mmm-yoso is a food blog, written by Kirk and a few others. Today, one of the others, Cathy, is writing.
Hi again. 2008 was an unusual year and nothing seemed to be the same. Usually, The Mister and I volunteer with the Petal Pushers and help decorate floats for the Rose Parade , but that did not happen.
Instead, we started to drive north to Pasadena as the parade ended on television, in order to see the floats lined up end to end.
About 2 miles end to end. The New Year Resolution was about to begin.
About 1 million people camp out overnight to watch the Rose Parade, starting to claim seats along the 5 mile parade route on December 30 or 31, so they can ring in the New Year and then watch the parade up close starting at 8 a.m.. When the last float of the parade passes, they are so ready to go home…and we drive up against traffic.
Viewing on January 1, right after the parade, does not start until 1 p.m.. The parade ends about 10 a.m., so we have to eat lunch someplace before we can go inside the locked gate area.
As always, we have no plans…decided the exit that said "Azusa Pacific University" might have some college like food places, and took the exit.
Sure enough, on Azusa Avenue, a one way street from the freeway, between houses, was this. TacoNazo
You know we had to stop.
The menu board is simple…and when I saw the small cardboard board hanging down…the one next to the beverage machine…
Well, I knew I had a post.
Then there was the food.
The al pastor (spicy pork) taco, $1.69.
Juicy, extremely flavorful. Filling, although not that large. They do give you two tortillas. The small, standard ones.
The ceviche tostada. $2.95. Fish. Fresh white fish.
You can also get one made with imitation crab for $2.95 also or ceviche made with (large) shrimp for $3.50.
This was excellent. Firm, fresh fish marinated in a lime juice topped with an onion/tomato/cilantro/celery relish and slices of avocado.
Then, what TacoNazo is known for- the fish taco. Actually this is a one fish and one shrimp taco combination plate. ($5.59- which includes a bag of chips and large beverage.)
The rice and beans were excellent…and the batter on the taco and on the shrimp was perfect. It is light and thick, like a beer batter, and was absolutely perfectly fried-cooked through, crunchy on the outside, yet the seafood inside remained moist and extremely rich seafood flavored.
The seafood tacos come with your choice of toppings: cabbage, tomato, onion, cilantro and a signature cream sauce, which is *really* good…fresh and similar, (but better because it is fresh) than the jarred "crema" sold in most markets around here.
Turns out this place has 6 locations, claims to have the "World's Best Fish Tacos". Have been around since 1978. They also declare they are the REAL flavor of Baja…and I think they may be right.
So, we drove to Exit 29…then North toward the far East end of where the floats are parked on Sierra Madre Blvd. We find parking on the street and follow the crowds. If you try to park closer, you'll pay about $10 and still have to walk…and you still have to pay $7 to get into the float area.
Every square inch of the floats has to be covered with something that is, or was, alive. Yes, there are fresh flowers (and you can smell most of them). But beans, peas, dried leaves, seaweed, shredded coconut, rice, pulverized dried flower petals and so much else is used.
These floats are huge, have to negotiate corners and have to be able to get under overhead wires and bridges along the route.
There were 47 floats in this year's parade, all sponsored by different local cities and local and national businesses, the two schools playing in the football game (Penn State and USC) and the Queen's float, which is sponsored by the Tournament of Roses.
Here is a little peek into where the driver of one of these machines sits. Of course, he can't look out, and is guided via headsets with a person who can see out the front of the float through a small opening.
If you look carefully, you can see the orange "stamen" of the large flower to the left is made up of about 100 peppers. Each is meticulously glued or pinned onto the base. The flour petals are made of crushed rice and pulverized dried petals.
You can also see that there is an audio tour you can listen to, by calling a number and then requesting information about a particular float.
It is fascinating to see the floats all lined up end to end. The enormity. There are white-suited Tournament of Roses members there to answer any questions you may have. Each has reference books with the most minute details listed about that particular float.
We got in our exercise, started a new habit and had a great first lunch of 2009. I hope all of you are having a good year also.
Taconazo – 6 locations (Azuza, Bellflower, La Habra, La Puente, South El Monte and Walnut) www.taconazo.com