New "Street Tacos" at Tommy Colina's Kitchen

UPDATE: IT'S CLOSED. 

RIP Tommy Colina

ChimiChurri Street Taco ($10.49):
Shaved tenderloin, lettuce blend, chimi churri sauce, tomatoes,
Chardonnay onions, fresh mozzarella, pita bread

Umm. Really?

I try my darndest not to be a food purist. I try to understand that terms such as "pizza" and "taco" can be used loosely. I try to lead a life that fosters a mutual understanding that transcends cultures. And by golly, I try to go to church on Sunday.

What have I done to be subjected to this?

When I think street taco, I think of a mound of carne asada with flies buzzing around it, hastily piled into a steamy tortilla with some sort of puree that is mostly jalapeño seeds. But let's not nitpick. One could also consider my dear Doritos Locos to be something of a street taco.

To be clear, my main qualm wasn't the divergence from the traditional definition of "taco." Rather, I was forced to wonder whether its creator had ever bothered to have a bite of one before. For a pile of marinated meat, gleaming mozzarella, and tangy chimichurri, all atop a thick slab of pita, refuses to be folded. The diner is systematically prohibited from eating with his hands, and a troubleshoot with ye ole knife and fork leads to inevitable wax tissue paper ingestion. Oh, the horror!

There's no eating this on any street, unless by street you mean sitting in front of your television with a tray and a bib.

Logistics aside, once I combed through the thinly-sliced beef tenderloin and fashioned a comprehensively edible mass out of the mess in the plastic basket, I rapidly attained a sense of satiety. Does this mean it was tasty? I'm not sure.

To La Familia Colina: Try replacing the stiff, store-bought pita bread with something more tortillaesque, if for no other reason than to facilitate successful consumption of the dish. Viva el taco.

Tommy Colina's is at 3558 Farnam Street, with a new location opening soon in the Wild West (Omaha) at 180th and Pacific Street. 

Trini's

1020 Howard Street
402.346.8400
Open Tues - Sat, lunch from 11:30am and dinner from 4pm
$1.99 Margs on Tues and Thurs, Happy Hour 4-6 Fri and Sat
trinisoldmarket.com

Enchilada de Jocoque (single lunch serving, $6.50):
Chicken in a sour cream sauce with monterey jack cheese,
and a side of "refritos" and rice.

Whether or not you choose to like Trini's shouldn't depend on its mainstream location, or the claim by fans that it's "pretty authentic." I would bus to the end of the Earth (West O) for Trini's, if I happened to be in the mood for supremely honk-ified Mexican-ish cuisine. There's nothing unique about this place, except maybe for the fact that it shares a wall with one of the most expensive restaurants in town. Despite this -- can I just sound like an upper middle class homemaker for a moment? -- the bathrooms, located a hallway and some stairs outside of the restaurant, were atrocious. On the other hand, if you're wandering around the Old Market and want to do something illegal, this is the bathroom for you.

One blackened tilapia fish taco in a deep-fried "puffy" taco shell ($6.95):
In case you're wondering, yes, I felt puffy afterwards.

The Spread

There was something nostalgic about the food in that this is the Mexican I ate as a child. I couldn't quite tell if the chips were made in-house, or whether the mild cilantro salsa was doctored up from out of a jar, but who cares. On the fish taco, the "house chipotle sauce" seeped into the "puffy" taco shell nicely, but didn't offer much of a chipotle flavor. Luckily, the "specially prepared greens" kept things light (kidding). I was impressed by the simple black beans and white rice, which they managed to turn into a rich, buttery treat. Ditto for the Enchilada de Jocoque and the accompanying refried beans. I imagined Julia Child's ghost in the kitchen, whispering, "If you're afraid of butter, use creeeeeeeeeam."

Trini's is great for indulging on standard Midwestmex, especially if you're looking for a nice, secluded restroom where TP isn't necessary.

Soft shell beef taco ($3.35):
Get your Taco Bell without all the late night drive thru hullabaloo.
(I'm looking at you, 38th and Dodge.)

Taste of Omaha 2012

Friday, June 1st to Sunday, June 3
Heartland of America Park and Lewis and Clark Landing
tasteofomaha.info

The only thing that really surprised me at the weekend-long Taste of Omaha event was that the lines at national chains like Village Inn and Fazoli's were rather long and lively. And then there were a few local booths who weren't finished with their prep at 11:30 -- when the event began at 11.

