Something Spicy in the Desert - Crazy Coyote Tacos - Banning, CA

A couple of times a year my wife Kim and I head out to the Cabazon Outlets to try to get into a little trouble. One of the things we look forward to the most is stopping at Crazy Coyote Tacos a quarter mile up the road on our way back to the OC.

Plenty of Seating Out Front

Crazy Coyote Tacos is a funky little roadside shack that serves up some very tasty Mexican treats. You know you are in the right place if there are a couple of large dinosaurs out front! I told you it was funky, and funky is a good thing!  

Spicy Super Taco with Chicken

We usually get the same thing and luckily they do not have a huge menu so I do not feel guilty at all. I get their Super Taco with Chicken with spicy salsa. They make the corn tortillas that are used for their tacos. Nice thick scratch-made corn tortillas with melted cheese like an open face quesadilla. Then they put their chicken with green sauce mixture and top it off with spicy salsa, fresh cilantro, and onions. This taco can be a little messy but to tell you the truth I could role around in it and be very happy.

Super Nachos with Chicken

Kim always gets the Super Nachos. They are a pile of chips topped with gooey cheese, chicken, beans, their spicy salsa, fresh cilantro and onions. This is all kinds of gooey yumminess. If you are a fan of nachos with cheese sauce Crazy Coyote Tacos takes it to a whole new level.

Dozen Tortillas for the Road

If you are heading to the Cabazon Outlets or towards Palm Springs make sure you take some time to check these guys out. At least stop and pick up a dozen fresh corn tortillas for the road. You will be glad you did.

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BBQ and Deep-Fried Everything is on the Menu – 120th OC Fair

This is one of my favorite times of year. Not because the days are longer or because the weather is typically perfect but because the Orange County Fair is in town. Every year about a million people flock to the fair to partake in all kinds of activities. Tackle the carnival rides, check out the latest newborn piglets, take in the many exhibits that feature things like photography, art, FOOD. Not to mention shop for the latest home gadget or shower replacement. But mostly importantly people look forward to eating.

Food Art - Made from Bread!

Place to get Deep-Fried Butter

This year the OC Fair did not disappoint. There was a ton of food to choose from. One of the biggest hits this year was fried butter! Check out the review on the Food Frenzy blog from the Orange County Register. I did try some other deep-fried treats and some BBQ. As always some was good, some was okay and some you dream about at night.

Zucchini Nachos

To start off we have Zucchini Nachos! Is there a better way to eat your zucchini? This would normally have bacon on top but my wife Kim doesn’t eat pork or beef so we opted to leave it off. The nachos did not need the bacon to be good, the gooey cheese had a touch of spice and the zucchini was nice and crispy. These nachos are now officially on my favorite fair food list! We will be looking for these next year.

Deep-Fried White Castle

Really a White Castle in there!

Ever have a White Castle Burger? How about a deep-fried White Castle? Now I can say yes to both! Yes this is a really White Castle burger battered and fried. Once you get past the breading you can taste the burger. One person mentioned that these are best with some hot sauce. If I get it again I will definitely have to try that.

BBQ Tri-Tip Sandwich

One thing you will notice about the fair this year is there are a ton of barbeque stands. They almost look like chain restaurants and I believe some are. I had to try a few of these and see if any of it was worth the money and stomach space. I ordered a BBQ Tri-tip from American Cowboy Grill. The tri-tip seemed a little mushy. I think it was actually tender but there was so much bbq sauce on it that it was just saturated. Overall I would not get this again. All you could taste was sauce and the roll.

Juicy's Outlaw Grill

Giant Western Sausage

I ordered a Giant Western Sausage from Juicy’s. These guys are everywhere. However up near the front of the fair they have a giant bbq grill going on the trailer of a big rig. The rig really catches your eye. Because of that I had to get something and the sausage looked really good. This thing was huge, over a foot long and covered with grilled peppers and onions. I strongly suggest you share this. It could almost feed a family of 4, well maybe it is not quite that big, unless you are on a foodie tour like we were. The sausage itself was good. This is the perfect item if you are looking for something safe.

North Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich

Next on the barbeque list was the North Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich from Lindsay Concessions. This sandwich had a generous helping of pulled pork and to my surprise no sauce on top. Here you can put on your own sauce. After my earlier tri-tip I opted to go sauce free. I was not disappointed at all; the pulled pork could stand on it's own, it was super tender and had a ton of flavor. It was on a toasted bun, that was a nice touch. This is a sandwich that is worth getting. Very well done!

