BLOCHO'S TACOS

Andale Mexican Restaurant San Francisco International Airport, California Terminal 3 As we are in the midst of the Holiday season and my travels back and forth from school to vacation and home, I have become extremely airport savvy. I know how to find a good wireless signal, which bathrooms will be the least crowded, how to get through airport security in record time etc. The one thing that I am still working on mastering is airport dining. The gluten-free options are scarce and there tends to be a lack of healthfulness in airport cuisine. Until now. After a brief trip to San Francisco to see The Bob Hill Band return home and play an extraordinary show at Slim's , I was en route to New York and hungry in the airport. The food court was bustling with Christmas Eve-day travelers, but I managed to make my way in and secure a spot in line for Andale Mexican Restaurant. I ordered the "Tacos Mexicanos " -- 3 soft corn tortillas with carne asada (grilled beef), choppe...

Lime Winter Park, CO After a long day of skiing in Winter Park, Colorado, I was craving tacos. There is nothing better than noshing on some salty meat-filled tacos as an apres -ski snack. Walking into Lime with a group of friends, we found out that Tuesday was their taco special! Tacos were $2 for shredded chicken, shredded beef, and ground beef and $3 for shrimp and ahi tuna. I was so excited! I ordered one of each (minus the ground beef). After waiting for approximately 25 minutes in a near-empty restaurant my tacos came. The "corn tortillas" were hard corn taco shells. Off to a bad start in my book. (And the funny thing is that the restaurant does have soft corn tortillas.) I was not crazy about the fillings, there wasn't much flavor to any of the tacos -- I could barely distinguish the differences. And they were chock full of cut up romaine lettuce, which due to lack of proper wash and dry procedure made the taco shells soggy. I was thoroughly unsatisfied...

Barrio Cafe 2814 N. 16 th Street Phoenix, AZ I have been sans taco for weeks. Evanston is not home to many taco-serving venues and I have not yet ventured beyond the town's limits. However, as Thanksgiving rolled around, I traveled to Phoenix, AZ to celebrate the holiday with my family. Knowing that Arizona is closer to Mexico than Illinois, I expected to find some good food in the Southwest. For dinner we headed to Barrio Cafe, a small restaurant located in a strip mall in Phoenix. The walls were adorned with modern portraits by, what I assume to be, a local artist. The feeling was authentic and the statement "Please conserve water, drink tequila" that was added to each page of the menu made me confident that the night would bring good fun and good food. We split the Quesadilla de Camaron Borracho (drunken shrimp) as an appetizer. The 4 small corn tortilla were topped with melted Oaxacan cheese and queso de cabra (goat cheese). The flavor of the shrimp, ...

Lincoln Park Zoo 2001 N. Clark St Chicago, IL For weeks now I have been planning a Chicago Taco Adventure. Realizing that there are no good tacos in Evanston , I now must venture into parts of Chicago to get my taco fix. This adventure is still in the planning stages, so I was very excited (and surprised) when I came across tacos at the Lincoln Park Zoo. After observing polar bears, meerkats , penguins, flamingos, lions, leopards, and monkeys enjoy their dinner my stomach was growling for some food of my own. At first I was hesitant to go into the usually over-priced tourist trap food court, but the sign pointing the direction to the entrance was very enticing. It listed the cuisines available in the food court and immediately "Mexican" caught my eye. I rushed in and jumped in line to get my tacos. I orderd the taco platter and asked for a combination between chicken and beef. They were very official in warming up the corn tortillas and crafting the taco so that the we...

Chipotle 711 Church Street Evanston , IL I do not like Chipotle . I never have. And that was even before eating there. My biggest gripe with the Mexican-style chain restaurant is I believe it drove Burritoville , a NY-only more authentic version of Chipotle , out of business. Despite my feelings against Chipotle , I let me friends Samantha and Lisa convince me to try it. They are Chipotle fanatics. They crave Chipotle the way I crave Mexican food -- always. After a disappointing Northwestern University football game, I walked with Samantha and Lisa to Chipotle to see what all the hype was about. Carnitas have become a favorite taco flavor of mine throughout this journey, so I decided to continue the tradition and perhaps add another favorite carnitas taco joint to my list. I have decided I need to take the "only hard corn tortilla shell" sign as a warning. The shells were flavorless and even a little stale, the meat was over-spiced, the guacamole was tasteless--bo...

Frontera Fresco Macy's Old Orchard, Skokie , IL Hungry from a day of apartment furniture shopping, my dad and I stopped at Frontera Fresco for a quick bite. The tacos are new to the gourmet Mexican cafe's menu, but my confidence in founder Rick Bayless ' restaurants left me assured that these tacos would be good tacos. I ordered the chicken chorizo taco and the chipotle shrimp. The chorizo was more chili-like in consistency -- ground meat in a very smoky chipotle - esque sauce. Unlike my previous disappointment with chili tacos, this chicken chorizo was very tasty. The shrimp taco was lighter than the chorizo and the Frontera taco sauce, melted chihuahua cheese, lime, and avocado that accompanies each taco made this particular shrimp taco a summery delight. I questioned the freshness of the shrimp because it did taste more fishy than my previous shrimp experiences. However, with enough salsa the fishy taste blended in with all the others. My guess is for ea...

Tehuitzingo Deli & Grocery Inc. 695 10 th Avenue New York, NY When meeting up with Michael Melamedoff , writer and director of " Weakness ", there was no question that we would go for tacos. Michael suggested the "secret taco deli" on 10 th Ave at 47 th street and the mystery of the place enticed me. Entering into Tehuitzingo I was confused. It looked just like a deli, no tacos around. But if you step beyond the front counter and refrigerators filled with Jarritos sodas, you find a little secret taco deli. At the back of the narrow room you approach a small window and place your order. The menu has many pork offerings along with your typical chicken, rice and beans, and steak tacos. They even have goat tacos! I followed my heart and ordered a carnitas taco and steak taco. In my taco adventures these have been the most rewarding. And in the spirit of trying something new, I took Michael's suggestion and ordered a chorizo con papas (sau...