SOMETHING TO TACO BOUT
Something to taco bout!
a Ventura Avenue four hour taco tour
THE AVENUE
I had my first Maggie’s Burrito when I was thirteen. I was working with our friend Jo at her Aussie plant nursery in casitas springs washing pots and seeding flats. Her husband drove trucks for the OST trucking company on the Avenue. He would pick up burritos on occasion for lunch in the garden, so we’d slice them in half and share a carne asada. Maggie’s on the Avenue is known to cook with lard. It’s an old school establishment from the 70’s….at least that’s what the girl behind the counter says, although she admits to not really knowing. It’s situated as a take out window next to a convenient store a bit outside the main track of avenue taquerias. It’s smack dab in the oil fields, a thick oozy part of Ventura Ave history. At one point in time the area ranked one of the biggest in oil drilling in the country. Maggie’s fed the oil workers burritos the size of their heads, because the men were hungry. Today, the burritos are still as big, still made with lard, still heavy and satisfyingly good……and the salsa ranks pretty high on people’s lists too.
The Avenue is an old school industrial zone. As you drive the length from Casitas Springs to the coast you pass abandoned buildings, warehouses, auto shops, and oil rigs bobbing their heads up and down. I had a friend who was desperate to climb aboard a rig with a cowboy hat and ride the damn thing like a bucking bronc. They are weird like an ostrich or an urban sculpture gone bad. There are also hidden art spaces, thrift stores and, most deliciously, a smattering of taquerias in all the nooks and cranny’s. The Avenue has slowly become known as the Taco District of Ventura County.
The history of the Ventura barrios is rich. The hispanic culture has roots deep in the soil of the area as many migrated to Ventura to work the agricultural fields and citrus orchards. This culture remains true on the avenue as it mingles with the industrial working class, the old Ventura surf culture, the seasonal picking schedules of the orchards, the produce stands and ultimately and most fabulously, the food.
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Cade and I set out last week to try the tacos of various taquerias along Venture Avenue. Simply a curiosity of flavor and an excuse to eat a lot of tacos, we hit the road with a list of nine taquerias and a panaderia in there for fun. We managed to hit seven on the list and Panaderia Herrera, which honestly was the highlight of my day although bread was not the reason we were on this wee adventure.
On our way out of Ojai we pulled into one of my favorite spots and an often times missed opportunity for many taco adventurists, Red Barn Liquors #4. Ignacio’s deli and taqueria takes up a small space in the back of the liquor store. I wonder if I go here simply to watch the woman making the tacos, or burritos, or taquitos freshly rolled and fried on the back burner. She often times wears a red woolen cap and with a serious look on her face does her work. We ordered the Chicken Mole tacos.
I am a fan of mole for it’s decadence although it’s ingredients are no such thing. It is primarily made of fruits, nuts, chili peppers and spices such as cinnamon or cumin…sometimes chocolate or stale bread and black pepper too. It hails from the State of Puebla in Mexico, although some argue maybe Oaxaca. I spent a year in Puebla when I was eighteen. I remember Platos de Mole Poblano on every restaurant table in the zocalo. The story goes that a group of nuns from a convent in Puebla panicked when they heard of a visit from the archbishop. They were poor and didn’t have anything to prepare so they pulled together what they had in the kitchen and whipped together a sauce which they poured over an old turkey they butchered from the back yard. The archbishop was so pleased and asked what it was. The nun replied “I made a mole.” The word stems from a Nahuatl word “molli” which means mix, sauce or concoction. The name seems fitting of this sauce. A mix. And so we ate Chicken Mole Tacos at the Red Barn Liquor Store in Miramonte and they were delicious.
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Our second stop was Maggie’s on the Avenue which I mentioned earlier. I had only experienced the large burritos there so was excited to try the taco. We ordered the carne asada and the chicken taco. These tacos came covered with the whole shebang….shredded lettuce and cheeses which exhibit a more south western flair. The chicken was boiled and moist…no seasonings, no frills. Grabbed a bottle of sparkle water from the convenient store and hit the road again.
