freakin Holders  

Today on this episode we explore my opinion of taco holders. Not going to lie, I freakin hate them. I think taco holders are superfluous at best and colonial hierarchy at worst. But on this episode we’ll jus...

Welcome to the season finale of our podcast! This episode closes out a sazon of amazing conversations, topics, and of course, tacos. We’re about to wrap up, no pun, with some fun tasting insight from our hosts.   

We’ll revisit some of the good takes from this season, introduce a new guest host, and look forward to what’s coming next. Yes, new ...

It that time of year! If you look around you, almost everywhere you go, you will see festive lights, crowds gathering at Christmas parks, packed ice rinks, and, of course, tons of suckers, I mean, people at shopping malls. Yes, the holiday season is in full swing!

But there is another season that is in full swing. A type of activity that involv...

When I think of Mexican sports and athletes, I think of golfer Lorena Ochoa or boxer great Laura Serrano. Speaking of boxers, I think of Canelo Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez. I also think of the relationship Mexicans have with their futbol (soccer) greats. I don’t ever think of winter sports when it comes to Mexico and its athletes.  

Today on...

Today, we not only get to talk tacos, we also get to talk barbecue and where the two intersect. Today we speak to Joe Zavala from Zavala’s Barbecue.

Zavala’s Barbecue is in Grand Prairie, Texas. It’s owned by Christan and pitmaster Joe Zavala. Zavala’s, the barbecue joint, began as a backyard pop-up before moving into a brick-and-mortar in 2019.

...

Today on the show we bring you someone who studies TACOS, specifically the culture and food. As we’ve said before, “Tacos are bigger than us.” Perhaps no one knows this better than Steven Alvarez. A poet and professor at St. John’s University in Queens, New York, Dr. Alvarez hails from the small mining town of Safford in southeastern Arizona.  

Today on the show we speak to Ali Khan, a native of St. Louis. Ali Khan has been in food writing and showbusiness for a long-o time. He went to film school at USC. He’s written for L.A. Taco. And he got his big break in 2015 with the Cooking Channel series Cheap Eats. The show ran for five seasons and visited almost 60 cities in 40 states. Ali is currently the host of the Spring Baking Challenge on Food...

Tacos In Verse

This week’s guest infuses culture, food–which is culture—and Spanglish in inspiring ways. His work has appeared in chapbooks, anthologies, and the streets of San Antonio. He’s traveled the country to perform his work, including, most recently, Louisville, KY, where he won a haiku contest. He is the host of the Sunday open mic at Dakota Ice House in San Antonio, a native of Texas’ Rio...

Today’s show is a special one. We’re going to talk about one of Jose’s articles, specifically, his review of The Mexican, a fancy new restaurant in Dallas, specializing in—wait for it, yes, you guessed it—Mexican food.

But not just any Mexican food: Overpriced Mexican food with commodity tortillas and a $250 margarita named after a famous revol...

Today on the show, José and I welcome Martha Niño, a Silicon Valley veteran who has a good story to tell. It’s a story I’m very familiar with.

Beneath the Silicon Valley lies the Santa Clara Valley, which really should be called TACO VALLEY.

When I first met Martha, I referred to her as my Silicon Valley twin. 

Martha...

There is something magical about combining ingredients to make a delicious plate. It's like creating a work of art with every meal. And, just like an artist, you can use different seasonings to create different flavors.

For me though, the magic comes from watching others add a healthy dash of pepper, a muscle-memory pinch of salt, or blind handful of oregano to make magical ...

On this episode we talk with Jason Stanford, former chief of communication and community engagement for the Mayor of Austin, Steve Adler.

We speak to him about the Great Breakfast Taco War, the book he co-authored, Forget the Alamo, and other taco wars.

We begin with José telling us how Texans take everything personally. Especially as it relates ...

In our previous episode, we touched on the history of Cinco de Mayo. We also spoke a little more on the French and their ambitions to help, you know, Racistas del Sur, we mean the Confederacy. We also touched on the way some people celebrate this day, and dress up like a Mexican.

The nineteenth century was a year of almost constant war for Mexico. One of those wars was against the French who invaded the country because Mexico’s president, Benito Juarez, refused to pay its debts to France. Secretly, though, the French dreamt of expanding their empire, installing a puppet ruler, and then marching northward to assist the Confederacy in the Civil War.

Is a burrito a taco? 

Growing up in East San Jose, hearing the phrase "Neighborhood Watch" had a different meaning. It meant watching out for one another. Yet in some cases, it meant watching out for the cops. 

The announcement of the International Taco Council with discussion following.