We’ve made this LA Times Al Pastor recipe twice, once for camping and once for a party.  The great thing about it is you can make it in advance and heat it up later!  You can even cook it up in the oven and then shred it and put it in your crock-pot to keep it warm for a long partying night.  The crock-pot is the secret to having the taco bar open and ready for the guests all night long!

This is an adapted recipe from Raúl Morales for the oven by the LA Times. I used a variety of dried chilies from a Mexican market (or Whole Foods).

Al Pastor Recipe

(Party-Size Recipe Serving for 20-30 people)

Marinate for 24 hours

• 6 California chiles
• 2 Ancho chile
• 2 Guajillo chile
• 2 Cascabel chile
• 2 Chile de árbol
• * I just used a whole variety of about 3-4 different kinds of dried chiles, some of the above and some others.
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 cups orange juice
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 3  teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 tablespoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon achiote (seasoned achiote paste * for color)
• 2 onions, sliced thin, divided
• 10 pounds boneless pork shoulder or butt, cut into 15 chunks
• 1  pineapple, peeled, sliced 1/2-inch thick,and cut into quarters

Boil the dried chiles and bay leaves in a pot for 5 minutes.  Then remove the stems, seeds, and bay leaves.  Place the hydrated chiles in the food processor with the orange juice, pineapple juice, white vinegar, cinnamon, salt, pepper, garlic, garlic salt, oregano, and achiote paste (optional) and blend until smooth.

Cut up the pork into 15 chunks and place in  resealable plastic bags (we used 3) and pour the marinade over top and marinate for 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Heat the oven to 350F.  Use three, 9″x13″ glass baking dishes or two roasting pans.  Place the cut up pineapple on the bottom  of the baking dishes and the onion slices over top.  Then place the marinated meat chunks over the pineapple and onion slices but make sure that the meat does not come up above the sides of the baking dish or roasting pan.  Cover the pans with foil and bake for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours until meat pulls apart easily.  It took our meat with three pans in the oven at once about 2 1/2 hours.

Note from Recipe Online: Put the meat on a rack in a baking pan, baste it with the pan juices and place under the broiler to crisp the edges of the meat, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook for a few more minutes.

Remove the meat and let it cool enough to be able to pull it apart.  Then place the shredded meat in a crock pot to keep it warm.  Slice up the pineapple and onion slices to mix-in with the shredded meat. Set up your toppings for the taco bar and go to town!

Another Slow-Roasted Pork Taco Recipe from the NY Times (less ingredients & quicker to make).

Henry’s is a Santa Clara University favorite.   They have the greatest breakfast burrito around.  After trying many others about town, we fell back on Henry’s great tasting, awesome tater-tot filled breaky burrito!

Henry’s Fresh Mexican Grill

787 Franklin Street Santa Clara, CA 95050-4930 - (408) 249-2922

Long time San Joser’s told us to include Burrito Factory in the San Jose Burrito challenge. They instructed me to try the chicken burrito.  I have to say, I didn’t try this one yet.  By the time we got to Burrito Factory last October (open until 10pm), it was closed.  So this weekend we finally got the chance to try it.  Everyone was griping thinking for some reason it would be a chain like Chipotle.  It is not a Mexican chain like Chipotle, even though it is in a strip mall.  However, they do have four locations in the San Jose area.

The food was good and we liked their salsa which had some good heat (you purchase the chips and salsa).  I got the crispy tacos with steak and el pastor and they each got a Chorizo breakfast burrito.  John said it is now the second best breakfast burrito in San Jose.  His first favorite breakfast burrito in San Jose is from Henry’s Fresh Mexican Grill in Santa Clara because they put tater tots in their breaky burrito!   The staff was really nice at the B.F. we tried on Camden.

We know the food is made with vegetable oil because a friend with allergies called and talked to them about it.

Zach: Good. Good service. Salsa was good.

Lesley: It was pretty good.  We need to go back and try more things on the menu to really see what we love there. But my tacos were tasty, particularly the shell.  I like more stuff on my tacos so I would probably get a burrito next time, a super burrito!

One of the yelp reviews says, “Ignore the hippies and enjoy the food!”  We did notice that the owners of the Cafe were very aware of the Saturday night rowdiness and were attentive to the interesting dinner theater performance occurring around us.  They said it was particularly rowdy that night, I don’t doubt it.