Rosie O’Donnell Long Island Dog

Now onto Pink’s Hollywood! I ordered a “Rosie O’Donnell Long Island Dog”. The Rosie O’Donnell has mustard, onions, chili and sauerkraut. This is my first Pink’s hotdog and after this experience I am very much looking forward to checking out one of their permanent restaurants. If you want a hotdog with a ton of flavor then Pink's is the perfect stop for you.

Red Velvet and Key Lime C-Cakes!

If that was not enough, Kim got us a couple of mini cupcakes from CB’s Cup Cakes. Here you pick what cake you want, then the frosting and lastly the topping. Then you can watch them put your c-cakes together. First Kim ordered a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. The second was Key Lime cake with cream cheese frosting and topped with graham cracker crumbs. We both really liked the mini size. After all the other food samplings we were not overwhelmed and got to try two versus only one. Both c-cakes were very good. The cake was moist and the frosting was not too sweet.

New Born Piglets

Dang that was a lot of food! We had a great time; we got to see animals, the photo contest, food art and so much more. If you have not gone to the fair yet this year make sure you do. Great time to start your own foodie adventure! Also don't forget to share with us what you liked and did not like in the comments section.

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Long Beach Street Food Festival 2010

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this year there seem to be a ton of foodie events going on in Southern California. It is hard to keep up with them all!

This past weekend was the first ever Long Beach Street Food Festival. You may have read the article we wrote leading up to the event. The Long Beach Junior Chamber of Commerce Charitable Foundation brought together a bunch of gourmet food trucks, with ticket proceeds benefiting the Adopt-A-Teacher program and Long Beach City College Student Scholarships.

The event had an amazing turnout. Not surprising, I mean 20+ gourmet food trucks on a beautiful summer day at Rainbow Lagoon Park in Long Beach. Perfect weather, great music and spectacular food, how could it not be a success?

We were lucky enough to get in to the event early and hung out most of the day. We had a wonderful time and ate a lot of great food. We did not get to every truck but stay tuned to this blog for more in-depth coverage on some of our favorite food truck experiences.

We look forward to supporting this event in the future! Check out these photos from the event.

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It is all about C-Cakes and Supporting a Good Cause! – Cupcake Camp OC

If you like cupcakes, like baking cupcakes, or even like eating cupcakes then the Cupcake Camp OC is for you! The Cupcake Camp OC is coming up on August 1st from 3 to 6 pm. It will be held at the Atrium Hotel in Irvine across from the John Wayne Airport. The event is to celebrate the glorious cupcake and to bring awareness to their cause, human trafficking. Visit their Cause page. In addition the event will showcase many of the incredible c-cake bakers in the OC.

There will be a lot going on, baking competitions, a cupcake eating contest, raffles, fundraiser and more. If this is not fun I am not sure what would be and it all supports a good cause. In addition they have an impressive list of donors and friends that I am sure will be bringing their best creations. I know I am looking forward to some c-cake love!


If you are interested in being in the competition then you are in luck. They just extended the deadline for entries. Do you have what it takes to win? If so click here to enter!


We will see you there!

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Making the Taco Gourmet – Dos Chinos – Santa Ana, CA

One of these days I may have to visit a regular restaurant but that just seems almost like a chore. Food trucks are still so much fun and I keep finding ones that really take their food to the next level. Dos Chinos is no exception. They do gourmet tacos! We are talking fancy marinades, good cuts of meat and big flavors.

This past weekend Kim and I finally stopped off to check these guys out. There truck is nothing special. It looks more lunch truck versus gourmet food truck but do NOT let that stop you from walking up to that window. This family owned and operated business is all about good service and great food.

Garden Grove Short Rib Taco

Most of their menu selections are available either in a taco or burrito. To help us try more items we did mostly tacos. First off was their Garden Grove Short Rib taco. This was short rib marinated in Jose Cuervo Tequila Korean BBQ sauce. This is the only time I will do Jose Cuervo and look forward to it. It was an awesome marinade.

Oahu Shrimp Taco

Then on to the Oahu Shrimp taco, which was Hawaiian garlic butter shrimp with a pineapple salsa. Normally I am not a big fan of fruit salsas. They remind me of 1995 when I still lived on Maui. Plus warm pineapple? Really? How do people eat that? However on this taco the sweet of the salsa really worked with the savory of the garlic shrimp. Yum!

Hollywood Chicken taco

How about a Hollywood Chicken taco? This taco has Thai coconut curry chicken with a tamarind sour cream sauce. Coconut curry in a taco……..really works! Just enough to taste the Thai style curry and the sauce was a nice finisher.

