Everyone knows that a good FuzzBuzz starts with good peaches. The best peaches I can find are typically hanging on a tree less than 100 yards from my blender.
Looking forward to the 2013 crop and the sound of spinning blenders.
FuzzBuzz Recipe can be found at this link.
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
Last weekend I loaded three of the Mango Kids into the MangoMobile for something we called "TacoTruck Adventura 2012." Adventure? Sure! Although it was really more of a quest. We were on a quest to find the best taco from a Taco Truck in our county. I had put the call out on facebook and received quite a few suggestions. But I knew deep in side that the only way to know which truck made the best tacos was to hit the road and put it to a test.
Here's what we found out:
(Photos: In the bus, the MangoMobile parked, Nate pounding a Mexican Coke)
Wow! We went to order at the window and we were invited inside. We loved this place and thought it was going to be hard to beat. Actually, it's a great place to go if the weather is lousy. It has a very clean interior and they make a very good taco. The only negative we found that was the actual taco was too watery and they did not cook their corn tortillas. Other than that, a really good place to eat tacos!
(Photos: Jessica's Truck, Four Carne Asada Tacos, Preparing to devour)
Local readers will know this location well. There are easily six taco trucks in one strip between G and H Streets in downtown Modesto, but everyone seems to think Jessica's tacos are the best. As you can see from the picture above, the presentation is beautiful and there were several people in line (good sign). The only downside was the questionable characters lingering around the trucks. Overall, they were only average tacos that were pleasantly spicy, but we thought the whole location was just so-so.
(Photos: DriveUp tacos, Empty Cokes, "Hello, My Name is Chile Colorado", Scoring the tacos)
We were told over and over that Salida had the best tacos in the county. Several facebook friends mentioned the taco truck here, but only one mentioned a location (near Napa Auto Parts). We were sorely disappointed in this truck. There was no place to sit, no shade and the tacos were barely average. However, from our parking spot we noted two additional taco trucks in Salida, which makes me think we might have had the wrong truck. Take this recommendation for what it is worth. (We will make another visit).
Stop #4 : "Tacos Vallarta" - 14th and D Street, Modesto CA (near the DMV)
(Photos: Great parking, Great meats and a bold declaration, Nice ambiance near the tires)
This was another location based on a facebook recommendation. Everyone likes to talk about the taco truck near the DMV. Truthfully, this was a really good truck and they have a nice environment. Lousy parking, but really good tacos.
Stop #5 : "El Primo, #2" - Yosemite and Santa Fe, Empire CA (at the train tracks)
(Photos: El Primo #2, Final scoring with orange Jaritos, Enjoying tacos in the shade)
This was our final stop and just happened to be the best tacos on flavor. Odd enough, this is the closest to our house. Although Tacos Vallarta was a close second, the ladies at El Primo #2 serve a mighty fine taco.
Final Ranking and Comments
#1 - El Primo, #2 - great flavor, great parking, great seating, but overall the best tacos!
#2 - Tacos Vallarta - very close second. Horrible parking.
#3 - Viva Taco/Taco Bus - Loved the seating and the great welcome we were given. Tacos were a little watery.
#4 - Jessica's - Good food, bad location.
#5 - El Mexicano - not worth the effort to drive to Salida.
Taco Adventura 2012 is complete and it was a success. I recommend you put your own trucks to the test. It was a fun afternoon of good food!
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
I hate ridiculous laws. I also hate inconsistency. California is home to both.
For the past few years, the most ridiculous inconsistent law I have found involves our cell phone/speaking/driving laws. Like many states, California requires drivers to use a "hands-free" device when speaking on the phone and driving. Law enforcement officers are quick to write a citation if the driver is even holding their phone while driving.
Here's where it gets good. California drivers are free to eat a hamburger, chew on fries, and slurp on a coke while casually talking to everyone in the car. If they want, they can even drink scalding hot coffee from McDonalds while manuvering their car through traffic, but when it comes to their portable phones, drivers need to make certain to connect with a hands-free device.
This is the real kicker: Drivers must use a "hands-free" device to talk on their phone and when they do not have a "hands-free" connection, they need to put their phone down (probably next to the cup of coffe that they are free to pick up whenever they want. Phone = Bad, Coffee = Good
That's when the following piece of brilliance hit me.
The Hands-Free Coffee Phone
I've provided the step by step guide below.
Step 1: Acquire and finish your favorite coffee drink in a medium sized paper cup. For this example, I finished a Grande Cappucino from Starbucks. Yummy!
Step 2: Clean and dry your cup. Get your phone.
Step 3: Turn your phone to Speaker setting and drop it into the empty cup.
Step 4: Pretend to drink from the cup as you drive, but speak into the cup as you drive. To pull this off, you have to look like you are drinking. The sound generated will be amplified throughout the cup (added bonus!).
Step 5: Think to yourself, what other kind of stuff does Fletch have locked away in that brain of his. Then call me (with your Hands-Free Coffee Cup Phone) to thank me.
Technically this works, because you are not touching the phone with your hands (just the cup), making the phone truly "hands-free" and we all know that holding a coffee cup while we drive is legal. As the Looney Tunes genius, Wild E. Coyote, would say, "Brilliance. Sheer unadulterated brilliance."
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
