Traveling Feast

My new favorite taco truck in Spokane is adding a measure of authenticity in its daily special sheet.

I didn’t order the “Shrip Speasal” but took the spelling as a potentially positive indicator that English was a second language for whoever made the sign (and hopefully would soon be cooking my food). It turns out that Patty’s Tacos is turning out wonderful and quite authentic Mexican street  food despite the decidedly Anglo name and the dictionary difficulties noted above.

For the record, there are actually two different Pattys in the family that owns the truck: cousin Patty Pineda and sister-in-law Patty Ramirez.  Pineda was at the grill the day I stopped by and her Alambre taco ($1.25) approached the category of life-changing.  Think mini fajita with steak, grilled peppers and onions, and melted mozzarella on top.  Normally I would scorn a taco that didn’t come topped in more traditional Mexican cheese, but before you do the same, try Patty’s Alambre.  It was stunningly good.  The pork Adobada taco was also wonderful.

For those of you within driving distance of Spokane, put Patty’s Taco Truck on the top of your list.  The truck is open 10 am to 8 pm every day on North Division between Garland and Walton.

Headed up 101 toward Saratoga on Friday we took a culinary long shot on Mexican fast food in a spot that looked like it started life as a generic McDonalds, Wendy’s, or BK.  A little shabby now with window paint advertizing tortas and tacos in bright colors, the spot looked marginally better than the Fish-N-Chips option in a former Skippers across the street.

The name?  Senor Taco.  Our order?  Two super quesidillas (Brendan and Megan) , one chicken torta (Peter), and three Mexican tacos at $1.39 each for me.  A giant Styrofoam cup horchata to share.

Horchata, in passing, is a sweet milky drink that doesn’t actually have any dairy in it.  Served cold, you can expect to taste rice, almonds, and cinnamon in each swig.

The carne asada tacos were satisfying, the taco carnita was brilliant, and the super quesidillas were close to transcendent: think cheesy chicken fajitas in a huge flour tortilla.  The building might have been shabby, but the food turned out to be great.  Long shots can pay off big in the world of generic fast food.

We hit the road today – heading south and east from Spokane.  The destination today was Boise ID, and two days ago I stumbled across praise of a Mexican seafood spot in… of all places… a bedroom community of Boise called Caldwell.  The praise sounded credible, and so we skipped both the chain restaurants near our Boise Towne Center hotel and the upscale tourist spots in downtown for Tacos y Mariscos El Compa in Caldwell.  320 North Kimball Street in Caldwell to be exact: a good twenty miles east.

The signature ceviche on the menu, the Tostada Mixta ($4.99), was stunning with crab, shrimp, octopus, and fish all marinated raw in lemon juice and tasting impossibly fresh in the middle of Idaho.  The ceviche alone is reason for Tacos y Mariscos El Compa to develop a cult following, but also on the menu is a $2.50 taco de pescado (fish taco) that literally might be the best fish taco I’ve ever tasted.

I’ve never had a great Philly cheesesteak more the 50 miles from Philadelphia, and I assumed that the only credible location to find real fish tacos would be in Baja, San Diego, or LA.  Add to that list Boise.  Go figure.