Filet Mignon Asada

Our last taco was the special of the night, Filet Mignon Asada. Yep, you read that right. As you may know by now I am not one of those people that goes to a steak place just to order a filet. Really, who cares, yes it is the nicest cut of meat you can get but there is so little fat it usually has no flavor. Well, when I go to Dos Chinos again this is the first thing I will get! Filet rocks as an Asada. Well it rocks for sure if these guys are making it.  By the way, it was only $2 for a taco.  What a deal!

Dos Chinos Fries

We topped our meal off with their Dos Chinos Fries. The have clarified garlic butter and cotija cheese. The saltiness of the cotija with the garlic butter were a knock-out combination.


If you have not figured it out, then you need to read this again! We loved the food at Dos Chinos. They can get pretty busy and they cook everything fresh so there may be a wait but, it is worth it. They are very friendly and are becoming more and more active on Twitter. I think if they figure out the social media game they will become one of the top trucks in the OC.

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Win Tickets to the Long Beach Street Food Festival

If you are a foodie or a gourmet food truck fan like we are, and live near Long Beach, CA, then you are in luck!  On July 24, the Long Beach Street Food Festival will host 20 of your favorite gourmet food trucks (such as @slicetruck, @coolhaus, @thegreasywiener, @thesweetstruck, @buttermilktruck, etc.) and have live entertainment.  There will also be a beer and wine garden.  The event, held at Rainbow Lagoon Park, promises to be a fun day for all.

The Long Beach Junior Chamber of Commerce Charitable Foundation is organizing the event with ticket proceeds benefiting the Adopt-A-Teacher program and Long Beach City College Student Scholarships.   

Click here for the complete list of food trucks 

So, you have some of the best gourmet food trucks, live entertainment, and libations, all for a worthy cause.  How can it get any better than that?  By getting in for free!  We are giving away tickets!

Contest details:  

There are a two ways to win:

1. Follow @satnightfoodies and @LBstreetfood (1 entry for each follow).

2.  After you follow, simply RT this link (1 entry). We've made it easier for you tweeters, all you have to do is copy and paste the following into twitter:

            I entered to win tickets to the @LBStreetFood Festival in Long Beach July 24th via @SatNightFoodies http://bit.ly/lbstreetfood RT to enter!

That means you can get a total of three entries!! 

Contest ends Wednesday, July 21 at 11:59pm PT and the winners will be announced on July 22.  Each lucky winner will win a pair of tickets.  Good luck and happy tweeting!

NOTE: The winner will have to present valid ID at the gate to pick up the wristbands

Event details:

Saturday, July 24, 2010 - 10:30am - 5:00pm

Rainbow Lagoon Park in Long Beach

Click here for directions

 

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New Food Truck Bringing Refreshment and Amazing Food to the OC - The Lime Truck – Irvine, CA

When life gives you lemons, I suggest you get a limeade from one of OC's newest gourmet food trucks. The Lime Truck has been in service for less than a month and already there is a lot buzz around Orange County. 

First glance at the menu on their website they are a healthy California cuisine truck by day, by night they have a funky "after dark" menu perfect after a couple of libations. Then when you arrive you find an additional surprise of some mouth watering specials.

Chicken Brie Panini

We have visited the Lime Truck twice now and both times we tried different items. To be honest most were specials. They just sound so good when you are trying to decide. This last time we tried one of their regular items, the Chicken Brie “Panini” with arugula pesto and dried cranberries. First off I have to say this is not a Panini, but more of a grilled cheese. With that said it was a very tasty sandwich. I did not taste the dried cranberries (maybe they were missing) but the pesto offered a nice flavor. The grilled bread had good crunch, which added to the appeal of this sandwich.

Pizza Bomba’s

Now on to the specials we tried, first is one of my new favorite things I have eaten from a truck…..oh heck with it, it is one of the most original things I have eaten anywhere in a long time. This would be their Pizza Bomba’s. Pizza Bomba’s are little balls of garlic herb dough with fresh mozzarella cheese, prosciutto, and a spicy marinara sauce on the side. They have the crunch of a perfect pizza crust with the tenderness of fresh bread and all the flavor from the cheese and prosciutto. The marinara sauce is the perfect compliment.

The Effing Burger

Now for “The Effing Burger”, Kobe burger with red onion marmalade, two cheeses (I know there was some blue cheese in there), arugula, mustard and mayo all on a homemade parmesan pretzel bread. Nice burger, cooked perfectly, seasoned well. The blue cheese really fit in, and it did not over power the burger at all. That is a hard thing to get right!

