La Cantina Co - Adelaide, South Australia

On 14 August 2012, hungry Adelaideans welcomed the newest food truck La Cantina Co with a nice long queue. The truck, cleverly named Truck Norris, was looking great with a shiny fitout and orange decor. They even had a working EFTPOS facility from day one. Very professional.



The large turnout presented a challenge for the 3 staff working in the truck. However, they were quite organised and did an excellent job for their first go. Quesadillas were also on the menu but these have since been scrapped and it's just tacos now. Probably for the best as the quesadillas were difficult to eat standing up. Here's the Chicken Taco (left) and Beef Taco (right) from the first ever service.



Week two was set to involve a showdown at high noon between La Cantina Co and Burger Theory in Hindmarsh Square. However, the driver of a black Porsche SUV decided to abandon his car for almost 3 hours in a 1 hour parking zone and poor Truck Norris was unable to fit. Apparently the Porsche driver was rightly told off by the angry taco mob when he finally returned but it was too late for me as I was already back at work by then. I vowed to return the following week.



The taco gods were smiling for week three which was, thankfully, free from parking dramas. The new chalkboard menu listed four different tacos at $5 each or 2 for $9:

• Beef, black bean & chorizo with pico de gallo, cheese & guacamole
• Smoked Chicken al cabron with pico de gallo, sour cream & corriander
• Spiced Pork & potato with pineapple salsa & corriander
• Zucchini & mushroom with cheese, lime & corriander

All sounded great and I couldn't decide so I ordered 4 tacos, one of each. This way I got to try them all and take some home for dinner as well. Protip: They reheat quite well in a skillet or fry pan on the stove top.



You may have spotted Jarritos sodas around town. These are imported from Mexico and available from the truck for $4. Very refreshing!



With great new additions such as La Cantina Co and the continuation of Splash Adelaide to the end of Dec 2012, the future of street food in Adelaide has never looked brighter.

Lucky Lupitas - Adelaide, South Australia

In a small group of shops across from Flinders Medical Centre and Flinders University, there's a Mexican & Latin American restaurant called Lucky Lupitas. The place has been buzzing since it first opened in February 2012 and doesn't look to be slowing down anytime soon. With plenty of hungry clientele within walking distance and no bookings taken, you're lucky if you don't have to wait for a table at Lupitas.



We stopped in for lunch on a Friday. We arrived before noon and the place looked empty from the outside. As we went inside, we found some funky Latin American decor and more people than we expected. Still a few empty tables though so no wait for us!



For those perplexed by some of the words appearing in the menu, the board on the wall has some helpful explanations.



We decided to start with Jarritos ($5.50 each, imported from Mexico) and Guacamole ($8.90). The drinks were very refreshing with the seasoned corn chips (totopos) and guacamole dip. A very nice start to the meal.



Next course: tacos! Left is the chicken, Taco de pollo ($5) and right is the beef, Taco de carne ($5.50). Both come in a soft corn tortilla. The chicken is accompanied by cilantro (corriander), jicama (sweet root vegetable), salsa & cascabel aioli (chilli garlic sauce). The salsa is fairly light on in terms of chilli. If you like a bit of spicy kick in your taco, you should make use of the variety of hot sauces on the table. The beef taco was definitely my favourite. Along with the awesome & flavorful beef was radish, guacamole, salsa & cabbage. The Taco de carne gets a huge tick of approval from me.



Darren loved his Lucky Ribs ($23.90), wood smoked & slow cooked beef short ribs (minimum 400 grams). The ribs come with a choice of two house made sauces: Chipotle BBQ or Chimichurri. The Chimichurri is a vinegar-based sauce. Being a BBQ fan he went with the Chipotle, which was an excellent choice.



The beef itself was a relatively dry style, similar to beef I've experienced in Mexico. The sauce ensured it wasn't too dry. There was plenty of Mexican flavour and the meat came easily off the bone. I managed to steal a couple of bites off the plate before it was demolished.



Overall, we had an excellent lunch at Lucky Lupitas. I hear the owner is from Washington DC, which I don't usually associate with great Mexican food. However, he has clearly done a lot of traveling in Latin America and has managed to bring some authentic Latin flavours and ingredients all the way to Adelaide. I'm looking forward to going back to try the elotes (corn on the cob), quesadillas, and hamburguesas. I've also heard good things about the Prickly Pear Margaritas. For those who live in the area, take away is also available.


Update 25 August 2012: Made a return visit tonight and managed to get a table when the doors opened at 5:30. Tonight we had an amazing dinner and got to try a few new things. First, Elotes ($4.50 each) - grilled corn on the cob with chipotle mayonesa, cheese & lime. The chipotle mayo had a nice kick to it and the cheese added an interesting texture and of course more flavour. Really enjoyable and a great starter. My photo doesn't really show it very well but I was especially impressed that they're served in an awesome corn shaped serving dish as well.