Still, it was a great chance to try places I will likely never make it to otherwise. Check it out:

Chicago Dawg House wins for best "booth," since it was a trailer. Fancy. 

The dawg itself was good. Not the largest wiener I've seen, but that's all right.

Poor people food: Kraut & Dumplings from Eddie's Catering.
The most calorie for your buck, this stuff will stick to your ribs and and everything else. 

The Guaca Maya restaurant on 33rd Street looks like a church, which has kept me out.

Pleasantly surprised by the Guaca Maya's beef taco.
About as honky as it gets with fried flour tortilla, iceberg lettuce,
nondescript shredded cheese, and ground beef.
But it worked.

A band about to rock out on the Rotella's Bakery Stage. Heh.

Cheese Empanada from España:
Fat fried in fat with a side of fat for dipping.
More seasonings and maybe a vegetable salsa instead of an aioli would have been better.

Did they jack up their prices during the festival? Did Benson stock skyrocket overnight? 

Andouille Gumbo from Jazz: A Louisiana Kitchen--
Can't say for sure, but this place might just be ok.

This Blue Raspberry Italian ice from the Cascio's Steakhouse booth was perfect after spicy gumbo in the hot sun.
Food coloring and high fructose corn syrup never tasted SO good!

Can't wait til next year... Thanks T of O.

FATMOBILE WANTED

Everyone knows that when your car tragically and suddenly breaks down, you're forced to slack a little on your food blog. Busses really only cover the well-traveled territories of our great town, and until the fatmobile is fixed, I have to stick to eating "local." Super local. 

However, I do sometimes borrow the roommate's car and pay him in Taco Bell. On the menu today was the Doritos Locos taco, a finger staining delight that combines two downright dirty pleasures. 

Here's to getting my car repaired before I get too skinny from walking everywhere:

...because an extra cardboard taco holder advertising the Facebook site really is necessary.

Abelardo's Authentic Mexican Food

3121 Q Street
Omaha, NE 68107
402.733.0346
24/7
Plus two other locations in Omaha
www.abelardosmexicanfood.com

Combo # I Forget:
One cheese enchilada, one crunchy beef taco, beans and rice

Abelardo's is the picture next to "drunk food" in the dictionary. The problem is, I'm never partying near South O, or any of their other locations. Maybe we need to start designating a sober-ish taco driver to make the run. My snobby Arizonan dining buddy says these types of 24-hour Mexican drive thrus are prevalent in the Southwest, and it's often unsaid that you will wind up there after a night out. However, when you eat this food during the day you must exercise caution (and self-restraint) so that you don't wind up with a massive tummy ache. This is gut busting stuff, designed to sop up booze of all colors and potencies.

It's also the ultimate disconnection from your food. Not only do you have no clue where the meat comes from, but they hand you the whole package through a window so high that unless you're driving a bus you can't see inside. You then take the neatly wrapped layers of styrofoam and plastic home, where it's time to indulge in double corn tortillas with guacamole, and the occasional extra chewy piece of carnitas. With the combo plate, I like to run a forkful of beans over everything else and see what sticks to it.

Folks, there's much better Mexican food in Omaha. But at 3am? Nope. This is it.

(Someday I'll share with you my thoughts on the undeservingly popular La Esmeralda...)

Carnitas Taco

La Casita

1328 Park Avenue (just south of Poppleton Ave.)
Omaha, NE 68105
(402) 934-7575
Closed Mondays

To celebrate National Taco Day today, I'm sharing with you my favorite place to eat them in all of Omahaland. Perhaps one of the best kept secrets in the city, La Casita is a friendly little house that serves quality, authentic Mexicuisine. You can go just for the food, or you can relax and sip a Michelada or margarita. The jukebox tunes can get a little rambunctious, and beware of Sundays, when the place is bursting with fiesta. When you walk in, your nostrils will perk at the smell of refried beans, which will then cause your tongue to salivate. If this doesn't happen, there's something wrong with you. Try a taco al pastor in a soft flour tortilla. And maybe a carne asada quesadilla, which is a neatly stuffed brick of meat and cheese that is perfect to share with your pals. Vegetarians will only really have cocktails and chips to savor, but that's kind of hardcore, eh? Maybe a side of rice? No matter what, you will leave stuffed and happy with only a couple bucks missing from your wallet. See you there.

