Teetering Toward Great, Flirting With Disaster

Being a food writer and blogger in Tucson means that you eat a lot of tacos. You see, I am totally fine with this. Because of that reason I love what I do both in print and online and when a new Mexican place opens up you better believe the Homeskillet crew will be there to sample yon wares of deliciousness.

Here's the thing: Sometimes you can burn out on a style of food. Its easy, especially when you're in the food writing biz. Like, for example, I am totally in love with pastrami sandwiches but if I ate those mofos 3 - 4 days a week on a fairly regular basis I'd change my last meal option if I was to be sent to the electric chair from a #19 from Langers Deli to, oh, I don't care...anything but really.

How are Hot Pockets? Are they tasty?

Fortunately it had been a while since we stepped foot in a proper Mexican food joint so when we were in the neighborhood of Calle Tepa we slammed on the brakes and prepared ourselves for some serious southern border street food.

The place is colorful, we'll say that much

In a shopping strip on Broadway just off of Wilmot, wedged between a Panera Bread and Breugger's Bagels, is a lively spot owned by the wife of the guy that opened up the Guadalajara string of restaurants. The pedigree is there, the financial backing is obviously happening...so this place must be awesome.

Right?

Checking online reviews, Calle Tepa is pretty much 3 -5 stars across the board. First off, we were hungry. Second, we were now excited because of the internet hype. With over 400 people essentially praising this place we wondered why we hadn't visited it sooner.

Oh yeah. There's like 1,000+ other Mexican food stands here in Tucson.

That's probably why.

Chips were tasty and the salsas were really good

When we walked in we were immediately taken with how colorful the space was. The wall to your left is a vibrant mural of their menu with fairly standard fare without being too extensive which is what we like. When restaurants get too bold with their options we tend to get flummoxed, flummoxed we tell you!, and eventually end up ordering something safe just to get it over with.

The last time we were at that Cheesecake place their menu was like a frikkin tome of ancient wisdom and long sagas of battles and mythology...except with elephantine portions of extreme shrimp popper alfredo colon blocker bombs and "salads" that boasted more sodium and fat grams than a dozen burger options from Lindy's.

Way, way too big.

Still, even with the fairly tight menu, we were new and just wanted some staples: A couple of street tacos, mini-chimichangas and some ceviche along with the requisite chips and salsa.

They gave us a number, we took a seat next to a window and we waited while nibbling on their crunchy chips and really flavorful salsas under star shaped lights next to a large family that seemed quite happy to be there.

Hopefully, we would be too.

Big tacos, little flavor

For the tacos we got the carne asada, chicken adobada and the chili verde.

These things were big. And if by "street taco" you must mean a 10 lane Los Angeles highway because most street tacos we have come across are lil' bites of savory perfection, ones that easily fit in your hand so you can be on your way without that rumbly in your tumbly.

These, unfortunately, just didn't really do anything for us.

The carne asada was fine but was a bit over cooked and really didn't have any seasoning. The chicken adobada, which is normally a spicy red BBQ sauce, was nice but did not deliver any heat or much flavor. And the chili verde, slow roasted pork in a green sauce of jalapenos, garlic and tomatillos, was just kind of drippy and bland.

Crap.

I mean, it was late in the afternoon, well after the lunch rush, so maybe they were understaffed and weren't really paying attention to what they were doing as preparation for dinner was the focus at that time.

Still.

Okay, well we also had some mini chimis to contend with and a big bowl of ceviche waiting for us.

Let's hope these work out for the better.

Mini chimis that were not so mini

Just like the street tacos, the "mini" chimichangas were anything but. More like small-ish deep fried burritos or extra large Mexican eggrolls.

These things we liked, mainly because they were simple and paired well with a selection from the salsa bar. The chicken was cooked perfectly and the fry on the tortillas was crispy and golden. They came equipped with some decent guacamole and we were happy that these guys hit the mark and hit the spot as well.

Sadly, the salsa and the chimis would prove to be the highlight.

Thanks to so many online suggestions on ordering their ceviche, we were really bummed that this dish sank on so many levels.

The fish was chewy and flabby, the broth lacked citrus and spice - it just sort of sat there surrounding the tilapia, tomatoes and onion with no real rhyme or reason. This sucked. Man, we hate to come down on places but unfortunately our experience at Calle Tepa was anything but awesome.