This is not your big burrito, beans made with lard, oil drenched nachos kind of Mexican spot.  Cafe Campesino is a bit different than your typical Taqueria.  It is located in a small kiosk on the sidewalk in downtown Santa Cruz in front of New Leaf Grocery Store on Pacific.  It serves such dishes as Mole, Cactus, Gorditas, and Frida Kahlo Spicy Tomato Soup.  We had the Mole Plate, the Tinga Plate (Chipotle Sauce on Chicken with Potatos and Beans), Frida Kahlo Soup (Tortilla Soup) and a Pollo Big Taco with Spicy Guacamole, tomatoes, and potatoes.  Even though this is a casual kiosk, all of the dishes are lovingly presented on ceramic plates.

Tues.-Thurs. 11:30am-7:30PM
Wed.-Sat. 11:30PM-9:00PM
Sun.- 12-7PM
Closed on Mondays

1130 Pacific Ave
Santa Cruz, CA 95060-4581
(831) 425-5979

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?cid=6485828850245878238

Lesley: I really liked my tortilla soup because of it’s temperature, crunchy chips, and avocado and sour cream on top.  The soup was especially nice on a cool fall evening as you order your meal at the kiosk and sit at tables outside on the street.  I felt full and healthy after this dinner.

John: The Mole plate was delicious because of the Mole.  The chicken was not cooked with the spice, so if you are unlucky to get a bite of chicken without the sauce you would be disappointed with the lack of flavor.  Thankfully, there is a proper amount of sauce waiting for you to mix it with the chicken, beans, queso, and hidden tortilla/crepe-like savory thing hidden under the chicken and sauce.  The Mole was fantastic, with a good amount of heat, multi-layered flavor, and a just right amount of chocolate/cocoa to round it out.  If you’re escaping Silicon Valley in Santa Cruz, try the Mole.

Also, the people performing on the street were quite amusing that evening, expounding on a variety of topics ranging from race relations to the fallacy of organized religion.  When we left, I thanked them for the evening’s entertainment, to which they replied that we should come see them in Berkeley.  Perhaps we will, I hear there’s good food up that way.

We went camping at San Simeon on the Central Coast over the weekend and after five straight camp cooked meals we decided to give the cast iron a break.  I googled/yelped the best tacos in Morro Bay and found the Taco Temple.  The aspect of Yelp that I dislike the most are the EXTREMES in reviews.  You guessed it, the Taco Temple reviews perfectly exhibited this love & hate by many. The hate-reviews seemed to be mainly about a let-down from the hype and the fact that it wasn’t authentic Mexican cuisine but rather fusion which the haters may not be open to or may not have experienced this style of cuisine in the past.

I have to say we were psyched to have found this California meets Mexico fusion restaurant because it was a little different variety than our usual CA taco truck and taqueria burritos and tacos.  We put our name in and were seated pretty quickly knowing that the wait was a good sign. The tacos were huge and were served with fresh, crispy-clean multi-colored veggies piled atop perfectly seasoned and cooked steak, carnitas, or fish.   Their portions were larger and one taco was perfect for me for lunch and I was glad that I didn’t order two.  A friend ordered the blackened Mahi Mahi burrito and said it was very good and even saved the other half for dinner.  Three different kinds of salsas are served on the side: fire sauce, chopped jalapeno salsa and a medium salsa.

The Buoy is a bar located near the Taco Temple on HWY 1 and looked pretty interesting when we drove by.  So after hanging out at the beach we decided to stop in for some drinks.  We were excited to see $7 pitchers of Pabst and High Life ($2 for 14oz. PBR & HL) as well as peanuts in the shell and two pool tables.  I wouldn’t call this bar a dive bar for its dark, dingy interior because it is actually nicer than that on the inside but maybe because it seemed to be mostly frequented by locals.  Locals stopped by for a drink or two throughout the night ranging in age from their later twenties to into their fifties but it was by no means busy.  The greatest part of The Buoy was the fact that they allow you to bring your own meat and grill out on their back patio. Coincidentally we had brats and corn on the cob with us and so we stayed for dinner!   The owner even stopped in and asked if everything was cool.

