There’s little not to love about Tex-Mex, but it’s also hard to distinguish the difference between Mexican food that happens to be served in Texas and Tex-Mex. I have a theory that queso is the difference. Sure, queso literally means cheese in Spanish, but in Tex-Mex it means melty cheesy sauce. Torchy’s Tacos (originally from Austin) in San Antonio had some attractive queso on its menu, but I was also eager to eat its namesake tacos.

So let’s just start by saying the queso came two ways – topped with Texas chorizo or topped with some guac, cotija and diablo sauce. They both had green chiles in them as well, so we opted to try both. Needless to say, they were both spectacular, but the chorizo won out by the very merit of having chorizo. I should also add their straight guac was pretty stellar because it knew to avoid tomatoes and onions, but when queso is on the table guac takes a backseat.

As for my tacos, I went with a breakfast taco called The Wrangler (scrambled eggs, potatoes, smoked beef brisket, jack cheese and tomatillo sauce), The Democrat (shredded beef barbacoa, avocado, cotija, cilantro, onions, lime and tomatillo sauce) and The Tipsy Chick (chicken fajita, spinach, grilled corn, green chiles, cheddar, chipotle sauce and a side of bacon bourbon marmalade). I skipped the onions and spinach on the latter two, respectively.

I should also say that I just listed them above in order from worst to best. It’s weird, right? Because you might have expected the opposite, but it turns out that while all of them were delicious, The Wrangler may have had a little too much egg, The Democrat just didn’t have anything that made it special (read into that as you will) and The Tipsy Chick just blew me away.

I recommend Torchy’s Tacos for anyone hitting up Austin or San Antonio or anywhere else they might be now. It was easily the best Mex I had in Tex and potentially set a new bar for queso expectations.

Tacos, tacos and more tacos. That was the premise of the Rockin’ Taco Rumble in Downtown Phoenix on March 2nd, 2018. $45 got you unlimited tacos, six drinks and a wooden nickel to vote for your favorite taco. It took place at Events on Jackson, which was a pretty cool venue, but what was much less cool was the fact that some spots were already running out of tacos by the time I arrived and the lines were crazy long. Nevertheless, I persisted and was able to identify some favorites.

Modern Tortilla – Lamb Adobo

I don’t know why, but this place had the shortest line and was pretty much the best taco around. The lamb was insanely juicy and the adobo flavors were strong with this one. I’ll just guess that this place knew how to operate its taco making so well that I went back for seconds.

Willie’s Taco Joint – Lob-Sta-Taco

Having just returned from Massachusetts, I was a bit skeptical about lobster in the desert. Yet, Willie’s did not disappoint, making great use of mango habanero salsa to enhance the tasty lobster flavor.

Helio Basin – War Bonnet Carnitas

This brewery knows its tacos. And this taco was popping with ribeye, jalapeno pesto, crema, pickled cauliflowers (no, I didn’t eat them), Fresno peppers, pomegranate and mango aji salsa. It was a mouthful, and yet all those different flavors worked really well together.

Taco Guild – Chipotle Cherry Steak

This taco took home the grand prize. I loved the combination of blue cheese, poblano straws, chile aioli and steak, but it was admittedly difficult to not be overwhelmed by all of the flavor packed into this taco.

As media, I was able to attend for free, but had I paid $45 or $55 to get in, I may have left disappointed, if not slightly hungry. Unlimited tacos shouldn’t have the caveat of first come first served, but that shouldn’t completely distract from how delicious the event was and how the event helped to raise money for the Phoenix Community Alliance. Tacos are great, but building a better Phoenix is even better.

We can all agree that Phoenix is not LA. Good, now that that’s settled, Phoenix does appear to get an event or two on occasion, and the first since I made the big move was the 8th Annual Arizona Taco Festival, which converged at the Salt River Fields in Scottsdale. While the place is better-known for MLB spring training, the vast field was put to good use in hosting dozens of vendors pushing mostly tacos, but also drinks, desserts and the occasional t-shirt.

Although the RFID cashless money-loading system was great in theory, it actually put a damper on the experience from the get-go on an already unseasonably hot day because it forced people who had already purchased tickets to wait in an airport security-esque line to get wrist bands and load funds.

