Sooooo....tacos. I have an odd, inexplicable penchant for tacos. Tacos of many different types and styles. I tire of anyone calling such a bastardized item “authentic”. There are Mexican, New Mexican, Texas, Thai, Korean.... the road goes on forever and the party never ends. I have developed a preference generally for simple soft corn tortillas with some type of meat and a little lime and cilantro. They seem pure to me and when I discovered i could get them down on Cherokee Street it was yet another thing that made me smile about St. Louis. Sure, we have lost our brewery to Brazilians, the cardinals are owned by some rich boys from Country Day and every large company worth it’s salt has run (not walked) out of our little town. But we have some damn fine tacos.
La Vallesina with it’s outdoor dining is my favorite but on some days my inadequacies at Spanish can limit my meal. So this week I went on a small but interesting taco binge trying two new places. The first is The Farmhaus. I had tried to dine there last Friday fro fried fish but they were “sold out” when I went. The Farmhaus is open for dinner but has reved up a small, ravenous fan club for it’s daily Blue Plate specials. They tend to be comfort food and started being whatever they wanted to cook. There are no choices. you pay 10 or 11 bucks and you eat whatever they serve you with a side, salad and a drink. If nothing else it is a cute idea. So I went with my niece and nephew this Tuesday because the Farmhaus has announced taco Tuesday. I was unnaturally excited. the place is sparse in decoration but was already filling up at 11:30. The salad was suspicious to me with the dreaded “field greens” which I view to be weeds but they had an excellent dressing and in an effort to continue to broaden my tastes I ate it. They have flavored iced tea which is a strike against them but the water was cold. they then served each of us three tacos, chorizo, carnitas and veggie. They were all good but surprisingly the chorizo was the best. they were served plain with a lime along with Spanish rice and big meaty beans (which i hate but understand that I am in a sad, unschooled minority. It was all good. My complaint is that they were not great. Tacos should be great. i will not need to go back for Taco Tuesday but I look forward to experiencing other Blue Plates. it is a great kitschy idea. All you need to know:
http://www.farmhausrestaurant.com/farmhausabout.asp
Which brings me to my favorite, great kitschy idea....the taco truck! They have had these out in L.A. for years. Large wagon like trucks with a ull kitchen jammed inside. In L.A. it was the Korean taco truck that really got peoples attention. They were hard to find but a treat and developed quite a following. The thought of getting food from a truck is VERY appealing to me. I fondly remember the ice cream stock and the hot dog stand and the taco truck seemed a natural. For the last year I had been blathering in my tiresome way to friends that I was going to revolutionize St. Louis cuisine with a taco truck and that my son could run on it on his graduation. Alas he graduated and got a job and I got distracted...probably by a shiny object or perhaps a gum wrapper, and it never happened. And them the bastards stole my idea.
This is what a taco looks like on a car seat...as you drive.So after taco Tuesday at Farmhaus I was leaving court on a Wednesday and got the tweet from Cha Cha Chow that the taco truck was outside Barnes Hospital on Euclid and Forest Park. Yes, I follow both Farmhaus and Cha Cha Chow on Twitter. Yes, i am not cool or young enough to be on Twitter. Get over it. I was done with court at 11 when I got the Tweet heading back to Clayton. Why not? I want to say for the record that it was an excellent decision. I pulled up behind the truck illegally parked on Euclid (and i illegally parked behind it). there is something illicit abd buying your food from a truck, especially when you are driving up behind it. it is kind of like a drive by shooting... with food. I hopped out and jogged to the sidewalk side of the truck and asked after the tacos. They assured me that they were life changing and I ordered the chicken, the carnitas and the fish. 9 bucks. I think that breaks down to 3 bucks each. The pork was mouth watering and flavorful with a verde that was not hot but very bright with great tomatillo bursting out and served as god intended on corn. The chicken was similarly flavorful with cheese and onion. the fish was a little disappointed because it was covered in their mayo, cha cha sauce.
I ate them all in the car as I drove. Even the fish. they did not change my life but it was oh so good and I know i will be hitting the taco truck at least a few times a month. If you do not tweet I think you can find it through their website of Facebook page but go hear to get the delicious menu.
http://chachachow.com/menu.html
Cha Cha’s Taco Truck, if they play it right will become a cherished St. Louis tradition. Even for the sober. Go there. Now.
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