Tag: verde

Food Truck Review – TacoNMaye (Georgetown, TX, Cedar Park, TX – Austin, TX Area)

Oh how I love food trucks! My very first review was on Cedar Pork – a lovely BBQ joint for carnivores that served up this heat-seeking vegetarian with some deliciously spicy breakfast tacos. I discovered a new one this morning – this one comes onsite Thursday – Sunday during breakfast and lunch hours at Cedar Park’s Red Horn Coffee and Brewing and yes, it does serve great breakfast tacos! (Doh! Another breakfast taco review!).

Breakfast tacos are a favorite of mine (well, duh!), but they are not a commodity by any means. Each place cooks and serves them differently. There is so much variety, it is impossible to make blanket statements. And while there may be a wrong way to cook them, there is no right way in how a breakfast taco comes out.

It’s all about:

  • How the eggs are cooked (if there are any)
  • How the beans are cooked (if there are any)
  • How the potatoes are cooked (if there are any)
  • How the tortillas are heated
  • What kind of tortillas are used – flour, corn, wheat or some fusion
  • What other ingredients are added (onions – grilled or plain, tortilla strips – grilled or plain, Jalapeno peppers, type of cheese, etc.)
  • And last, but certainly not least, the spicy salsas and sauces that come with it!

So that said, a breakfast taco is like a snowflake in that no two are ever alike. And with me, Heataholic, I just cannot get enough breakfast tacos – no matter how great the ones I am fortunate enough to try, I just like to keep trying more of them!

Onto TacoNMaye...Literally translated, it means “delightful or badass tacos.” TacoNMaye is a Mexican food truck, started in 2016 by a chef Carlos from Coahuila, Mexico. Don’t ask me how to pronounce it (is it “Taco-N-May”, “ta-CON-may” or something completely different) – 18 years and counting in the wonderful state of Texas, yet sadly, the only Spanish words I can muster are “Hola”, “Gracias”, “Por Favor” and numbers from 1 to 10! Slacker, I am, but I am so grateful to my Spanish-speaking friends for providing me the backup, so it’s one less thing on my plate! TacoNMaye is based in neighboring suburb, Georgetown, TX, but their truck comes to the Red Horn Coffee and Brewing Company in Cedar Park, TX.

Note: Red Horn is an alcohol-serving bar (what other kinds are there?), and as of the date of this post, bars in Texas are still officially closed due to COVID-19, but there are loopholes by which many can operate, such as if a food establishment is right by it, i.e., a food truck. Don’t ask me all the rules and regulations – I’m not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV, and half the time, even I can’t decipher what the rules are – I just play it safe! Net-net: The TacoNMaye food truck comes Thursdays to Sundays typically during 8-2 PM, with more limited hours on the weekend, but double check the hours with Red Horn as these can vary and change, and once the restrictions are lifted, it may not come there, but you can always go Georgetown to enjoy.

TacoNMaye’s logo is that of a very happy man in a sombrero jumping with joy! One taste and it is easy to see why! For a vegetarian spice addict like me, TacoNMaye offers Potato, Egg and Cheese breakfast tacos which are so overflowing that the tortillas can barely contain them! So many of the core three ingredients, but let’s not forget those highly delectable grilled onions and tortilla strips. But relax, lunch-lovers! They also offer (for vegetarians) grilled veggie tacos, chips and salsa, and chips and queso blanco.

And now…the SPICE! There are four kinds of salsa they have. Two are average in heat capacity, while the other two are an adventure for your mouth! All four are made in-house, so you know they are fresh. The regular (red) and verde (green) salsas both have good flavor, but the other two are the true treasures (alliteration!) for heat-seekers far and wide.

First, the orange sauce – given its bright orange color, one can only assume this has a strong Habanero base. A quick sample taste and this is confirmed. There is likely some sea salt, vinegar and garlic mixed in, among other things. Then, there is the cream, almost-beige-colored sauce. It, too, has a Habanero taste and kick, so given this taste and the color, my gut feel is that it is the other bright orange sauce, with possibly sour cream or mayonnaise mixed in (it has a creamy texture too). I just need to verify if I’m right on this.

Both these salsas go great and provide a spicy kick with their Potato, Egg and Cheese tacos and illustrate again why some of the best food can be found in small, unheard-of places, like food trucks!

Details:

Spicy Flavors:

  • Orange Habanero Sauce
  • Light orange, creamy Habanero Sauce

Personal Faves ((since this was my first time, I will likely add to these after repeat trips):

  • Potato, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Taco
Potato, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Tacos – so much overflowing goodness. I love those grilled onions!
Just looking at this (especially in mid-September) makes me think about football! Like an offensive line, going Left-to-Right, you’ve got the Orange Habanero sauce as your Left Tackle, the two Verde Salsas as your Offensive Guards, the regular red salsa as your Center and your creamy Habanero sauce as your Right Tackle. The only question remains is – Where’s the Tight End? Hmm….

Spice on, my friends!

