Tasty Tacos from a Truck

You know wherePost Oak Mall is right? That’s Harvey Road. Go East (under HWY 6) and travel for 2 or 3 miles. You will pass Koppe Bridge and C&J’s BBQ on the right. Right after C&J’s, there’s a traffic light. Take a right (toward Carlos) and in less than a mile, across from Powersports Gym, you should see a Taco Truck.

Now, you have to go during the week between 7am and 1pm. They serve really tasty breakfast tacos and also lunch tacos. They make their own tortillas, and their own hot sauce.

Their breakfast tacos are $1.50, and they are not “skinny”.

The owners are real sweet too. They actually live right behind where they park the truck.

Totally worth the extra few minute drive to get tacos.

Enjoy

Here’s a map of the area.

Jesus, Mary, a Lion and a Piggy Bank

My 7 year old has been wanting a piggy bank. I’ve gotten into the habit of giving her my pocket change at the end of the day. She really likes the quarters with the states on the back, and she also likes using them at gumball machines.

We’ve tried all sorts of piggy banks. For a while  were using a “Noah’s Ark” piggy bank, but I think it broke or something. It had a rubber stopper at the bottom. Then my wife’s mom gave her a “Talking Piggy Bank” that would calculate how much money was in there, but you had to put the money in at the right angle and if you took money out, it didn’t subtract from the total. That kinda seemed like counter productive…we’re homeschooling our kids, and any opportunity to learn is taken, so if this thing counted her money for her, she wouldn’t get good at adding up her money.

We are currently using a cute little pink box that she can lock. She’s lost the key a couple of times but then found it again. I use the word “lost” loosely because I think my 4yo boy challenges himself to find the key and hide it in a different place.

So, this thing is not really a piggy bank. See, the piggy bank I grew up with, as I’m sure many of you did too, was one that did not have a hole to get the money out. I’m not sure when piggy banks started to be designed with holes in the bottom, but it sort of defeats the purpose.

You save money for a long time because you want skates or a Cabbage Patch Doll or a Star Wars Millenium Falcon or whatever, then one day you can’t stuff any more money into it, so you take a hammer to it. Then you find out you have just enough money…something like that.

I am assuming that why piggy banks started to be made with holes at the bottom was so either people could reuse the piggy bank, meaning that the ones without holes were not being bought anymore, or for collecting. I mean, really, if a piggy bank costs you $35 and the Muppet Show Lunch Box (the one with Dr. Teeth on the back) costs you $5, there’s a problem. (I used to have a Sesame Street Lunchbox, a Kiss Lunchbox and this Muppet Show Lunchbox…here’s a flash game I made where you hit me in the head with one…)

So, my family was out bike shopping at pawn shops and we stopped by the Appletree on Hwy 21 and Texas Avenue to use their bathroom, and up in the front area, there was a little store with those Mexican Decorative clay-ish statues. You know, they have Mary holding baby Jesus, they have a Bust of Jesus, a Lion, a cheetah, I think I saw Mr. Incredible and Dora the Explorer among others. “SE VENDEN ANGELITOS” is what the sign on the front of the shop said. (Little Angels for sale)

The shop is Packed full of stuff on the shelves, just like what you’d find in a border town shop. It was pretty authentic, I thought, with not much room to turn around and the cashier girl on her cell phone and the Tejano music blaring.

The statues made out of that resin stuff. I don’t know what it is. Some sort of clay stuff. I asked and the girl didn’t know.

Anyway, this is where I found the piggy bank we’re thinking about getting for my daughter. They had all colors, and a couple of sizes. The large one was around $8…and no hole on the bottom. It’s funny, the first thing my daughter did was look on the bottom for a hole. Once she saw it had no hole, she was like, “Oh, cool, you have to hit this one with a hammer to get the money out!”

So, there you go. Looking for a catholic statue or a statue of an animal, or maybe Mr. Incredible? Or maybe you need a piggy bank? Check this little shop out.

I might just end up getting her one of those State Quarter Collection Boards instead.

Murals Around the City

I’ve been keeping my eye out for murals and here are some I’ve seen.  Anyone know of anyother murals I’ve missed?

Cazadorez Restaurant on Texas Avenue on the East side of the building. Nice use of the existing window, and the deer just looks like he wants to be shot, doesn’t he? (Oh, Cazadores means “hunters” in Spanish). This would be a great target, so I’m assuming that the artist meant to make a point that this is a good place to hang out. deer come here and are at peace, so you can come here and eat.

