Post 52.2: Hello Orange, Part 2 - Hello Potato Tacos (OC: Orange)

Now that I have been spending more time in the Orange County area, I have been able to wander around and discover some new food findings, the first of which is located right under my nose.  Okay, so 'right under my nose' isn't quite the exact GPS location, but this discovery did occur in the same plaza where the office is located... so it's really not that far from whatever is under my nose.

Pepito's Mexican Restaurant is not quite El Torito, not quite King Taco, but not quite El Pollo Loco either.  It's more like the kitchen and dining patio of your best friend's, little sister's, boyfriend's abuelita... just an open kitchen with counters made of tile, a cross between a restaurant and a café that serves authentic Mexican fare to locals.  It is not the kind of place that foodies would deliberately search and try, but it definitely is the kind of joint that gets the unsuspecting hungry coming back as regulars.  Pepito's is not a chain... it doesn't even have its own website.  But what it does have is an expansive menu complete with breakfast burritos and enchiladas... there are daily specials, Taco Tuesdays, a friendly staff with easily recognizable faces, cold cerveza, a fresh salsa bar, and holy hell... there are potato tacos.

So what is this infatuation I have with these newly discovered potato tacos? Well, you'd never know until you try.  I have come to love potato tacos because they are the most indulgent kind of tacos there are.  I mean... you can never go wrong with the house asada or the pastor that's made just right, but there's no amount of meat and tortilla that will make you feel like you're truly guilty.  If you polish off a 32 oz. rib eye with a side of mashed potatoes... you're a bad ass.  But if you polish off just two or three crispy shell potato tacos... hey, you're just bad.  

The root of your guilt stems from the potato itself.  Commonly made into French fries, tater tots, and bacon topped skins, it's not really thought of as the healthiest of vegetables.  Even though they are full of fiber, you know that it wasn't quite what your mom was referring to when she said, "eat your vegetables."  Whether or not you think potatoes are vegetables or corn tortillas are actually part of the vegetable food group, the lack of a true leafy green or a browned protein in your taco connotes a message that your meal is lacking some sort of nutrient.  

No matter.  Guilt is guilt.  If you get a chance to indulge in a crispy shell filled with a fluffy white vegetable more commonly thought of as carbs, then please don't let anything stop you.  You haven't lived until you've bitten into this ingenious invention.  It's one part grilled hash brown, a second part velvety mashed potato, and another part steamy baked potato... all wrapped within a crispy tortilla and doused with whatever salsa your heart desires.  (Not into spicy? Pepito's makes a Gringo salsa for the japaleño adverse.)  Oh, and did I mention the shredded cheese that comes on top? If you order the tacos for takeout, the cheese will melt in the container by the time you reach your destination (across the office plaza).  Ahhh... delicious, heavenly guilt.

Hola, Naranja.  Thanks for introducing Pepito's potato tacos.  I have a feeling Orange will be good to me.  Until the next carb-filled discovery, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110411+0526

Post 50.1: Goodbye Thousand Oaks, Part 1 - Monday Mornings (LA-SFV: Glendale)

Just a few weeks ago, I transferred from the Thousand Oaks office to the office in Orange.  It's cut my commute down from 52 miles to 36 miles one-way.  Since gas prices are skyrocketing, I'm sure the shorter commute will help my bank account just a tad.

One thing I will miss about my commute to Thousand Oaks is the Monday morning car ride with my cousin Monica.  We would make weekly pit-stops at Porto's Bakery in Glendale on the way into the Valley.  I would pick up my Monday morning OJ and a ham and cheese croissant sandwich for lunch, and Monica would buy dozens of potato balls and guava cheese rolls for her and her roommates.  Every so often we would sneak one or two chicken croquettes in before jumped back onto the freeway too.

I was one of the few that made the commute from 626 into Thousand Oaks, which means I was one of the few who had access to fine Cuban baked goods.  Feeling the need to share the world's best food with everyone at work, I would bring Porto's into the office every so often.  And of course, we would rejoice together and celebrate in Cuban pastry revelry by dancing circles in our cubicles and dropping flaky crumbs on the carpet like sprinkles on a cupcake.  Okay, that didn't happen.  But you get the picture... there was pastry bliss.

It was one of those typical manic Monday mornings at Porto's that I discovered that the bakery made not only potato balls, but potato ball sandwiches.  Whoa.  So on top of my usual ham and cheese croissant, I ordered a papa preparada, the potato ball sandwich.  Deep fried mashed potatoes with seasoned ground beef with lettuce, tomatoes and cheese gets sandwiched between light Cuban baguette bread.  A bit trippy, no? 

Biting into the potato ball sandwich conjured the same feeling as eating a potato taco.  Oh, drool... the potato taco is my new discovery at the Mexican restaurant next to my new office in Orange.  Can we say carb overload? But the bread definitely outweighs the tortilla in carb count.  I still think the ham and cheese is my favorite (there's definitely a better carb-protein ratio), but the papa preparada is something that everyone should try at least once.

New office location, new morning commute.  Can't wait to see what culinary delights awaits me in Orange.  Oh, don't forget the Tapatío! Until next time, let's get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110228