And it helps to be awesome in this current culinary climate here in Tucson. Because we can get tacos, chimis and ceviche almost anywhere, most likely better quality too. There was just nothing about Calle Tepa to make us go "Wow, we seriously need to go back there."

We went. We ate. Eh.

If you guys have eaten there and think we are daft for not loving them then send us a message imploring to give them a second chance. Otherwise there are the other 999+ Mexican food stops here that we need to try and want to come back to.

Also, if we can be honest here for a moment: We're not huge fans of the Guadalajara restaurants.

Just saying.

Sorry about it...

About the ceviche...you see...um...well...

Typing, Camera and Eating
"Metal" Mark Whittaker
A Bit Past St. Patrick's Day, 2017

Metal Influence:

SUICIDAL TENDENCIES

"You Can't Bring Me Down"

Spinning Meat, Bring The Heat!

Officially trompo means "spinning top", you know like what kids play with. But in the case of Polo's Taqueria (918 W. Prince RD) it means a rotating meat girth of awesome.

The owner, the restaurant's namesake (and no it's not pronounced pollo like 'chicken' but Polo, like the game, or clothing line or Marco's last name), is from Mexico City where this style of cooking meat is totally normal. We are used to seeing beef and such cooked on a slowly rotating spit in Mediterranean or Greek restaurants, but here the flavored goodness that gets sliced up nice and thin right from the dripping tower of carne gets put on tortillas instead of pita. And believe us, this is the real deal.

So ready to get down with this mess.

A fresh slab gearing to get tasty

It's a pretty inconspicuous place, in fact when we drove by it we, well...almost drove right by it. Located in a shopping strip, Polo's rests next to a laundry facility and if it wasn't for the big yellow banner out front with the words "HOT DOGS" written on it we probably would have kept on driving.

Once inside you are treated to an extremely casual environment with a tight menu over the register area and festive music playing to get you in the chow down mood. Polo's has all kinds of yummy offerings such as burritos, tacos, sopes, tortas, caldos and even a hamburger...like all good taquerias do and should. To the left you get to witness to the slow spinning beef mash that is topped with a half pineapple with an onion base. El Trompo!

We almost got down on our knees to worship at the altar of revolving splendor.

Almost.

It was that glorious.

Al pastor tacos in all of their glory

The prices are what you would expect, like almost 2 bucks for a taco, but it is the care and quality that you are paying for and these looked like they are fawned over with loving grace. Plus our orders came out fairly quick, so that was good, because we were plenty hungry and ready to dive into the al pastor that was cut fresh right in front of us.

So stoked.

Full salsa bar at your disposal

Polo's has the requisite toppings and salsa bar and the lady running the front counter even came out and suggested how we festoon each item. That was really cool even though her English was almost as bad as our Spanish, but we got the gist.

Not too sure if they were having refrigeration issues that day but the salsas and lettuce were way too cold and were a bit wilty. That is our only critique. Better that than being too warm and going all gush and limp. Whatever. We are survivors.

After we got all of the tacos, burros and sopes in check it was time to sit down and go for it.

The sopes were kind of the best thing ever

The al pastor was amazing. Really juicy and thanks to the fruit and onion infusion it took on a citrusy and savory whimsy. Everything was fresh and all of it, the chicken, the carne, the cabeza, the frijoles, etc, was delicious.

Our favorite though had to be the sopes, which are basically mini taco salads made with a thick tortilla and filled with all sorts of wonder. These things ruled. Maybe its because you can get a good taco or burro almost anywhere here in Tucson but a tasty sope is a bit of a treasure hunt. We struck gold here folks. Best thing is they are kind of heavy so when you eat one, or twelve, you know you are going to get filled up. We did not leave there hungry.

Next time we visit Polo's we are definitely going to try the Cubano torta and a caldo which is a hearty soup filled with thick veggies and rustic cuts of meat. Can't wait.

Now you know kids. Just keep your eyes open because you don't wanna miss the Mexico City radness of this place even though you need to kind of look for it. And everyone was friendly too. That is always a plus and seems to make things even tastier.

Cheers!

Thank you Polo's Taqueria!

Camera, Typing and Eating
"Metal" Mark Whittaker
The First Time In Almost A Month, 2017

Metal Influence:

MAD BUTCHER

"Burn It Down"

Salvation Came In The Form Of A Food Stand

"The day after Thanksgiving and all you can think about is eating more food?"

