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Election season is exhausting. For citizens and journalists alike. And while it’s tempting to believe that we can breathe a sigh of relief, that it’s all over for now, that we’ll be able to enjoy at least a brief reprieve from spam texts and scary ads about sex criminals and tax cheats, the truth is, the most important election season battle is still yet to come.
That’s right, I’m talking about Taco Truck Throwdown.
While the political ballots might already be cast, 22 of Fresno’s best taco trucks are still gearing up to battle it out this Saturday at the 15th Taco Truck Throwdown.
Of course, it’s possible that I’m biased about how important this is, since I’ll be one of the judges. It won’t be my first rodeo — in point of fact it’ll be my second — but it has been more than 10 years since the last time I judged.
Last time I sampled something like 28 or 30 different tacos and I thought I was going to die (what, you thought “FAT City” was just a clever name?). This year it’s a much more manageable-sounding 22 entrants. And I’m hoping to go in a little older and wiser this time, with the understanding that you can only take one or two bites of each taco if you actually want to make it to the end (having to throw away more than half of a perfectly good taco was a big mental hurdle last time. I hate wasting food, but there’s really no way around it in a sampling-a-lot-of-food situation).
All that inside baseball aside, I’d like to think Taco Truck Throwdown is a great showcase for one of the few things that lets Fresnans put aside our normal civic inferiority complex: the tacos. We’re all taco snobs around here. We’ve earned it.
As TTT organizer Mike “Mike Oz” Osegueda writes, “Can one of the new trucks — like Vega Bros., Taqueria Mi Ranchito or Archie’s — take the crown? Or will one of the trucks that has finished close in recent years — like Anthony’s Tacos, El Taco Macho or Tacos El Mandilon — finally get their moment?”
I, for one, can’t wait to find out. It’s the Super Bowl of tacos!
And as a reminder, if you can’t make it to TTT this Saturday, Mike and I will be hosting our very own Fresnoland Taco Crawl next Thursday, taking a group of VIP FATsos on a tour of some of our favorite local taco spots. We’ve still got a few tickets available, so get them before they sell out.
— Vince Mancini, Contributing Editor, Food
Showdown: The best tri-tip sandwich in Fresno
In search of Fresno’s best burrito, part one.
Fresno’s historic Uncle Tom’s is more than just a kooky name – and more than meets the eye
Has Mike’s Grill changed? 17 years on, Fresno’s tri-tip sandwich master says no.
This week’s local food news
Taco Truck Throwdown is back this Saturday! Waka Flocka Flame, Too $hort, La Sonora Dinamita, and Malo will be performing, and I hear one of the taco judges is ruggedly handsome. Just kidding, it’s me. I will be judging. So the ruggedly handsome thing, that was a lie. [MLB.Tickets]
Lava Tiki Bar is coming to Sequoia Brewing. We’ve mentioned this before, but it’s getting closer. Now there’s even a sign. [The Business Journal]
Starving Artist Bistro on Fort Washington has closed. The last word from the restaurant says it’s temporary, the landlord says it’s permanent. Bummer either way. [Fresno Bee]
Speaking of that same shopping center… The former home of Lassen’s Natural Food (2011 – 2020) is becoming a Mulligan’s Sports Bar & Indoor Golf. I wish it could be a Whole Foods (Lassen’s was like a bad off-brand Whole Foods), but I suppose a bar ain’t bad. [Fresno Bee]
Fresno restaurants with connections to the Central Coast. I only bring this up so I can quote this bullet point: “Remember Oggi, the Italian restaurant in the Tower District? The owner caused a stir when he declared he’d never open another restaurant in Fresno again. He opened Louie the Lip’s Weenie World in Pismo Beach, but it has since closed.” RIP, Louie the Lip’s Weenie World. [Fresno Bee]
Dads Cookies expanding options with new dirty soda bar. Personally I prefer my cookies with milk or coffee, but to each their own. [ABC 30]
The thought hadn’t occurred to me before, but after a minute’s reflection I realized he was right. I’ve lived in New York, San Francisco, and LA, and I can say in all earnestness that the best cocktails of my life I’ve had in Fresno (at Modernist, 13 Prime, Howlin Wolf, Annex, Saizon, et. al). Being from the Central Valley, I know firsthand that we have an inferiority complex ingrained almost from birth that can be hard to shake. But it feels like high time we start getting comfortable with bragging on ourselves from time to time.
— Vince Mancini, Contributing Editor, Food
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