Elotes and Street tacos

Off 700 Broadway, near a tire shop, in Vallejo, California, there is a piece of heaven nestled near a little corner of paradise.

It’s an authentic Mexican food truck.

You wait in line (sometimes it’s a long line), but it’s always worth it. Living in Vallejo, I always wanted to come here.

Once I had moved to Santa Rosa, California (the drive was about an hour), it was worth the long drive to get there. Mountains, acres of farms and winery’s, beautiful skies and almost always perfect weather made for a scenic and calming drive.

Street tacos are different than a taco say, at Taco Bell(I love Taco Bell, too!), or at Chevy’s.

Street tacos are made with corn tortillas, onions, cilantro, and salsa. There is no lettuce, tomatoes, or cheese on them at all.

But…These tacos….

Were something else.

They had this distinction between them and the others I had tried. A spicy, savory, perfect combination of flavors nestled with just the right amount of toppings, crunch, and textures that—-when you added you favorite salsa(verde or red salsa), was to die for. I loved the whole charred jalapeño and fresh avocado as an accompaniment to the tacos. And the grilled tiny little pearl onions you could eat on the side or put in your taco. My other favorite to get with the tacos was their plain cheese quesadillas.

They were made with a plain white cheese and corn tortillas. Perfectly melted, warm but not too hot, and I would always dip it in the hot sauce that it came with.

Living in the Midwest all my life(being Jewish and having a mother who didn’t like to cook)… I always absolutely loved real Mexican food. It was so different and more complex than (to me) American food. Fast food in American culture seemed a bit stale to me, and for several years as a teen, I also was a vegetarian, and finding delicious and spicy food that I could eat at places like KFC or McDonald’s was more than impossible.

My favorite Mexican dish (since I was young) was the Chile relleno. I would order this dish nine times out of ten if I were in a Mexican restaurant.

I tried to create dishes inspired by real Mexican dishes(I loved to cook for my family as a kid and teen). I always tried to find restaurants In Missouri that gave into my restless adoration for the spicy, chile-roasted goodness that I craved. Yet, never could I truly find it.

Until I moved to California with my boyfriend(who I’ve been with over eleven now and have two sons with), and found that food truck. Taco Jalisco. I will go back one day and order a crazy amount of the tacos, quesadillas and go drive by the ocean—-trying not to eat anything on the way there. But, once I stop—it’s chow down time! 😆

Another thing I really liked was Elote, and any time we were in Benicia, Vallejo or a place that happened to have a food truck, I got an Elote.

Here is a picture of the amalgamation that makes up an Elote:

What the pictures don’t tell you…

Is how the charred, grilled perfectly cooked corn on the cob melts in your mouth, with the spice of the chile, citrus of the lime, sour tang of the sour cream, and cheese hits just right after eating several street tacos and sipping that ice cold Mexican Coke bottle.

Listening to Lady Gaga, Modest Mouse with the windows open, driving to Vallejo to grab some of those amazing street tacos—-hold some of my fondest memories of California.

I will always remember the sweeping landscape of the majestic mountains, gorgeous vineyards and palm trees—-and the delicious and wonderful food along with it, and more importantly, the people I knew there in this journey of life.

With the Tubbs fire of 2017, we had to unfortunately leave Santa Rosa, (my second son Noah was born there), and move back to Missouri. The Northern California wildfire had effected parts of Napa, Sonoma, and Lake counties. Santa Rosa, where we lived, had gotten the worst of the situation.

Fortunately, no one we knew had gotten hurt or lost their homes(same with us). But, the hardship of the situation along with precarious economic and personal safety conditions, we decided it was best to leave. I miss California everyday.

One day, I will return there! (And go back to Taco Jalisco!!)