Um...yes.

Duh.

Ordering up the Maico goodness

You see, Thanksgiving is full of American tradition, as far as the spread is concerned.

There's the the turkey, usually, the stuffing/dressing, cranberry sauce (typically in the cylindrical form of the can is spawned from, with ridges still in the gelatinous glop), some potatoes, some green bean casserole, some drinks, some vaguely racist comment from your weird uncle, more drinks, more debates on who won the election, even more drinks, the dog gets into the pecan pie, you loudly slur to your mom and ask her why she never loved you, quick run to the booze store for more alcohol, grandma wont stop farting and the football team you bet on to win just lost. But there's gravy!

This is America. This is what most of us do on the third Thursday in November. It's a very bizarre right of passage but we do it anyway. Why?

Yeah we don't know either.

But the next day when you wake up devastated from the holiday's overdose of gluttony and grandpa's strangely dirty jokes, you need a serious pick me up. We know we did.

So on the third Friday in November, we drove over to a little food shed on 22nd Street to regroup and above all, recoup.

And we were glad we did.

Sort of like nachos but...not really

Maico Mexican Food is a funky little stand on 22nd between Park and South Tyndall Avenue. We have been meaning to come here for quite some time and after the debacle of the goings on the day previous we really needed some cold beer and good food.

Not that mom's cooking is bad it's just, well...she didn't make tacos did she?

Just a touch of citrus to the ceviche tostada

It was a really warm day. No, scratch that....it was pretty hot. Like high 80s/low 90s hot. Unseasonably toasty for being late November. You even tried to convince your conspiracy theory cousin of yours that global warming is in full effect and all they did was shrug it off and blame the current president. Whatever. It was time to order up and set our post Thanksgiving blues on the stoop and forget about it all for a while.

At that time, Maico was our only friend.

Why wasn't this mentioned on Food Wars?

At Maico you order at the window then take a seat in their picnic-esque area to the side. It's all outdoor seating, which is great, but we were burned out and the sun was really beating on us. Luckily we found a fairly shady spot and took solace in its brief shelter and ice cold sodas from Mexico.

No beer here, that was a bit of a let down, but the fizz and caffeine from the caramel colored drink did perk us up a bit. Something about cola from across the border; it has a different taste to it, less sweet, more depth. Not too sure. We just prefer the bottled sodas from Mexico.

And here is a secret: They are not listed on the menu. But if you ask they will provide.

Beer will have to wait till later.

And we desperately wanted one. Or two. 

The Arizona burrito in all of its glory

We started off with just some chips and salsa. They were good. Not too sure if the chips are homemade but the salsa they have on the tables in red plastic ketchup squeezers was tangy and full of flavor. They come almost "nacho style", topped with cheese and a house pico de gallo, which helped get the stomach ball rolling as we knew some welcomed food sanctuary was about to be delivered.

The smiling and loud laughing guy that took our orders was also the one bringing the goods. As he plopped down our rather ambitious order all he could do was chuckle and say:

"All this stuff for just you three? I love it!"

You know what? We love him now.

The cabeza taco, so cheeky

At a place like Maico, if they offer a Sonoran hot dog, you get a Sonoran hot dog.

Kind of confused as to why theirs isn't in the competitive ring along with BK and El Guero Canelo, this sloppy meat log was divine. A good soft bun, the dog was cooked perfect and wrapped in thick bacon, with a smooth slather of various sauces, their version of that Tucson OG is right up there with some of the greats. Highly recommended.

The Arizona burrito was chock full of beef and potatoes and even after eating three different styles of potato at yesterday's dinner we were stoked to be trying Maico's version. Tender, full of vibrant life and heavy in the hand, their burritos made us forget that we were craving beer and made us food drunk instead.

All of the proteins, the chicken, pork and carne asada, were all cooked wonderfully and were seasoned correctly. Even if you have a not so decent cut of meat, it is always important to finesse what you got with skill and care. The guys at Maico did just that.

We also got their ceviche tostada, a specialty of the house apparently. Awesome. So bright and full of personality, the seafood was as un-fishy as you can get then finished with ripe avocados, we can see now why the dude at the window recommended it.

Thank you dude at the window.

We love you even more now.