Cazadorez Restaurant West. This side is a little more “artsy” with the large deer head on the horizon, but still keeps with the theme of hunting. I think that’s supposed to be a winding river. Honestly, I’d say the the ever watching buck god of many points is beckoning me to eat at this restaurant. Not sure if I was a hunter that I would see this mural and say something like, “i must eat here.” It’s actually a really good place to eat…they don’t serve venison.

Fritellas Restaurant. Made to look like a postcard. I like the swirlies in the Italy shape. My take on this is that this is an “authentication” mural. They are trying to tell me that this restaurant is a transplant direct from Italy. Truth is, the way they’ve decorated it looks like that’s what they are going for. Those purple flowers outside are called “plumbego” and they sure are pretty.

Jose’s Mexican Restaurant Part 1. This part is more like one of those spray paint fantasy looking paintings that you see people doing on the street in Austin. Not sure why that star is so bright, or if that’s the sun, and they disregarded the archway there. This mural is sort of a “This is our land” kind of thing. See the next picture where the musician is singing toward the expanse and mountain, not paying much attention to the girl next to him.

Jose’s Part 2. This part is cool. I like the disproportionate look of the head and hands. Therege’s a girl to the left in traditional Mexican clothing, but notice that the musician is not looking at her. He seems more smitten with the land than her. Maybe this is a nod to how proud they are of where they come from.

Los Molcahetes Part 1. Still in progress, but it looks nice. This is one of the funkier in town. Sort of a Picasso meets Matisse or something like that. I like it. The story of the fingers holding the cup is here. In this section, you can see a molcajete on the right. It’s traditionally a stone bowl made out of volcanic rock where you smash and mix spices, salsa, guac, mole, anything. This holding up of the cup is a quirky little thing they do here, and Iwould assume they want people to ask about it. I’m actually really glad they included it into the mural. The mural has a “high art” kind of feel, but it’s offset by this humorous and mysterious finger cup thing.

Los Molcahetes Part 2. This is the other end of the mural. These are at Texas and Villa Maria. It’s a large mural, and it’s still not done, but it looks great. Here the woman is making tortillas. This seems to be an “authentication” mural as well. Handmade food. There is another painting inside by the same artists.

I think this one is on 26th or somewhere around there…in Bryan. It’s old, looks like it’s an attempt at Yosemite Sam, and it’s just funky. I like it. It’s obviously a detailing place, but with the gunslinger there, maybe they do it fast? Or they don’t take crap from anyone? I’m not sure about that part. The funny thing about it is, if they meant they do it fast, then drying them on the line is actually a slow way of drying. Also, the cliche “hung out to dry” comes to mind which actually means that they would abandon us when we needed them. I think I’m reading too much into this one.

Las Lomas Part 1. This one I almost missed. It’s kinda hidden under a patio. Truth is, I’ve never been here, if I had, I would have seen it. A “loma” is a hill or hilltop. I like the little scene here with a lake at nestled in the mountains, and see there are three waterfalls coming into the lake. This seems to me to speak of a fertility and that it’s a “healthy”and lush area.

Las Lomas part 2. This is next to the one above. Portrayed here is a suitor courting or wooing a girl. They’ve got some traditional Mexican colors on the blanket, the guy has his own horse, and he’s given her a flower. Iwonder if that white flower has significance. They are holding hands, so maybe they are soon to be married. It’s either that or he’s going off to war or to market.

So, there’s my take on a few murals in town. There are a few others I knw of, I’ll be collecting pictures of those and post them in the future. Any help would be appreciated, especially if they are hard to find. I’d be up for grafitti as well, but I haven’t seen much other than on trains passing through.

jorge

Ninfa’s Chicken Fajitas

So, we’ve been going to Ninfa’s before their move from Harvey to University and Earl Rudder Freeway, but lately their chicken fajitas have been really really tasty.

I don’t know what they do to them. I think they call it their “Pechuga Gravy”. It tastes like there’s a wine in there. Maybe Marsala or some sort of Sherry.

Anyway, if you haven’t been to their new place, go check it out. They did a really nice job building it, and the decor inside is very well done.

You can see some inside pictures on their website www.NinfasCollegeStation.com.

I still haven’t tried their Ninfaritas, but I heard they were really good. I love the green sauce that comes with the chips, and one day I’m gonna try their Chihuahua Queso (Queso with Bacon, Poblano Peppers and Mushrooms). That sounds yummy.

Their fried Ice Cream sounds pretty good too. I’ll let you know.

The only problem I have with Ninfa’s is that there is only one driveway to get in. I have missed the driveway at least twice, and there’s no back way to get in. SO, just a warning, slow down when you’re getting close so you don’t miss it and have to go all the way around.

jorge