But aside from the temperature, that was all but forgotten upon entering the festival and setting to work to down some tacos. Here are the highlights:

Machaca Taco – Chico Malo

Look, I get that you are prepping tacos en masse and that you can’t exactly make food to order. That’s why I’m willing to see past the pickled onion and mushrooms in this taco, as well as the fact that seemed be a bit cooled off despite the billion degree weather. Because at the end of the day, this was an amazing homemade tortilla with perfectly braised machaca on top.

Barbacoa Taco – Creations by Sergio

Unlike most vendors, Creations by Sergio is not a restaurant, but a catering company. At the taco fest, Sergio went for quality over quantity, churning out little tacos with a punch of taste. The barbacoa taco was packed with flavor and amazingly tender meat. Plus, there was no fancy business with toppings, opting to go for the classic street style of onions and cilantro.

Pork Belly Taco – Crujiente Tacos

I’m not normally a fan of kimchi, and Crujiente Tacos did nothing to change my opinion in that regard. But I had to try their Pork Belly Taco despite the kimchi because it just sounded like a nice change of pace (and perhaps because I subconsciously miss all the Korean food in LA). The good news is that that kimchi really took a backseat to the pork belly in this taco, only rearing its ugly head occasionally and letting the pork, cilantro and sriracha aioli do their jobs.

Shredded Beef Taco – Dos Gringos

I was fully prepared to hate this place because of the name, but was pleasantly surprised by the taco, which I ordered without lettuce. The beef was solid, the cotija cheese was a nice touch and the splash of salsa verde tied it all together.

Frozen Key Lime Pie Bar – Pinnacle Peak Pie Company

In heat like this, anything cool and refreshing was a winner, but the Frozen Key Lime Pie Bar on a stick from Pinnacle Peak Pie Company (also lacking in brick and mortar location) was the ideal way to cool me off. With a thin, but mighty crust and flavorful filling, this got the desert job done.

While I couldn’t try everything (and wish I could have), it was obvious that there are some pretty amazing tacos out there for the eating in the Phoenix area. The majority of the vendors were local and even those that weren’t amazing were still pretty darn good. Tacos Huicho deserves its own special shot out for rolling out real tacos al pastor off of a spit, and even though the taco itself didn’t overly impress, I am sure if I paid their real location a visit I would have been mighty happy.

After all, what’s a good old fashioned food event for, if not to whet the tastebuds and leave you wanting to try more?

Just when you thought there couldn’t be any more breakfast spots in Scottsdale for me to visit, I give you First Watch. Now, First Watch actually has locations in 17 states, so it’s not entirely special to Scottsdale. And from what I had been told, it was not entirely special no matter which location you went to. Yet, that didn’t stop me from finding the one thing on the menu that seemed unique and unvegan.

That was the Farm Stand Breakfast Tacos, which started as corn tortillas and these tortillas were topped with scrambled eggs, chorizo, cheddar, avocado and pico de gallo. Oh, and a side of black beans for some reason. I ordered without the pico, as expected, then looked out for my food.

First look of First Watch was not impressive. It wasn’t that the ingredients weren’t there or anything, it just looked kind of limp. It tasted pretty decently, but it also tasted like something I could have whipped up in my kitchen in about six minutes. And also it probably would have tasted more inspired than this meal. Look, it’s not that this was bad. It wasn’t. It just simply wasn’t good. When you live in the Phoenix area, though, there is simply no reason to grab breakfast or brunch at a place that’s only one step up from Denny’s.

Hot on the heels of visiting perhaps the most overpriced (but still tasty) Mexican place I have ever been to, La Hacienda, I took a trip to Scottsdale Quarter to eat at Sol. Sol’s prices may not rival La Hacienda’s, but it is certainly in the upscale Mexican food family. Of course, it is not lost on me that while “sol” means “sun” in Spanish, it is also the name of the money in Peru.

But things started off really strongly, as I found that Sol may just have the greatest bean salsa in the world, which comes out with their chips and salsa along with a more typical salsa. The chips were more like the base of a tostada instead of tortilla chips, so there was cracking needed, but it all worked out well and delicious.