Restaurant Review – Santiago’s Tex-Mex and Cantina (Round Rock, TX – Austin, TX Area)

As I sit at home on this wonderful Sunday before Labor Day, on one hand, I look back on 2020 – so far, 8 months have been completed, 6 of which have been under the duress of COVID. March and April we were under quarantine, then things slowly started reopening and to this day, we have to wear masks. My favorite sport, college football, is a shadow of its former self – conferences like the Big 10 and Pac-10 have shut down for the season, while others (including my own graduate alma mater’s Big 12) have now postponed games yet another week. My own kids are in virtual classrooms, wondering (as their parents are) whether things will ever go back to normal. Pretty depressing, huh.

Well, yes and no. On one hand, this has truly been a year for the books (and we’re only 2/3rds of the way through!). On the other hand, though, this pandemic has been a blessing in disguise. First off, after a rough 2019 (from a work and health point of view), I got to spend much more time with my family. It was a great way to rediscover and reconnect with them, after a very tangential relationship the year before, due to work-life balance, or near-complete lack thereof. It also allowed me to really think things through – my own life, my career and what I want to do, both in the short and long haul. In fact, I will venture so far to say that were it not for the pandemic and the extra pensive time it gave me, Heataholic may not have been born. And this pandemic has also given me the ability to speak to other companies and I recently accepted an offer with one of them, in what I hope will be a better experience, at least for the near future!

So, in short, while things this year have been, well, …challenging, I have a lot to be thankful for (and still 2-1/2 months to Thanksgiving where it all becomes formalized!) – family, friends, health, finances and so many little things. While I have always known this, Heataholic has really allowed me to parse my memory and what is around me fully to realize just how blessed I am to be surrounded by so many good places to eat and how fortunate I have been to have eaten in so many wonderful places in my lifetime. When there are so many out there less fortunate who often struggle to eat every day, I am thankful that I have the ability to be close to and the means to have so wonderful options for the meals I can consume and then live to tell about them.

And with that, I move to one place I am so grateful for having opened in my neighborhood – Santiago’s Tex-Mex and Cantina. Santiago’s is a newcomer to my neighborhood. It opened up in the summer of 2017 and our family has made great use of it! Due to both its convenience, its freshly made food and for your truly, its ability to provide more than adequate heat, Santiago’s is our go-to place when we need either quick and delicious takeout in response to our weekly schedules of work, kids’ activities and the normal stresses of everyday life or when we simply want a nice family dinner without driving too far and have a craving for some delicious Tex-Mex! The inside is average for a typical Tex-Mex in suburban Austin – TVs galore, nice Southwest decor and a full bar. With COVID, unfortunately, we haven’t had much of a chance to enjoy Santiago’s in person, but still order takeout, usually once a week.

And yes, Santiago’s does serve breakfast tacos, but only on weekends and we’ve never been there during that time, but rest assured, it will happen soon! So in this review, I will review their core Tex-Mex and why I, Heataholic, love it. Simply put, it’s the salsas!

Santiago’s provides 4 different kinds of delectable sauces, and while two of them are not spicy, all four of their flavors are something to rave about! For me, it doesn’t matter what I eat – I just get enough of my favorite sauces! Lots of carnivorous items on the menu at first glance, but they can customize everything. I usually go either for either a Quesadilla with cheese, mushrooms and pico, Cheese Enchiladas but with a substitute sauce (any of the ones I’ll be discussing), Enchiladas Vegetarians, Veggie Nachos or the Veggie Fajitas. And of course, who can forget the endless chips and salsa!

The salsa, my friends, is why I love Santiago’s! Simply put, there are 4 kinds of salsas you can have:

  • Regular Salsa – comes with every basket of chips
  • Chipotle (Diablo) Sauce – the spiciest!
  • Green (Ranchero) Sauce
  • Creamy Jalapeno Sauce

The regular salsa is what comes with every basket of chips and you can always ask for more. It isn’t obscenely spicy, but does give a good kick, and together with chips, is a great prelude to an even better meal. Freshly made every day, it provides a robust blend of tomatoes, onions and green peppers to enhance your taste buds. And those green peppers are so finely cut – as I’ve stated before on different posts, the greater the surface area of your spicy items, the more intense the spice!

The Chipotle (Diablo) sauce is just as it name says – it is diabolical! Yours Truly can handle it with ease (had to insert that shameless pitch!), but it can pack some heat! Fire-roasted chipotle peppers with a hint of smoke comprise this creamy, reddish-orange sauce. I often get this on the side or as the topper on my cheese enchiladas.

The Green (Ranchero) sauce lets you taste the fresh peppers, onions and vinegar that comprise it. Like the regular salsa, not obscenely spicy, but does have a good kick.

Last, but certainly not least is the Creamy Jalapeno. In Austin, anytime anyone mentions creamy Jalapeno sauce, the first thing that comes to mind is Chuy’s! And yes, Chuy’s is awesome (don’t worry, they’ll get their own post soon enough!). While this does not have the “addictive” and ubiquitously known characteristics of Chuy’s famous sauce, it is its own masterpiece. More creamy than spicy, you can still taste the Jalapeno flavor as it stands out.

Every time I go to Santiago’s, I make sure to get all 4 of these salsas and they never disappoint! It doesn’t matter which entree I go with – these sauces are a great addition.

