A bit of an explanation...

To start, I'm not sure how I ended up writing a blog about my own personal quest for the most delicious and authentic Mexican taco in town.  Well, that's not exactly true - I know how I ended up doing this and if it sucks, you'll have her to look to and plead "make it stop!"

I grew up in Southern California around a large Hispanic community.  Mexican food has been a part of my life for almost as long as I can remember.  Tacos (and burritos) are just as much comfort food to me as mashed potatoes and gravy or mac and cheese.  They represent something simple yet delicous; uncomplicated and unpretentious.  Fancy Mexican restaurants try too hard and screw them up.  It's the small places, the dives, the mom and pop shops that really know how to make the taco well.

My obsession with the taco started in 1991 when I was introduced to a little taco and burrito shack called Pipiripau's in Burbank, CA.  When a friend first took me there he insisted I try a burrito.  I did and, a moment after I took my first bite into the delicious combo of rice, beans, cilantro, onions, and hot sauce all combined with the most amazingly juicy and flavorful carne asada known to man, I was hooked.  The meat was cooked in big slabs and seasoned as it was cooked.  Then it was chopped up and put in a large heated metal trough where the meat continued to marinate in its own juices.  If you were lucky enough to get there when the supply was running low, you would be treated to the juiciest most flavorful meat that had been at the bottom.  Don't get me wrong, though, the fresh batches were delicous too.  This was also the place that introduced me to the roasted/grilled jalapeno as an accompaniment

I actually ate there for about a year before I ever tried their tacos.  Finally, I decided to give the tacos a try.  Instead of the flour tortilla they used corn tortillas and the rice and beans were also gone.  But in its own way, it was as delicous as the burrito.  The perfect combination of flavors. 

For almost 15 years I went to that little shack several times a week and whatever I got there was mouth-watering and delicious.  Then I showed up one day and the spot was bulldozed... no warning, no good-bye binge... just gone.  And with that, I began my search for another taco that would compare to the ones crafted at Pipiripau's.  Today the site is home to a very large apartment complex for seniors.

Since moving to Denver, I've continued my search for delicious tacos with a mostly disappointing result.  But there have been some very good places along the way.  I recently started working in an area with a large concentration of Carnicerias/Taquerias and it reinvigorated my desire to find that absolutely delicious taco.

So, aside from sharing my thoughts on the places I try with anyone willing to read my drivel, I'm also hoping that I will get some great recommendations.

Let the games begin!