Michelada

Taco al Pastor and Carne Asada Burrito

Sope

Gordita and Taco with Flour Tortilla

Shang Hai Garden

3118 South 24th Street (in the shopping center just north of Vinton)
(402) 342-2244

A Chipotle, a Tomatillo, and a Tomato Salsa,
Paired with Corn Chip Strips

Shrimp Egg Rolls--
More like big spring rolls, with sweet and sour sauce

I dipped my egg roll into the spicy tomatillo salsa. Just because I could.

This isn't fusion, this is a fight: Chinese vs. Mexican, happening now, in a South O strip mall next to No Frills. Tablecloths with Chinese characters. Wall posters exclusively in Spanish. Kikkoman, Sriracha, AND Tapatio on the tables. To be clear, if I wanted either one of these cuisines on its own, I wouldn't come here, but there's something about the wacky combo you should experience at least once. Sure, the tables were sticky, and I preferred not to think about the grime that must be living in the kitchen. Just sweep the dirt under the carpet in your mind and you'll be fine. The highlights were the salsa trio, house-made and hotter than Helen's house, and the shrimp egg roll, which was ready to take any unlikely dip you could throw at it. The meat in the tacos had a hint of Chinese spice, like what would happen if you stored your al Pastor with your Kung Pao in the same tupperware for a few days, and the tortillas were no bueno. Our entree, Snow Pea Chicken, was so-so, but a few heaping spoonfuls of delicious chili sauce made things more interesting.

I can't vouch for Shang Hai in terms of culinary mastery, but it is a novel idea carried out by folks who aren't aware of their "concept;" they're just eatin' what they like to eat.

Pork Tacos

Snow Pea Chicken

Chili Sauce

Fat in Arizona

Mr. G, Father of the Bean and Cheese Burrito, Yuma, Arizona

Omaha's Eppely Airfield isn't your state-of-the-art facility. No Wolfgang Puck Express, or even Chili's Too. Since you probably strategically show up thirty minutes before your flight in order to cruise through security and into your seat, there's no need for fancy schmance. This time, though, we made time for a little A&W chili cheese fries.

Soggy, salty, and smelly: Because sometimes peanut packets just aren't enough.

...

Post-flight, a liquid dinner was enjoyed at the Yucca Tap Room, with a slice of pepperoni 'zza for dessert. For fourth meal, we hit up Rivas Mexican Food for burritos. Fatty didn't want to hold up the fun with incessant food documentation, but just know that:

• Yucca is thee night spot in Tempe, with an admirable microbrew menu, tolerable live music, and good to great bar food. My favorite was Tempe's own Hop Knot IPA from Four Peaks Brewery.
• A California burrito has carne asada and papas fritas and is the best thing you can possibly eat at 2:15am. 
• Machaca is a mess of braised beef and in many cases, fried egg. The best choice for raising your cholesterol, a demon to the angel of oatmeal.

...

The Tohono O'odham set up their jewelry for sale. 

Indian fry bread is mostly a carnival or fair specialty, when those of Native American descent break out their deep fryers and stick their fluffy bread in it, then serve them as savory tacos or sweet desserts. Thank the heart disease heavens this isn't an everyday food, because such a concoction will make your left arm tingle. There are just a few places in Phoenix to chow down on it year round, and we happily ignored the lunch crown with a collective Body Mass Index of a million as we savored this special treat. It's best to stick to the "Indian Taco" fry bread, which is dressed up with a simple smear of half-mashed pinto beans and a handful of shredded lettuce and cheese. Cover in the thin-but-spicy hot sauce and swallow. Chase with a tropical iced tea. 

Indian Taco:
Homemade mashed refried pinto beans, shredded cheese and lettuce

Vegetarian Taco:
Refried beans, layered with sauteed spicy green chile strips, onions, sour cream and cheese

...