Both Cash Only

Taco Temple
2680 Main St
Morro Bay, CA

The Buoy
2940 Main St
Morro Bay, CA

Lesley: I would go to the Taco Temple once or twice a month for a craving worthy dinner if I lived closer! I often miss this style of Mexican fusion at a half affordable price where I live.  I would go back in a heartbeat.  The deserts looked great too including self-named “killer” carrot cake, caramel flan, warm chocolate bread pudding, tres leche cake, and candy bar cheesecake but I didn’t get a chance to try them.

Zach:  I ordered a carnitas and a chili verde taco and both were delicious.  The carnitas were somewhat crispy which was really nice and the chili verde was excellent as well.  It was $8 for two tacos but well worth it due to their size and deliciousness.  They were almost too big to eat with your hands considering the amount of meat and toppings.  The lettuce and cabbage added a nice crunch to the tacos.  All of the ingredients worked well together.  The Buoy bar was a nice surprise as it was cheap and friendly.  The drink prices were about as cheap as you’ll find anywhere in California if you can find it.  The bowls of peanuts in the shell were great because I’m a peanut lover from way back.  It was fun getting to grill out at the place and eat brats and sweet corn in the corner of the bar.

Once in a while when a couple of us here at BIOTF get some free time on a nice day during the week we like to head out to one of California’s many beautiful beaches.  Last week John and I headed up Hwy 1 to San Gregario beach just north of Pescadero.  A while back we had stopped at Duarte’s Tavern to check out the artichoke soup, which was decent but pricey, so on the way out we stopped at the gas station across the street to fill ‘er up with some tacos.  Pretty much what you would expect a gas station/taqueria to be.  If I recall correctly the tacos ran about $2 a piece and came with a decent amount of meat for small tacos.  The people behind the counter were friendly and the service was good.  The meat is always pretty tasty, but the salsa in the salsa bar is seriously lacking.  The Pico de Gallo seemed a little old as the vegetables in it were almost completely white from the juices having run out of them.  The chipotle salsa was just ok; nothing special.  All of the bottles of hot sauce also happened to be empty, which was kind of disappointing but not a deal breaker for me.

Zach: I ordered al Pastor and Chile Verde pork tacos. The Chile Verde was nice and tender and had a good flavor.  The al Pastor was nice and crispy and had a bold flavor that I really liked.  I’d recommend getting some tacos to go from here and taking them to the beach right down the road for a nice beach front dining experience.

Lesley:  I found out about this taco joint from a New York Times article entitled, ” Chasing the Perfect Taco Up the California Coast” by Cindy Price.  So we drove over one day and got some good tacos.  Later on I did a workshop over at the beaches near Pescadero and took students to de Amigos.  A couple of my adult students just loved it and emailed about a year later asking for the name and location again.  I think it is pretty tasty!

John:  As always, I’m the last to comment on these things.  At de Amigos I had the Lengua, al Pastor and Carnitas tacos.  I must admit that the Lengua, or tongue for those who are unfamiliar, was actually some of the best that I’ve had.  My hypothesis is that the “strange” (to us gringos) meats sit longer at taquerias and therefore are served beyond their “serve by” dates.  Hence, at de Amigos the Lengua may actually get eaten enough that it is more fresh than at taco joints in Santa Cruz.  All the meat was made well and tasted great, but I must agree with Zach about the salsas.  Perhaps mid-week, well after the lunch rush, they are not too concerned with the quality of the salsa, but “fresh” vegetables drained of all color does not a delicious salsa make.

Roadtrip: “Chasing the Perfect Taco Up the California Coast” By CINDY PRICE

(650) 879-0232

A friend turned me onto these quick eats for lunch, Primevera Tamales from Whole Foods, after I had told her about the Trader Joe’s frozen macaroni and cheese.  They are really tasty with hot sauce as they are pretty mild but with a great flavor.  I would strongly recommend them as I usually don’t love tamales because of their bland taste, but do love these.  I like the Roasted Green Chile & Jack Cheese Tamales and you can buy them at Whole Foods, Andronico’s, the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market in SF and other groceries in NorCal.  They are in a refrigerated case at the end of an aisle, usually near the salsas (try Casa Sanchez Mild Tomate Verde Salsa too, it is tasty: www.casasanchezfood.com/parent.htm).

www.primaveratamales.com
www.casasanchezfood.com