The California burrito almost took us out...almost

Like most successful Mexican food stands Maico started out as a cart. Through time, test and tribulation, they finally got themselves a proper place right across the street from some tactical weapons outlet. So as you watch beefy dudes getting ready to pop off some rounds, you can chow down on some beefy tacos and burritos and leave the macho posturing to the guys not eating amazing food.

Maico is awesome and we will definitely be back for more. We highly suggest you try one of each because everything that we got was delicious and made us forget about the savage ravage aunt Myrtle gave to that turkey leg. It was quite violent and oddly erotic.

Thank you Maico Mexican Food! You now have the Tucson Homeskillet's badge of approval.

Wait...do we have such a badge? We don't. Oh...nevermind.

Then we're just going to have to give you a sincere Metal horns salute. That's about the same...right?

Cheers!

The lil' cart where it all began

Camera, Typing and Eating
"Metal" Mark Whittaker
The Last Friday in November, 2016

Metal Influence: 

TRANSMETAL

"Muerto En La Cruz"

Your New Roving Food Obsession Resides In A Funky Red Truck

I remember the moment I spotted the boxy red coach that rolled into sight and set up shop.

It was a breezy summer evening a year or so ago. We, some friends of mine and I, were all relaxing at our favorite neighborhood bar when I caught sight of the food truck through the window getting ready to serve the crowd who were all beer buzzing and hiding in the free air conditioning.

"They're called Bam Bam," informed the bartender. "Not too sure what the food is like but they say it's a blend of Mexican and Korean. I think."

Always up for a new member of the mobile eatery nation, we waited patiently for the two guys inside to prep and gear for our orders. Eventually one guy began writing on the chalk board next to the pass window:

Yakisoba Noodles (steak, chicken, pork, tofu)
Korean Tacos
Fusion Burritos
Kimchi Quesadillas 

And...that was pretty much it. Simple little menu which I actually liked because when food trucks get mighty ambitious with their offerings, sometimes their point of view gets a bit lost in taste translation. Plus can you imagine cramming endless ingredients and components into such a tight little area? I've seen it being done before and, boy, what a mess. These Bam Bam guys seem to know what they were doing so when they announced that they were ready for service we queued up and asked what was good.

If I say it three times will magic Korean tacos appear?

"Oh everything here is good," assured the bearded man with the thick South American accent at the window. "It's Asian and Mexican fusion so we have traditional yakisoba noodles and house made kimchi paired with Latin spiced meats mixed with cilantro and all sorts of good stuff."

Sold.

I ordered the steak burrito and waited for the outcome. When it arrived it was about as big as my leg, reminding me of the Mission Style burritos that I got back in San Francisco. And biting into it? Holy mother of wow. Incredible. There was a mesmerizing syncopation of Eastern and Western style flavors and ingredients that just worked on so many levels. The noodles were chewy and seasoned well, the protein had a distinct Latin influence pop and the kimchi, oh man the kimchi!, just brought it all together and made for a very memorable dish.

My friends got the tacos. Again, amazing.

But it wasn't until we ran into Bam Bam again that we got the yakisoba (fried buckwheat) noodles that sent us over the edge and knew that these guys and this truck were a welcome contender for our palates and business. Just simply put, the noodles paired with any kind of protein is a personal favorite. It all just makes sense. 'Fusion' is a word that gets tossed around a lot in the culinary world, some of which works and others, eh...not so much. Bam Bam works.

Like silly works.

For that reason alone we grabbed a chance to hang out with owner and chef Fernando Sanchez to discuss the ways of his wizardry and get a glimpse on what it's like to serve up some of the best food to come out of a little red truck.

Or any color really.

Legend status? I'd be okay saying Fernando is on his way...

"I was born here in Tucson but I was raised in Mexico," says Fernando, writing up the daily specials on the board before opening up recently at Borderlands Brewery. "My passion for cooking started at a very young age. I used to love cooking with my grandmother.

"I actually graduated with a degree in Marketing from the University of Guadalajara, in Guadalajara Mexico, but my real passion is cooking. It's really what I love most in life. I learned to cook Asian food from a Korean friend of ours and it just kind of took off from there."

I am here to say we are glad he switched careers because, boy, I can't imagine him doing anything else.

Steak Yakisoba in full glory

Through countless trials and much errors, eventually Fernando and his team came up with some combinations that perform together in a seemingly effortless style. You wouldn't think that Mexican style pulled pork would pair well with a spicy pickled kimchi but its there that you would think wrong. It does. A little too well.

