On Monday night, I ventured to Austin for a birthday party. During the drive down, I wondered to myself if I was actually traveling a great distance to do something which has become, well, less than my favorite thing to do.
I love my friends and their kids. The kids are funny and full of life and there are many activities in which I delight in them. In particular, I like playing with them on the grandparents' playground. That's their element.
I felt like I needed to give you something that stirred your Fried-day imagination with both quantity and diversity.
Enter Captain Billy Whizzbang's, which provides a plethora of Fried-day variety.
Today's Taqueria Thursday is part celebration of one of my favorite taquerias and part public service announcement for those who share my enjoyment of Taqueria El Crucero.
I'll start with the PSA. Beginnin on Sept. 1, Crucero will be CASH ONLY. Start spreading that information to your friends now. If you're a Crucero regular, just go ahead and operate as if it's already cash only. I was on the way with a couple of friends today and I suggested we stop and get cash at the ATM. We decided to proceed and use plastic if necessary, but we still sort of prepared ourselves mentally.
Sometimes on Fried-day, a little decadence comes into play. Like in the form of chicken fried steak for breakfast or a crazy wing sandwich and maybe one day I'll write about the greatness of the Carolina pork it at Frank in Austin.
But today called for a little more strategy as two factors dictated my lunch plans. My air conditioner began leaking water sometime this week. I noticed it last night when I got home from Boston (that's right, I skipped off to Boston without any of you noticing this week). And an iffy air conditioner is nothing to procrastinate about, so I called the AC folks first thing this morning. That meant staying close to the house in case they stopped by.
Halfway to my car, I realized I could not afford to leave my to-go cup sitting on the table. I needed the cup. I needed the sweet, fire-extinguising Coca-Cola.
As part of my taqueria adventure in August, I've attempted to get around to a few taquerias that are new to me. Mi Casita Express fit in that category as it's not on my beaten path but has always seemed appealing to me. This perhaps is because when I was a Taco-Bell-eating teenager, it was a Taco Bell. So I have some nostalgia tied up in that little building on Valley Mills Drive.
Confession: I'm not sure if I'm convinced that taco truck tacos are delicious. They're inexpensive and it's a low-maintenance way to grab lunch. And sure, the tacos make for a tasty treat.
But I sort of think they're all the same and I'm skeptical that a taco truck dinner could ever fully satisfy me.
My buddy Seth Horton is nearing the end of his time in Waco. He and his wife Margy have been great fans and encouragers of our WacoFork adventure. But we're losing them to the state of North Carolina. These things happen.
Before they leave, we needed to make sure Seth filled a hole in his Waco experience. As of Friday morning he had never dined at George's, Vitek's or Tony DeMaria's. So we had Fried-day lunch at George's in Hewitt and checked that one off the list.
In an effort to make this taqueria adventure more effective, I'm making myself venture to some taquerias that are out of my usual rotation.
Don't misunderstand, I'm going to hit El Crucero at least once. But it's a good opportunity to get around a little bit. Today that meant a swim through Taqueria Zacatecas.
We've had a bunch of news on the site lately and we have a bunch more on the way in the coming months. I wish I could bring you new restaurant news every day and, judging from the way the Waco restaurant universe has expanded recently, that seems more and more possible.
But in between, there's also room for highlighting our existing restaurant scene. So from now until Labor Day, I'm implementing Taqueria Tuesday and Taqueria Thursday. Why? Because if there's one thing we have a plethora of, it's taquerias.
For Fried-day, I stopped in to see my friends Thanh and Phong at Clay Pot.
Since I was dining alone, Thanh sat down with me and complemented my order of Clay Pot Wings by ordering Ly Le Wings. She even let me try one of hers. You know what? I liked the Ly Le Wings better. I've always preferred dry wings to wet wings and the Ly Le variety scored big points.
Before the wings, I appetized with fried dumplings, which have become my number one app crave in town. (Reader's note: this is an oft-changing distinction, but fried dumplings could hold the top spot for a while. Tom Yung Goon at Bangkok Royal is a close second)
Thanh and Phong told me about changes coming soon to Clay Pot's opening schedule. Just in time for the Olympics and football season, Clay Pot will be open for lunch and dinner on Saturday. The new seating arrangement and big screen TV in the corner will make Clay Pot a nice place to grab some food and beer or wine and watch the game this fall. This will begin in two Saturdays (August 4).