In due time, I will try their breakfast tacos, but given the quality so far, I know ahead of time it won’t disappoint!

Details:

Spicy Flavors:

  • Regular Salsa
  • Chipotle (Diablo) Sauce
  • Green (Ranchero) Sauce
  • Creamy Jalapeno Sauce

Personal Faves (I will likely be adding breakfast tacos once I try them!):

  • Cheese Quesadilla with Mushrooms and Pico de Gallo
  • Vegetarian Fajitas
  • Cheese Enchiladas
  • Vegetarian Nachos
  • Enchiladas Vegetarians
The Regular Salsa – just look at all those fresh peppers, tomatoes and onions (both regular and green)! So thick, so chunky, so spicy, so delicious!
The other three salsas – (Top Right) Creamy Jalapeno, (Bottom Left) Ranchero, (Bottom Right) Chipotle Diablo. Also on the upper left is the Pozole sauce (not really a favorite of mine, but wife and kids love it!).

Spice on, my friends!

Food Truck Review – Cedar Pork (Cedar Park, TX) – Alternately, Why I Love Food Trucks

Food trucks – what an innovative concept! I love food (well, only good-tasting and spicy!) and the concept of being able to make, serve and sell it in a vehicle is just too cool – even in today’s high-tech world where anything is possible. If your customers can’t come to you, you can go to them. For aspiring restaurateurs, this can be a great way to get started without investing a ton of capital in potentially expensive markets and real estate therein.

Many cities have come to understand this too, and you start to see “food truck trailer parks” opening up all around. Even my own Austin suburb of Round Rock has a large food truck park, dwarfed in comparison to Austin, but formidable for sure. And as I write this, the U.S. is still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, so food truck restauranteurs need not worry about enforcing social distancing guidelines as all their customers are take out ones (although food truck parks often have open seating for their customers)! Food trucks also provide a way to highlight some very unique cuisines and/or dishes (with limited menus) which may not have the large market (and therefore, sustainable revenue) to justify the need to open a full-fledged restaurant.

Food trucks, in fact, have become so popular that even the Food Network has a show (The Great Food Truck Race) solely dedicated to them.

Net Net – I love food trucks (as long as they serve great food) and will review them whenever possible!

Today’s review is on a food truck I heard about by chance called Cedar Pork, adequately named for its location in adjacent suburb, Cedar Park, and its pork-centric menu. You normally wouldn’t find too many reviews on Heataholic about places like this, because Yours Truly is a vegetarian, but as I’d mentioned in one of my earlier posts, the key to being a Foodie and Spice Connoisseur is the art of finding treasure in hidden spots. And Cedar Pork is no exception to that rule – in fact, the food I tasted was an absolute gold mine – spicy, fresh and tasty – not adjectives a spice-seeking vegetarian typically uses to describe a BBQ-based restaurant. Finding this treasure made me feel like a pirate who’s found his loot – ARRRRGGGGGHHHH!

Make no mistake, however. Cedar Pork is not a pure BBQ food truck – actually it is a hybrid “Smokeyard and Mexi-grill” as they call it – 50% Tex-Mex, 50% BBQ, 100% DEELEECIOUS! A first glance at the menu may make the average vegetarian cringe and say “No thanks”, but as you all know – I am NOT the typical vegetarian!

Oh yes, Cedar Pork is a carnivore’s safe haven, but use a little creativity and dig a little deeper, and there’s more than enough to offer this heat seeker. Namely, the breakfast tacos, which are served ALL DAY! In case you haven’t noticed, I LOVE places that serve breakfast all day – especially when breakfast tacos are involved!

For heat seekers, Cedar Pork has its own aptly named “Torch Breakfast Taco”. I had to get it without the Chorizo and Jalapeno/Cheddar sausage, both of which likely would have made it more spicy, but Cedar Pork left everything else in place and gave me extra onions and Jalapenos. I got two Torch’s and a Potato and Egg breakfast taco (their beans have a meat base so I could not order bean and cheese) with Jalapenos, onions and cilantro, for some variety. Also, when asked for hot sauce, they gave me both their Verde and regular salsa (neither of which is explicitly on their menu – see why it pays to ask these things!). Altogether, a fresh explosion of flavor, taste and yes, spice. Neither of their sauces was uniquely spicy in and of itself, but poured over their freshly made tacos, made for a great, heated meal!

Goes without saying (but I will say it anyway!) that Heataholic will definitely be visiting Cedar Pork again! And next time, I will try some other options too – their queso, cheese quesadillas with mushrooms or the Sauteed Mushroom taco.

And here’s to food trucks – may we see more of them!

Details:

Spicy Flavors:

  • Verde Salsa (you have to ask – it’s not on the menu)
  • Torch Breakfast Taco

Personal Faves ((since this was my first time, I will likely add to these after repeat trips):

  • Torch Breakfast Taco (without the meat)
  • Potato and Egg Breakfast Taco
Some carry the torch, but I eat the Torch!
Potato and egg breakfast taco with added onions, Jalapenos and cilantro.
Two Verdes and a Salsa – one per taco! But I tried to include both types in each for that added kick!

Spice on, my friends!

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