Like I said, Bam Bam's food is just a shy away from total surrender to addiction.

"Asian cuisine is actually my favorite style of food," Fernando notes. "We just wanted to bring something unique to Tucson that you really can't find in restaurants here.

"This kind of fusion is really popular in California, especially Los Angeles, so I studied what one of my all-time favorite chefs, Roy Choi, does to get the flavors mixed correctly. He is just so talented and creative. Eventually things fell into place and we knew we had something special."

Lucky customer ordering it up

When we first got hold of Bam Bam, Fernando was a bit more mobile. If he wasn't parked in front of some of our favorite bars he could be found in various food truck round ups and the occasional farmer's market or sporting or social event.

Recently Bam Bam was a fixture downtown, inhabiting the space between The Rialto Theater and World of Beer on the busy nights of Thursday through Saturday. Turns out, the surrounding restaurants got fed up with Fernando stealing their business so they politely asked him to set up somewhere else. When that didn't work they took further (legal) action to run him off.

Do you see why I'm not a huge Downtown Tucson fan?

Anyway it all worked out for the best because now Fernando and Bam Bam can be found on 4th Avenue at the Flycatcher most weekend nights, a business marriage that he is most happy about. So when you see a bright crimson food truck after catching a show there, be sure to walk on over and fuel up on their fantastic fusion cuisine.

Korean tacos (I didn't take this picture, came from the internet...sorry)

As Fernando started taking orders from hungry patrons lining up, he had this to say about being in the food truck business here in Tucson:

"It was really hard when we first started years ago because food trucks in Tucson weren't really popular, not like it is today. It was even harder for us because we were doing such different food than anyone else. You know sometimes people are afraid to try something new but...everything has worked out okay because people seem to like what we do."

Oh yes. We do.

If you park it, they will come

"I think today," Fernando continues as the crowds gather, "Tucson is a city with a great variety of food and amazing restaurants. The quality and diversity of the food is what got us the UNESCO designated world city of gastronomy. We are really proud to be a part of that."

With such delicious food to be bestowed to us here in Tucson via Bam Bam, I had to know what he considers his signature item.

"It would have to be the Korean tacos. They're just like...perfect to me."

And what do you consider the crowd favorites?

"Oh, probably, yeah, the tacos. People really love the burritos too. And the yakisoba noodles as well."

So...all of it?

Fernando just smiles.

"Yes."

We went back for seconds

The food is incredible and deserves to be a part of our UNESCO nod. The menu is so tight though. Like I said earlier, that doesn't bother me, at all. Or anybody else really. But with so much attention getting thrown his and Bam Bam's way I had to know if they were planning on expanding any time soon.

"Not at the moment," quipped Fernando as he tried to get orders out, you could see that was the last thing on his mind. Dumb question if you ask me. "We would like to keep our menu simple like it is now. But we do have specials from time to time. You just need to keep up with us online to see where we are and what we are serving up special that night."

You can follow Bam Bam on Facebook or Twitter...and I highly suggest you do both.

Can I has some more please?

On the rare occasion that Fernando isn't working or cooking, he says his favorite downtime activity is "spending time with my wife and kids" which I am sure is a scarce concept to him seeing as he is usually on the move.

And what about the future of Bam Bam? Most food trucks or small business entrepreneurs usually have a five year plan of some kind and I just had to know what was his goal for the near future.

In the midst of grilling meat and tofu and boxing up orders to the line of patrons, all Fernando could get out was, "Oh yeah. I can totally picture myself opening up a small restaurant."

I guess we'll just have to wait a bit for that to happen because the truck part totally seems to be working out for him at present.

Even in a different light, it's still crazy good

Until that time that Bam Bam becomes a brick and mortar here in Tucson (you're going to stay in Tucson...right?), we all will be on the lookout for the funky red truck with the smiling Buddha on the side reminding us that all good things come in small packages. And on wheels. And equipped with a flat top grill. And jammed with noodles and kimchi.

When you do see the lil' red wagon of badassery, do yourself a favor and, like, just order one of each. Because, apparently, the whole menu is a crowd favorite.

We know its ours, for sure.

Now I'm hungry. Where is he parked again tonight?

See you there...

Thank you Fernando...you rule!

Camera, Typing and Eating
"Metal" Mark Whittaker
The Day After Cinco de Mayo, 2016

 Metal Influence:

RED FANG