Ultimate Taco with Slow Roasted Pork

Next we are on to their “Ultimate Taco”. It had a lot of tender slow roasted pork, guacamole, cabbage slaw, cotija cheese, all wrapped in two soft corn tortillas. The pork had a lot of flavor and they really packed it in. Many food trucks use the smaller taqueria size tortillas, however these guys use the larger restaurant size and filled them up. The taco was a meal in itself. Two of these and you will go away happy. I really liked the saltiness of the cotija cheese; it is really a nice touch.

Truffle Arincini

Time for the Truffle Arincini. These are little crispy breaded deep fried risotto cakes with mozzarella and white truffle oil. They were super crunchy on the outside. These, you want to eat hot. They came with some arugula pesto as well but we found that it did not add anything. Very good appetizer. If you do not eat meat then these are perfect for you!

"The Most Interesting Sandwich in the World"

Next was “The Most Interesting Sandwich in the World” which is a grilled cheese stuffed with baked mac and cheese, grilled chicken, and bacon. At first glance I was not impressed. However after the first bite I changed my tune quickly. The mac and cheese was creamy, seasoned perfectly and a great cheese flavor. They added a thick slice of cheddar to tie it all together. I really liked the “grilled cheese” touch.

Blackberry Limeade

Cannot forget the most refreshing part of our visit. This would be the Blackberry Limeade. The limeade was a nice finisher to a great meal. Not too sweet, but with lots of berries. I suggest you try one of their homemade drinks on your visit.


One thing you will notice is Chef Jason is always working on new items so it is hard to go only once and think you know what they do. After talking to his partner Daniel it sounds like Jason puts a ton of time and effort into the recipes they use on the truck. The specials are this artist’s canvas.


Both Daniel and Jason were super friendly. Both times we went, Daniel was in front of the truck greeting everyone, answering questions and taking the orders. The additional interaction added to the experience. The Lime Truck is very active on Twitter and took a couple of opportunities to “tempt” us and others to visit them. I am glad we did!

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Not Just Another Cupcakery - Cupcakes A GoGo

Our love affair with Cupcakes a GoGo started about three months ago when we attended our First Friday in Venice event. For those of you that don’t know what that is, on the first Friday of every month, all the stores located on Abbot Kinney stay open late and a bunch of food trucks park along it to sell their gourmet wares. As we were strolling along the street taking in all the gastronomic possibilities, we saw a bright white truck with pink vertical stripes with a cupcake in a black, French baroque frame painted on the side. Let me tell you, it caught my attention. 

When we approached the truck, we were greeted by a huge display of cupcakes. They are individually packaged in white Chinese take-out containers, with the Cupcakes a GoGo label on the side, tied with different colored ribbons to help tell the cupcakes flavors apart. The inside of the truck is padded with black tufted vinyl and pink buttons. Visions of a vintage soda shop come to mind. And keeping with the theme, the owner was decked out in a 1940s or 1950s dress, bright red lipstick and a flower in her hair.

I decided to try the strawberry cupcake. It is a light strawberry cake topped with a strawberry puree cream cheese frosting. The cupcake was moist and I was greeted with the fragrance of sweet strawberries. But it’s the frosting that takes the cake for me. The frosting is super smooth and isn’t too sweet. The flavor was just like strawberries and cream. Many bakeries put too much powdered sugar in their cream cheese frosting, which gets hard and dry when exposed to air and often overpowers the flavor of the cake. Cupcakes a GoGo has perfected their cream cheese frosting and expertly proportioned their cake to frosting ratio.

Strawberry

My husband, Jason ordered the Cookies and Cream cupcake. It was a chocolate cupcake with Oreo cookie pieces folded into the frosting and topped with an Oreo cookie. Even using a butter cream frosting, Cupcakes a GoGo, was able to make this rich frosting with an airiness that allows you to consume the delicious morsel without guilt or fear of cardiac arrest.

Cookies and Cream

We have been back to First Friday in Venice for three consecutive months and each time I eagerly await the chance to try another cupcake flavor. We have since sampled their Banana Peanut Butter, Mint Chocolate Chip and Red Velvet. Each as good as the last.  We have yet to try one that we didn’t like.

Banana Peanut Butter

Mint Chocolate Chip

Red Velvet

I know that cupcake bakeries seem to be coming out of the woodwork, all hoping to capitalize on the success of Candace Nelson’s Sprinkles chain but don’t be fooled, not all cupcakes are made the same. I encourage you to visit Cupcakes a GoGo for their light, refreshing approach to cupcakes, or just maybe, they’ll be rolling up to a curb near you.


And YES, they should compete on next season's Cupcake Wars!

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