When it came to ordering, things were a little more murky. I wanted tacos, but they were sold a la carte and some were literally pushing above the $12 range. Yes, for one taco. And I ordered one that came in at $11, as well as one for $8.75. The former was the Short Rib Taco, which was a big old short rib plopped on a blue corn tortilla with red chile salsa, cotija cheese and pico de gallo. I ordered without the pico, but for some reason when the taco arrived it was also loaded up with shredded lettuce. Without the lettuce, it was delicious. I mean, the short rib was short rib and that is always good, but the blue corn tortilla was unlike anything I had ever had before and it was transcendent.

As for the other taco, it was called the Vampiro. It basically had a quesadilla as a base because it was a double tortilla with melted cheese inside. Then it was topped with serrano chiles, scallions, carne asada, guac, pico, cotija, chipotle aioli and cilantro. Once again I ordered without the pico and this time things turned out right. Despite the astounding number of ingredients and lack of explanation for why it was call a Vampiro (I would have expected garlic somewhere in there), these toppings just worked. Certainly, it’s hard to screw up when you start out with a quesadilla base, and this taco went beyond simply not screwing up.

While I probably won’t ever get over the fact that I dropped $11 on a single taco, I can take solace in the fact that the food really was delicious and creative. On the other hand, it was kind of messed up to sneak shredded lettuce into my taco. And on the other other hand, despite only having two tacos as a main course, I left stuffed to the brim because of that amazing bean sauce. With that said, I’d hit up Sol again, but my quest for a good old neighborhood Mexican place in my new ‘hood continues.

A lot of good things are happening in Downtown LA these days. One of these things is B.S. Taqueria, which is kind of like a spin-off from Broken Spanish, a restaurant that I have never been to and probably never will. Not surprisingly, it specializes in tacos. After a bit of a wait, we made our way to the back section that felt like eating outdoors at a taqueria in the tropics.

After a bit of deliberation, I made an executive decision to go with the Chorizo Cheeseburger, which is a beef patty topped with chorizo and a miniature Squeeze Inn-esque cheese skirt. It was nothing short of stellar, perfectly made for an unvegan. It had a perfect balance of cheese, double meat and buns as conduits and buffers.

But just for good measure, I also ordered a taco. I went with chicken, which also came topped with beans and guacamole. Compared to the burger it was disappointing. It truly just tasted like it was lacking in flavor, but I can’t say if that was because the burger was so rich or because it was truly just tasteless. The good news is that the burger was so good that I very easily forgot about the taco.

B.S. Taqueria might want to change its name to B.S. Burgueria. But even if it doesn’t you can rest assured that the burger is the right choice to make.

Breweries are the best, right? And they typically have awesome food. That’s why I was pretty excited to find out Phoenix was getting a new brewery called Helio Basin and tried to make my way there at the first opportunity. Plus, it didn’t hurt that I had a connection at the place and wanted to show some support.

Like any good drinker, I started out by ordering a flight of all the beers on tap. There were seven in total and they came served on a piece of wood shaped like the state of Arizona, so you know, like lumpy. I drank my way through the beers and decided that the Citrus Paradisi was the best. It was a hoppy blonde and who doesn’t like those?

I wasn’t terribly hungry and found the menu to be a bit short for a brewery. It centered around “tortillas,” which were really just tacos by another name. I chose the pork belly variety, which had the fewest veggies (read: none) and include pistachio and pine nut mole, roasted corn, cotija and cilantro. The pork belly was cooked perfectly and I definitely appreciated the other taco innards, which enhanced the flavor without taking over.

I must say, though, that I would have liked a more robust menu. I get that Phoenix is the Southwest and tacos are basically required, but a little something more would have really won the place over for me. As it was, they put together some good beer and food, so I’m sure Helio Basin will become a mainstay in Phoenix.

Tacos tu Madre was blowing up all over the social media a few months ago with amazing-looking burritos that seemed to represent a new level of delicious fusion. Thus, I had to give the place a try and had my best opportunity when out in West LA. They were out of a couple things, but this didn’t impact what I had in mind. There are a number of options and they are all available as a burrito, a taco or a bowl.

