The Vitals: the spot: Johnnie's Beef 7500 W. North Ave Chicago Il 60707 the eats: Italian Beef sandwich ordered "wet and hot" the bucks: $5.32 the full nelson: a local's favorite for Chicago's most revered sandwich

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The Vitals: the spot: Cuantos Tacos 108 E 12th St, Austin, TX 78702 the eats: Lengua, Buche, Cachete, Suadero, Carnitas, Longaniza, Champioñes - basically all the tacos but in that order the bucks: $2.50 a taco - 5 will do you right so plan on $10 a person the full nelson: the best "street tacos" in Austin TX

*Cuantos Tacos has moved since I first wrote this story. Updated address is listed above Tacos in Austin are different. When I moved to Austin in the summer of 2015 from LA, my first late night tipsy thought was "where the cheap street tacos at?" Sure you have spots like Las Trancas and if you start looking up north or down south, you start to find the spots where "La Gente" be at. You know, where everyone orders in Spanish. But street tacos are not what Austin is known for, especially for those who dwell outside of Austin's city limits. For better and for worse, it's the breakfast tacos of Torchy's and Taco Deli, the diner style Tex Mex barbacoa at Mi Madres and the loose interpretations of tacos you find at Tyson's Tacos, like the Pork Belly with Mandarin orange, that define Austin's taco scene. And as for the oh so celebrated taco truck turned brick and mortar, Veracruz All Natural? While they hit the right notes of an Abuela making tacos for you when come you home after school, they most certainly miss the mark when it comes to getting late night street tacos on the cheap. Then I discovered Cuantos Tacos and the Austin taco scene changed. And it was on accident. (more…)

ACL Eats is as a big draw as the music is for the Austin City Limits Music Festival. My last post was all about burgers and this one  . . . is all about the tacos. Now Austin has a rep for "keeping it weird" and some of the more noteworthy do just that. Torchy's Tacos rethinks comfort food in a tortilla, East Side King brings you Asian street food in a tortilla and Taco Deli slings it farm to table via a tortilla. Still, out of 5 taco offerings at ACL Eats, only one is straight up street tacos. A bit surprising, even for unconventional Austin. So which taco took the cake? Read on and find out! (more…)

The Austin City Limits Music Festival, or just ACL, because that's just a whole lot easier to say, is just about fav thing to do in Austin. Wandering around the gorgeous grounds of Zilker Park with Austin's downtown skyline in the background, beers in hand and amazing music at every corner, makes me feel like its Christmas Morning - my wife calls ACL "Christmas for adults". As if that wasn't enough of a reason to go, there is also the draw of ACL Eats: a diverse lineup of Austin's food scene that makes for just about the best food court you can go to unless you are somewhere in Asia. Last year I posted a day by day play by play of my adventures eating at ACL. This year, thanks to Sandee Fenton from ACL's media team, I received a media pass and went in deep on a mission to taste the competition by categories. If you haven't figured it out by now, this post is all about finding the best burger at ACL Eats. Yeah, a full on burger battle royale and the winner is . . .  well, you're gonna have to get through this post to find out! (more…)

The Vitals: the spot: Leroy and Lewis 121 Pickle Road Austin TX 78704 the eats: Barbacado, pulled hog, beef cheeks, barbacoa the bucks: $20 a person for a hefty plate, $12 for a respectable lunch. the full nelson: why Austin is the capital of bbq in the 21st century

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The Vitals: the spot: Rosita's Al Pastor 1911 E. Riverside Dr. Austin TX 78741 the eats: Al Pastor Tacos the bucks: $2 a taco the full nelson: An Austin fav for Al Pastor tacos

Austin has a big rep for being a taco town, especially when it comes to breakfast tacos. As far as other tacos go, that statement needs some sense of bearing. Coming from Los Angeles, I feel confident in saying that Austin is not an Al Pastor town. That being said, there are a few spots to scratch the trompo itch and locals will tell you that Rosita's Al Pastor is one of them. (more…)

The Vitals: the spot: La Casa del Playa Tikinxic South End Bahia, Isla Mujeres Quintana Roo Mexico  the eats: enormous plates of shrimp ceviche, Pescado Veracruzano, Pescado Tikinxic, even my kids pasta was off the chain! the bucks: $10 a head, the Tikinxic is $15 a plate, that's also a kilo of fish the full nelson: this is the kind of place that makes me want to move to Mexico

Maybe it's the almost two thousand miles that separates me from Cancún, but looking at these mouth watering pics from my meal at La Casa del Playa Tikinxic, well, it makes my mouth water. And probably yours too, if you possess even the slightest appetite for fresh seafood. (more…)

The Vitals: the spot: Golden Brown & Delicious 1269 Pendleton St. Greenville SC 29611 the eats: Smoked Fish Bagel, Burger, Fried Chicken Sandwich, really whatever you want the bucks: $10 or less, not including fries the full nelson: the restaurant all the chefs in town were talking about

It's been almost two years since I walked into the doors of Golden Brown & Delicious but the memory of the smoked sable on a toasted bagel dressed to the 9s certainly does linger. And being featured on an episode of Best Thing I Ever Ate only adds fuel to my fire of needing to post about this spot to the world. If you caught that episode of Best Thing I Ever Ate in June, you saw that the deli spirit is alive and well in America. Still, I'm quite happy to save my bagel noshing for New York City. Russ and Daughter's is a personal fav of mine and I know I am not alone in that sentiment. But exceptional bagels happen outside of Gotham, just ask anyone in Greenville SC. Yes, I said Greenville SC . . . (more…)

The Vitals: the spot: The Goat Mafia 625 N. Alvarado St Los Angeles CA  the eats: Goat tacos(birria and cabrito) the bucks: $2 the full nelson: goat tacos dressed like they were served at a top tier restaurant. And for $2 a pop.

Tacos can be delicious in so many ways. They can be authentic street renditions that make you feel like Anthony Bourdain traipsing through Mexico City. They can be horribly Americanized, served in a crunchy shell filled with ground beef, shredded lettuce and cheese and still draw deep admiration from a loyal base(gringo and Latino alike). They can be fancy/pricey and still satisfy the soul because meat and tortilla fill the belly at any price point. (more…)

The Vitals: the spot: Mr. Menudo 15323 Atlantic Ave Compton, CA the eats: Menudo the bucks: $9  the full nelson:  a full on Menudo only specialist working the streets of Compton CA

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