Like a couple of cowboys, we took the best the Indians had to offer and moseyed down to Yuma, the sunniest city on earth, nestled on the border of California and Mexico. Corn doesn't grow too well in this region known as Sonora. (Gasp! Hold on to your husks!) So, the Sonorans have historically stuck to wheat, which led to the birth of the flour tortilla. Here, Taco Bell and Mission tortillas are replaced by ones that are thinly stretched to the point of near-translucency, made with the pure recipe of flour, water, and lard. Only. Not a thing more. Does it surprise you that Yumans are touchy about their tortillas? To a Yuman, Mr. G and his restaurant Chile Pepper are the tastes of childhood, of purity, of love.

Bean and Cheese Burrito--
Encased in an authentic flour tortilla.
The unexpected weight and the oozing brown always reminded me of a dirty diaper,
but do not hesitate, for this is the best burrito in the land. 

Rolled Tacos:
Shredded beef in a fried corn tortilla. You might know them as Taquitos.
I know them as breakfast.  

...

It's barely noon on a Saturday and Lute's Casino is already loud, boisterous chatter bouncing off the walls decorated with Impressionist knock-offs and Marilyn Monroe portraits, with a lot of T.G.I. Friday's flair junk hanging from the warehouse-height ceilings. A friendly but tough staff keeps things rolling in the sea of round tables, all day and night. A kind of modern Western bar where you'd be more likely to have a drink-off than a duel, Lute's is a must visit in southwest Arizona. And once you're here, you must get the Especial.

The World-Famous Especial:
One (1) butterflied well-grilled hot dog atop one (1) cheeseburger deluxe
equals one (1) gluttonous treat.

Somewhere under the cheese, lettuce and hot sauce, you will find crunchy potato tacos.
Because when it's 110 in the shade you need some extra fuel to burn. 

...

Stuffed beyond words, beer and burrito bellies protruding with guilt and glee, we arrived at the last stop, a friend's cookout near Phoenix. I spread some nacho cheese on a warm tortilla, dumped on a lump of beans and salsa, and wrapped it around a charred hot dog. What I took as inventive turned out to be known as a Taco Dog. Yes, they do things differently down there in the desert, where the landscape might as well be the moon to me, and with 115 degrees, you're screwed if the power goes out (which, as you may have heard, it did). In the midst of all the 9/11 sad and sentimental anniversary hoopla, I got even hungrier to taste the fattest crap the rest of our great country has to offer.  

Phat in Philadelphia (and NYC)

I didn't do Steven Starr, or Bobby Flay, or Le Bec Fin, or hardly anything traditionally defined as "good food." I did, however, visit my teenage haunts and other old faves, and nearly OD'd on pizza. And the beer. My God, the beer. I danced, I explored, I ate, and I drank. I didn't snap a photo of every single thing 'cause there just wasn't time to stop.

Golden Castle Diner, North Wilmington, DE
Can't deny that late-night cravin' for something so greasy it slips out of your hands. And some chocolate pie from the pie case, cuz, why not? I mean, food always winds up yellow and brown anyway, right?

Monochromatic Meal #1: Classic Grilled Cheese

Yes, we got a side of fries, too.

Chocolate Cream Pie

Pinocchio's Pizza and Beer Garden To Go, Media, PA
I started eating here when I was about eight years old, with my family. Then, my high school cafeteria had their pizza, and I distinctly remember eating it on a daily basis the entire tenth grade year. All You Can Eat pizza and soda nights kept us suburban punk ass kids out of trouble. But, it seems Pinocchio's got a taste for beer a little later than I did, opening the "beer garden" addition just a couple of years ago. Skyrocketing to success, they just clinched the sought-after title for Best Beer Shop in all of Phillyland, according to Philadelphia Magazine's most recent issue, which is kind of a huge deal. An absolute must visit if you're anywhere near it. P.S. For all you "Philly" sandwich eaters out there in Omaha, this is what it's supposed to look like. (I'm partial to chicken, as opposed to the classic beef cheesesteak, a leftover from my years as a strict non-cow eater.)

Chicken Cheesesteak:
A hot mess of thinly chopped chicken, fried onions and hot peppers, with provolone, on a top-of-the-line toasted hoagie roll. Sa-weet!

Monochromatic Meal #2: Fried Sampler Platter--
There's rings, bites, nugs, sticks, blah blah blah.

De Proef/ Sly Fox Broederlijke Liefde ON TAP!
I also had a Brotherly Suds, which is the collaborative effort of five different Philly microbreweries.

