From Taco Tuesday to Not

I had an idea, and my husband was game. It takes two to play, because one might run out of steam before the game got too far.

I thought: "There are so many good taco places in Long Beach, we should do a Taco Tuesday Taste Test". Taste tests are popular in our household. They started many years ago when a certain young man was - four. We were at the airport, and we decided to taste test mints. We bought several, lined them up and each tried one from each container. So now we taste test lots of things.

This taste test, however, was a little different. It spanned several weeks and therefore the memory of how the food tasted might have dimmed a bit.

Every Tuesday for several weeks, we went to a different restaurant for Taco Tuesday. Rather than give you the minute by minute play, I'd like to share with you the winner and some insights.

THE WINNER

The Top Taco award goes to - El Torazo Mexican Cafe at 2801 E. 10th Street (10th and Temple) in Long Beach. First, I should share with you that parking is terrible. You might find parking 2 blocks away, as we did. It's worth it. The tacos are so tasty! The tacos were $2. each, and came with a variety of meats and styles (American, hard shell, soft shell). From 3PM to closing, a 12 oz Modelo is $3. So, if you got a 3 taco lineup and a Modelo, you could get out with spending $9. plus tax and tip. We especially loved the shrimp taco. This became the taco with which to compare the rest. The ambiance is cafe casual. There are a few tables inside, but just a few. A toilet is available for customers. I find this necessary to note, because there are many places that do not have this 'amenity'. I find this to be a travesty.

A funny note is that as we went along, our Taco Tuesday became more sit-down and fancier each week. We also went to El Patio, El Sauz, Los Compadres and the Bamboo Club, a Tiki themed restaurant on Anaheim. Later we went back to El Torazo, then did Taco Tuesday at home. After that, we tapered off and haven't been since. I'm sure after a while, we'll go back.

Each one of the restaurants had its own benefits and disadvantages, depending upon if you want to go with a group (great at El Patio), or want to take in the street vibe of El Sauz's parking lot seating, open to 3 AM. Los Compadres does not have a Taco Tuesday special, but it is a really nice, old fashioned restaurant with great food and an unassuming exterior. The Bamboo Club had fun tacos with their take on the flavors including light ginger spirals.

We discussed the purpose of Taco Tuesday, and my thinking was that it should not have included the fancy sit down locations, or even anything that could be called a 'restaurant'. According to this CNN article, Taco Tuesday was originally Taco Twosday, and created by Taco John's restaurant in the 80s. The deal was two tacos for $1. Later it was changed to Taco Tuesday and trademarked by Taco John's. Taco John's is a quick-service Mexican restaurant. This lends credence to the thought that sit down restaurants should not really have been part of the taste test. Ah well. We had a lot of good Mexican food and a lot of fun as we did our taste test.

I'm working up the energy to do a summary video. When it's done, it will be available on my YouTube channel Squigglemom! Please subscribe!

Trish Tsoiasue is a blogger and local community developer in Long Beach, California. She runs a community Makerspace in Shoreline Village. http://makersville.net