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Taqueria Cuernavaca has a reputation for a pretty good el pastor taco. This style taco was very reminiscent of my time in Cuernavaca where I experienced my first real Mexico taco. The simplicity of two warmed corn tortillas, some meat, onions and cilantro and a dash of salsa verde perhaps cannot be beat……and by golly if that el pastor taco was not just the most delicious thing there on the avenue on our gloomy Wednesday afternoon. It was the pineapple….the slice of pina on top that complimented the crispy pork with a sweet kick. Others have mentioned the veggie taco there, potatoes perhaps. I will try that next time.
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At this point we took a detour from tacos to pan dulce. Panaderia Herrera. I had peaked in the windows before only to find an empty glass pastry case covering the left side of the room. Today it was open and the case was a third full of an assortment of Pan Dulce. I want to write more about this stop, and I will. I will post it soon in the sack exchange forum. It is worth a story of it’s own, although short, it deserves more than I will give it here. What I will say now is that we walked out with a plastic bag of sweet breads and I was smiling ear to ear.
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Double hitter came by way of The Ventura Taqueria Dona Raquel and El Asadero across the street. Cade went for the shrimp taco at Dona Raquel while I hit the fryer with an empanada taco con carne asada. His taco con camerones seemed to satisfy nicely as the sauce was a creamy mix with enough spice to warm it up and some veg on the side to take the heavy edge off. My Empanada was just that…..a corn torilla filled with meat and fried. Dipped in salsa of two types it was pleasant although very hot and best eaten split in half for steam evaporation.
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El Asadero has a secret item on the menu. I had looked it up and so I asked for the quesadillataco with el pastor. It is exactly what it sounds like and if you want that cheesy indulgence this might be your go to on the avenue. They had tables covered in Mexican colored blankets and music playing. El Pastor taco posters lined the walls inside and out.
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With two more places to go we stopped at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in the area, Taqueria Tepitilan. I always go for the Number 1……cheese enchilada and taco plate with beans and rice. It’s delicious but today was about tacos and we had already had a handful to line our stomachs so we went easy on ourselves with a carnitas taco and a taco con chorizo. Oh Boy….The Chorizo! I think I like chorizo. Not a huge fan of the carnitas and as I was testing the carnitas waters I wondered the difference between carnitas and el pastor. They are both pork right? Yes, but they are prepared very differently. El pastor is a marinated and grilled pork that usually utilizes that delicious Pina I mentioned earlier. Carnitas is pork braised in liquid or fat. These two methods yield a very different flavor and texture. El pastor is more up my alley but that’s not to say the carnitas is not a tasty experience.
I was loosing Cade at this point. The fatty meats piled high had him craving something sweet. A little freshen up of a crisp soda or a piece of fruit might help get you down the taco avenue so keep it in mind if you find a desire to have more than a few tacos. He pulled himself together and we were able to hit one more taqueria before the day was done.
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Johnny’s Fine Mexican Food. My first Johnny’s burrito was a trip to the beach with my dad when we were younger. I don’t think we were going to the beach and getting a burrito. I think we were getting a burrito and going to the beach. There is a difference. Most of the time people get a Johnny’s burrito and go to the beach. Although Cade says he hits Johnny’s for a crispy beef taco after a surf. I have heard mention the Johnny’s crispy beef taco before. It might be its signature taco. For a perfect size and price point alone it is well worth the trip. Two tacos for $4.50 and there you have it….a meal for less than $5.00! Come on! Around here?! Damn brilliant and tasty too. Johnny’s has been around since the 60’s. It’s a little hole in the wall restaurant with a pick up window, one orange picnic table on the street, and a small dining room the color beige with some history on the walls.
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It is possible that is was all too much for one day, and yet I came home with another list of taquerias we didn’t hit and tacos we didn’t try at the places we did go to. So it’s not over yet. I have a lifetime to try them. I was very happy to take a day on the Avenue though. I so often drive through but never take a walkabout. It is really worth the walkabout. Murals and history all about. Curiosities abound. Sometimes my most exotic trips are right here where I live because I forget to go exploring. I think I’ve seen it all and I haven’t. I just read the other day that the Ortega Adobe casita is right here in Ventura. It was the house where Maria Conception Jacinta Dominguez Ortega started her chili business which she then sold in 1943. It is now owned by B and G Foods and you can find those Ortega chilis and taco shells all over the place. The little adobe house still stands….imagine that.
Don’t take for granted where you live. It is a treasure trove just like every other place in the world. Tour the food….find the places off the beaten path. You don’t have to spend a fortune to have a good time. You just have to be willing to see the good time in everything.