He told me he'd knock it down to $300, but I still couldn't swing it.

Beers, and beer reflections. And some chick.

The lucky ones to come home with us.

And, speaking of 'zza, here's a shot of one of my daily slices from any NYC pizzeria. Note the triangle shape:

Square pizza is just plain wronG.

Coffee Shop, Union Square, NYC
In the ranks of overpriced Manhattan diners and other eateries, this place is kinda low on the list. It did, however, solve the problem of where to suck down a Mimosa. (Of the mango variety, which was actually more like a Bellini, not pictured here cause there was a hole in my glass. Hehe.)

Grilled Shrimp Chopped Salad with Romaine, Roasted Corn and Black Beans

Wild Mushroom Omelette

Guess.

Dos Toros, Union Square, NYC
After a long day wandering up and down Fifth Ave for no particular reason, a pit stop was in order, this time to a Qdoba-like hole-in-the-wall bursting with NYU kids, who were clearly majoring in Personal Space Invasion. The girl behind me in line totally just took a course on Breathing Down a Stranger's Neck. Ah, anyway. My taco was huge and the extra hot salsa was obscenely spicy, but it did the trick.

Carnitas Taco--
With a downright rude hot salsa

Whole Foods Beer Room, Bowery, NYC
No trip to this area would be complete without a stop at the Whole Foods Bowery location. They've got a beer room where you can get growlers of beers you've never heard of. And everything you need for home brewing, if you're into that sort of thing, which it seems every dude and his mom is these days. Yes folks, this supermarket location truly has everything your average white person likes.

Beer Stuff 

More Beer Stuff

Loreley, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
There was a time when I felt if I never had a German beer again it would be too soon. I am now partially recovered from my couple of years stuck in the world of piss pilsners, and so it seemed appropriate to go to the newer Brooklyn version of one of my old LES hangouts. Currywurst, THEE Berlin street food, was never my personal favorite, but I felt obliged to try it. This version was a tad smushy, and the fries were soooo McDonald's, but they nailed the curry ketchup part. On a long wooden table under a wide umbrella, I nibbled and sipped leisurely and didn't even notice the sun had gone down.

Ein Kölsch und ein Grüner Veltliner--
Und die schöne Fingernägel meiner Cousine!

Currywurst:
There's actually a museum for this in Berlin.

John's Village Market, Brookhaven, PA
The place to go for a quality sandwich, especially if you're a sweaty construction worker dude with one of them Philly accents.

Classic Italian Hoagie:
Pepper ham, capicola, Genoa salami, provolone

Chicken Pesto Panini, one half--
REALLY, REALLY GOOD

Wash it all down with some meat flavored chips.

Eulogy Belgian Tavern, Old City, Philadelphia
The bar stools are always full at this Old City classic, and I like to think of it as a good place to duck into to avoid the throngs of bros and hoes doing the mating call in this part of town every weekend night.

Twice Fried Belgian Frietjes--
With "Beneluxx" sauce, bourbon remoulade, and malt vinegar aioli.
A glob of mayo would have been fine too. 

Just a LaChouffe and a Kasteel Rouge on tap, no big deal here.  Two of my faves.

Piet-Agoras Belgian ale--
A nice, rare brew. A little fruity, caramel-y, sour-ish, with a hoppy finish. 

Beneluxx Tasting Room, Old City, Philadelphia
A block away from Eulogy, this basement bar with the same owners wasn't as bustling, but there were more interesting menu options. Next time I'm gonna do the fondue.

Chimay, meet Beemster. Tried and true delicious cheeses, with a nice bare-bones presentation.
Hey, at least the plate is rectangular. 

This here's a panini. That's all I really remember.

Sierra Nevada's Ovila Abbey Dubbel

There was also the dry white wine and olive tapenade and goat cheese crostini at Gemma in the Bowery Hotel, where I didn't see anyone too famous but was entertained by the surly waitstaff. And then the late-late-night falafel that I somehow got all over my shirt. Across the great divide known as the East River, I sipped on an absinthe cocktail, which didn't make me hallucinate, but did get me tipsy enough to happily slurp down my very first oyster, at Maison Premiere. Oh, and let's not forget the bowl of Cheerios on the first class flight home.

And now, to sleep. For a week. And maybe think about eating a vegetable of some sort.