By Kevin Finch on July 19, 2009
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.
Posted in dining, play | Tagged adobada, alambre, burrito, Division Street restaurants, Jonas Lopez, Mexican, Mexican street food, Patty Pinedo, Patty Ramirez, Patty's Taco Truck, Patty's Tacos, restaurants, shrimp cocktail, sopes, Spokane restaurants, taco, taco truck, taco trucks, torta |
By Kevin Finch on October 20, 2008
The Wall Street rollercoaster and bleak job numbers have me worrying about how well my favorite restaurants will fare over the coming months. In the best of times, even good restaurants can struggle for a number of reasons; and in a season when the economy in constricting, I’m starting to triage my dining budget.
Rather than spend increasingly precious dining dollars exploring new spots, I think I may need to focus on the places I am certain I want to see in business ten years from now. I call this my ‘recession restaurant list’ and for the sake of simplicity I’m going to say that such a list can’t include more than ten places.
Here are the first four in my completely subjective list for Spokane (not in any specific order):
- China Garden on the South Hill across from Shopko on Regal. Chef Raymond consistently serves up quality Chinese with a Hong Kong twist, house-made sauces with no MSG, and crisp vegetables. Cashew Chicken. Braised Tofu. Honey Walnut Prawns. Chow Mein with Hong Kong Style Noodles.
- Moxie in the heart of downtown on the north side of the Davenport. Ian Wingate is one of my favorite chefs in town and Moxie’s Asian/European menu is solid from top to bottom. My favorite Hot Turkey Sandwich on the planet is on the lunch menu. The Poké is wonderful and a full list of my favorite would basically be listing most of the menu.
- Luna on the back of the South Hill at the top of Hatch Road. Chef Anna Vogel loves her ingredients and that delight has brought the spark back to this 15-year pioneer in the upscale bistro market. The space is also a gift – warm and inviting. Lunch. Brunch. Weekday coffee and savory pastries. Dinner. And a massive cellar that show William Bond’s passion for vino.
- Tacos Tumbras Taco Trucks. The sit-down location on Sprague is just fine, but for a real taco that promised to transport your tastebuds south of the border, find one of the trucks around town. Order several tacos or the wonderful Mexican answer to the hamburger: the torta. Maybe I’ll suggest all my favorite restaurants buy mobile kitchens in the hopes that this will lower their overhead and make them recession-proof.
While I decide on my other six in Spokane and start a second list for Coeur d’Alene, I’d like you to weigh in with your recession restaurant list for the Inland Northwest or your neck of the woods.
[caption id="attachment_181" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="A Taco Tumbras Chicken Torta straight from the truck"]
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Posted in culture, dining | Tagged Anna Vogel, China Garden, honey walnut prawns, hong kong style chow mein, hot turkey sandwich, Ian Wingate, Luna, Moxie, poke, Raymond Kong, recession, recession restaurants, Spokane restaurants, taco, Tacos Tumbras, torta |
By Kevin Finch on July 3, 2008
BEFORE: Our first stop after checking out of our Portland hotel on our way to Seattle will be breakfast at, get this, a waffle stand called Flavour Spot on North Lombard. Tacos have been something of a food theme coming up the coast, and the descriptions I’ve read of these FS waffles suggest that here might be the perfect breakfast taco… we’ll see.
AFTER: We came, we ordered, we ate. This original Flavor Spot (they recently opened a second) sits in the corner of a video store parking lot. You would most assuredly miss it if you weren’t looking specifically for it and had some idea that it might not look like your typical breakfast ‘spot.’
We arrived at 9:45 a.m. and got in the back of the line that included a woman with two young charges, several couples, and a group of twenty-something guys with serious tattoo art. Less than $15 bought breakfast for four: a $2 plain butter and powdered sugar number for Megan, a $3.50 Nut Fluffer for Peter (peanut butter and mallow fluff), a $3.50 S’more Waffle for Brendan (more mallow fluff and Nutella), and a $4 Sausage and Maple waffle for me. Each came folded and wrapped like a taco.
The single picnic table next to the stand would be less inviting in the rain, but for a memorable start to the day this would have to rank fairly high on the list. I would suggest trying on of the savory and sweet combinations on the menu like the Sausage Maple or the Ham and Cheese (with Black Forest ham and smoked Gouda). Or you can blow the doors off your sugar quota for the day and order the waffle filled with lemon curd and whipped cream.
Posted in dining, travel | Tagged breakfast, food cart, Northwest restaurants, Portland OR, Portland restaurants, taco, waffle |
By Kevin Finch on June 29, 2008
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.
Posted in dining, travel | Tagged Mexican, Salinas CA, taco |
By Kevin Finch on June 29, 2008
Another cheap dining tip from Jonathan Gold led to the 101 Noodle Express in Alhambra in search of what he described enthusiastically as a beef roll. It arrived along with two plates of steamed dumplings of the shrimp-pork and vegetable persuasion.
I believe the wrap for the roll is technically a Chinese pancake but it reminds me of a slightly sweet and barely charred example of the Indian flatbread, naan. As Gold promised it came stuffed with shredded beef, scallions, and cilantro and smeared with a bean paste.
Several bites and I began to wonder if every culture has something like the archetypal taco. This deserves more research, but my instinct is that most of the world’s most distinctive cuisines do have something to wrap and roll. And I’ll happily order another of the Chinese version.
Posted in dining | Tagged cheap eats, Chinese, Los Angeles CA, taco |
