Email
Print
Taco Bus delivers new restaurant
File photo (2007)
Rene Valenzuela, standing outside his Taco Bus on Hillsborough Avenue, also has a restaurant in Plant City.
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: September 25, 2009
Updated: 09/25/2009 03:11 pm
Longtime readers (that's you, mom) know I'm a big fan of Rene Valenzuela's food. The burritos, ceviche and, well, everything on the menu at his Taco Bus restaurant on Hillsborough Avenue in Tampa is fresh, affordable and full of great flavors.
Which is why I was excited to hear he was opening a new restaurant called Taqueria Monterrey Mexican Grill a little farther north on Fletcher Avenue. Geared to be a sit-down experience instead of the combination walk-up and table service at Taco Bus, the new restaurant features food more similar to his Taqueria Monterrey on Reynolds Street in Plant City.
At a grand opening of the Fletcher Avenue taqueria last week, Valenzuela told the audience he felt very blessed, considering how he got the first restaurant off the ground years ago. After some struggling weeks, Valenzuela stood by the side of the road yelling, "TACOS!" at passing cars and trucks, to the embarrassment of his wife.
My favorite feature, along with the Frijoles Charros soup, the shredded chicken flautas and spicy shrimp and clam cocktail, was the salsa bar, which features nine varieties made fresh daily and pico de gallo. The variety of flavors is amazing. I suggest you try them all.
An aside: Valenzuela will host Robert Santibanez at the Taco Bus. Santibanez is owner of Truly Mexican, a New York-based food consulting firm, and culinary partner for the Maria Maria restaurant chain co-owned by guitarist Carlos Santana.
Santibanez will sign cookbooks at noon Oct. 7 at Taco Bus and hold a cooking class at 6:30 p.m. at the restaurant that day. On Oct. 8, Santibanez will sign books at Barnes & Noble on South Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa and hold a cooking class that evening at the Rolling Pin in Brandon.
For information, call (813) 232-5889.
Pickles as economic indicator
Depending on to whom you listen, canning food is the hot cheap-food trend. No, it's not just for Grandma and bunker dwellers anymore.
What exactly are people canning? AllRecipes.com reports that the top five most-viewed canning recipes this summer on its Web site were:
1. Dill pickles
2. Summertime sweet pickles
3. Crisp pickled green beans
4. Bread and butter pickles
5. Strawberry jam
Epcot and Cat
This weekend marks the start of the 14th annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival at Walt Disney World.
This year, executive chef Jens Dahlmann and his staff have revamped more than 60 percent of the dishes featured at each country's kiosk. Included in the new offerings are lobster and scallop Fisherman's Pie (Cork, Ireland), rock shrimp ceviche (Santiago, Chile) and chicken and coconut soup (Bangkok, Thailand).
My suggestion: Don't miss the caipirinhas being served at the Brazilian kiosk. Served frozen in a slush instead of muddled over ice (which would have been a logistical nightmare), the drink is a great cold treat. For adults, of course.
Other changes: The festival's swanky Party for the Senses, held each weekend, will focus on a theme (Spain, comfort foods, etc.) and offer ticket-holders a chance to upgrade their tickets for $75 for VIP treatment that guarantees them a table and advance access to food and beverages.
While you're at Disney, think about stopping by the new Kouzzina restaurant by chef Cat Cora. The Greek-themed restaurant at Disney's BoardWalk is the resort's first venture with a celebrity chef.
You can listen to my Table Conversations podcast interview with Cora online - and graze on other subjects - at my blog at TBO.com, Keyword: Stew.
TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online ©2009 Media General Communications Holdings, LLC. A Media General company. | Member Agreement | Privacy Statement | Work With Us