Next was the Quesadilla de Pollo y Championes ($15.90) - grilled chicken & mushrooms with cheese, chipotle, onions & spinach with salsa & guacamole. This is the spiciest dish I've had at Lupitas so far. I loved the mushrooms and spinach - two ingredients I've not tried in a quesadilla before. It was also chock-a-block full of chicken so made for a very filling and satisfying dish.



There's also a new item on the menu - Duck Taco ($6.25). This is the first and best duck taco I have ever eaten. The duck was super moist and tender. If you like duck, this is definitely the taco for you.



Adelaide is very Lucky to have Lupitas in town. This place is going to be in high demand for quite some time.

Ricos Tacos El Tio - Inglewood, California

On arrival in Los Angeles and to start our latest trip to America in June, we went straight to In-N-Out Burger (see previous post), then to check in to our hotel in Hawthorne. Hawthorne is near the airport and not in the nicest part of town, but we were on a budget. In fact, Compton is only a couple of suburbs away. However, you never know where you are going to find great food and that night we found it at Ricos Tacos El Tio in the neighboring suburb of Inglewood at 4200 West Imperial Hwy. We followed the crowd and we weren't disappointed.


Side view of Ricos Tacos the morning after our introductory visit

Mexican Taqueria style food - the real stuff. I can't tell you everything on the menu, but the basics are tacos, tortas (Mexican sandwiches) and burritos. There are plenty of choices when it comes to meat - carne asada, bbq pork, chicken and several others. Most dishes are served with pickled carrots, radishes, jalapeños and lime on the side.


BBQ Pork Tacos

Prices are good, service is fast, opening hours are long and they're always busy. We visited a few times within the course of a couple of days and managed to sample several of their homemade aguas frescas - Tamarindo, Pineapple, Melon and my favorite Horchata (rice water). Definitely delicious and refreshing on a summer's day.


Taco, Burrito and Aguas Frescas

This place is definitely worth a visit if you're ever in the Inglewood area and want good authentic food on a budget.

Breakfast Tacos & Flour Tortillas Recipe

bean & cheese breakfast taco in homemade flour tortilla

I grew up in San Antonio, Texas - king of breakfast tacos (I hear Austin's are pretty good too). In San Antonio, you roll out of bed and hit up one of the many Taco Cabana, Las Palapas, or Bill Miller drive thrus...or you pick your favorite local taqueria for a hot soft flour tortilla (or two!) in aluminum foil filled with your favorite fillings like bean & cheese (my personal favorite!), bacon & egg, potato & egg, chorizo & egg (chorizo is sausage), or one of the more creative choices from the menu. Without a doubt you will scarf down your taco and start your day very satisfied and having spent only around a dollar or two per taco. You can hardly get any decent Mexican food in Australia so you certainly can't buy any decent breakfast tacos in Adelaide (yet). So even though none of my friends' abuelitas (grandmas) ever taught me how to make homemade flour tortillas back home, my love for breakfast tacos has led me to give it a go here in the land down under. I replaced the traditional lard with butter or margarine or canola oil. The results even on the first try made me want to make all my tortillas fresh and without preservatives and crap for almost nothing instead of paying almost $1 per tortilla for the packs from the supermarket. All you need is a rolling pin, a fry pan, a few ingredients and a bit of muscle. I'll leave it up to you what you put inside and what time of day you eat them but believe me you will want to eat them. and the plate will be lonely again...



Flour Tortillas Recipe

Makes approx 6 tortillas. Double the quantities for approx 12 tortillas.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour or self-raising flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter or margarine or canola oil
approx 1 & 1/2 cups boiling water

Preparation method:
1. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl.
2. Mix in butter or oil until the mixture resembles the texture of polenta or fine breadcrumbs.
3. Add a little boiling water at a time, stirring each time.
4. Begin mixing with your hands to make a soft dough. You may not need all the water.
5. Knead the dough for a few minutes on floured surface until it becomes smooth and elastic.
6. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover it with cling wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes.
7. Divide the dough into small balls similar to the size of golf balls and roll out one ball at a time using a rolling pin into the size and thickness you prefer. (I try to get mine as thin as humanly possible)
8. Cook one at a time in a dry heavy frying pan until the top starts to bubble. Then turn to cook on the opposite side.
9. Place cooked tortillas on a large plate with a clean tea towel over the top to keep them warm.
10. Fill with your favorite fillings and enjoy!