I went with the Fried Chicken Burrito, which was stuffed with buttermilk fried chicken, poblano ranch slaw, fermented chili, cilantro, honey sriracha and Spanish rice. It also came with a sort of spicy aioli for a kick. This was a great decision, as you can’t really go wrong with sticking fried chicken in anything and this burrito was no exception. Yet, while I ordered my burrito without the slaw, Tacos to Madre made the mistake of sneaking it in and for that they may never be forgiven.

I also ordered a Grilled Cheese taco, which is not at all like the traditional grilled cheese sandwich. It features queso panela, which is a cheese that can very literally be grilled. This, Tacos tu Madre did just that and topped it with red pepper aioli and avocado. It was essentially like a fancy pants quesadilla and it was fantastic. Plus, there was no slaw or any other such vegetables to ruin the experience.

Thus, Tacos tu Madre has garnered mixed reviews from yours truly. I want to believe that the slaw mistake was just a one-off, because this is a place that I want to get back to. After all, it’s not everywhere that you can get a fried chicken burrito and I’d like to believe such purity still exists in our world.

As a fan of Mexican food, I often find myself fighting against Mexican food pretenders. Yet, when a restaurant embraces its non-authenticity I am all for it as long as it’s good. Cantina Loco in Allentown is one of those places that isn’t feigning authenticity, but it has apparently been crazy popular since opening back in 2011 and I hoped that would mean good things for the food.

We started with an order of their chips and queso (you know, after a round of drinks). It was a good way to start out the meal, because the queso was a delicious mix of cheese and chili flavor with flaky-thin chips. I would have preferred more queso, but the dip was actually so rich that just a little bit on each chip was plenty.

As for my main course, I ordered one of their special tacos, specifically the pork belly variety. This came with a pineapple and red pepper relish, cilantro, some melty cheese and of course the belly of the pork. Ordinarily I would have ordered without the relish because of the red pepper, but I was told it was sweet and crossed my fingers that it would taste nothing like the nasty vegetable it originated from. Oh yeah, I also ordered a side of refritos (refried beans), because I was in the mood to be gassy.

Fortunately, my wishes came true for the taco relish. It was undoubtedly sweet and actually pretty tasty. Overall, the tacos were pretty good-sized and had a fair amount of meat. In a nice twist, the pork belly was actually kind of pulled apart instead of coming in big fatty chunks, which made them unique. Yet, while the relish was good, there was simply too much of it. I had to scrape a good deal of it away to get through to the other flavors of the taco, which was a shame but at least manageable.

The refritos were a nice little side that taste good on their own, tossed on the taco and even dipped in with the remaining chips. They were different from your ordinary Mexican restaurant refried beans because individual beans were actually visible, but then Cantina Loco isn’t an ordinary Mexican restaurant. Even so, it is a good spot with a some unique eats and with just a little more balance it could be even better.

In the land of Western New York, a great battle is being waged over Americanized Mexican fast food. In one corner there is Taco Bell, perennial favorite around the country. In the other is Mighty Taco, a local favorite with just about as much connection to Mexico as general stability (read: none). Yet, I knew I had to try it out to see what kind of competition it is to the first love of my life.

I decided I had to try out a few items to really test out Mighty Taco. It began with two tacos, one with barbecue pork and the other with ground beef. They also came with cheese, tomato and lettuce, so I told them to hold the latter two crappy ingredients. I was given the option of white, wheat or corn tortilla and chose white (which I assumed meant flour) and also a choice of sauce and went with hot. The result was pretty good, although the pork was a bit too sweet. Neither were anything special, but they got the job done at a good price.

As for that other thing in the picture up above, it’s the Banderito from their specialty burrito menu. It’s filled with fajita steak, “Buffito” chicken (which apparently means actual grilled chicken with buffalo sauce), more chicken in apparent fajita form, lettuce, blue cheese and hot sauce. Of course I ordered without the lettuce and this was a wise choice. In fact, the Banderito was the best thing I had, it was quite tasty and while it doesn’t seriously threaten Taco Bell, it is a nice thing to have to switch things up every once in while.