Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Sam the taco guy

“I’m not a purist. I’m a food agnostic.”

Sam’s Meatloaf Taco.
Sam’s Meatloaf Taco.

When is a taco not not a taco?

Sam

I’ve come to this brand-new Little Italy Food Hall’s opening day to find out.

From The Princess Pub, you can see it happening at the other end of the Piazza della Famiglia. Crowds mill around the food hall entrance near the fountain. Red chairs, black umbrellas dot the piazza’s broad space between.

But I’m searching for this TV food guy who’s supposed to be here, the guy who’s invented a new take on the taco.

Korean short rib taco
Smokey Pork + Mac taco.
The new reality: mashed potato taco.

I make it to the food hall’s entrance, by the fountain. And right outside sits this 3-wheel, white and blue tuk-tuk with a counter cut into its side. I go up to the gal at the counter. Misa. “Is the food hall open yet?” I ask. “They’re just having a little ceremony in there,” she says. “Then we’ll be open for business.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Turns out she’s selling beer and wine. Or will be when this whole operation launches.

“Wow. We can drink it out here?”

“You got it.”

“We don’t have to sit behind barriers or go inside?”

“You got it. Anywhere in the piazza.”

OMG. That’s a revolution. Where else can you drink on a public street?

Somebody comes running out.

“They’re open!”

“Alright. That makes you Customer Number One. Beer or wine?”

Hey hey! I ask for a beer. Get draft Pizza Port Chronic Ale. Go sip it at a public table near the fountain. Cool! That’s one small sip for man, one giant gulp for social San Diego.

Place

Piazza della Famiglia

523 West Date Street, San Diego

Now I peek inside. Huh. All the different food places. Roast, a beef place from Canada; Ambrogio 15, a pizza place with a $50,000 Italian oven, so someone says; Wicked! Maine Lobster; Single Fin Kitchen, fish place, and at the other end; Mein Street, a noodle joint; and aha! “Not Not Tacos.”

Except, what da heck does “Not Not Tacos” mean?

Its sign says “By Sam the Cooking Guy.” Turns out he’s a TV cooking celeb. I join the line. Prices range from $4 to $6.50. People stew aloud over which ones they’re going to order. Let’s see: Sam’s Meatloaf Taco ($6) promises meatloaf with a chipotle apricot glaze, monterey jack, sour cream. The, uh, Mashed Potato Taco ($4), is basically that, mash, plus sour cream, cholula, and chips. You can add bacon for 50 cents. Deal.

Then there’s one called “Sunday Dinner,” (5.50). It’s chicken, stuffing, gravy, crispy onions, parsley, and sour cream.

Starting to get this. We’re pushing the taco way out of its comfort zone. Each one feels like a fresh idea. Smokey pork and mac ($6) promises real mac’n cheese on the pork, plus a bit of hot sauce and sour cream. Curried egg salad ($4.50, or $5 if you add bacon) is “Sam’s favorite,” menu says. Me too. I’ve always loved curried eggs. But in a taco?

Food Hall Ambassador Shaunta holds my beer, three minutes after the official opening.

Plus there’s a pastrami taco, a shrimp taco, an Asian salmon taco, and a Korean short rib taco. And, uh, a dessert taco? Lawdy.

I go for the top two, Sam’s meatloaf and the mashed potato taco. Figure they’ll go with my beer. And hey, the meatloaf would go with anything. The meat is herby, and with that chipotle apricot glaze and the cheese and fresh-looking spring onions, the word is lush, the feel is louche. And it sluices down beautifully with the Chronic Ale. Even this crazy idea of dumping a wad of mash in a tortilla gets me feeling Sam the Cooking Guy knows his gastronomical stuff. Because the mashed potato taco, which coulda been totally bland, is saved by the Cholula green onion, and sour cream, plus salty potato chip pieces. This one hits the bullseye.

Sam the Cooking Guy himself comes by. Have to ask him how he got this idea. “On TV, I do weird,” he says. “I’m not a purist. I’m a food agnostic. And one day I was sitting eating a taco. Good pollo asado. Then I thought ‘But why not load it with other stuff?’” It was as simple as that.”

First to exercise the piazza’s freedom to imbibe laws: Lauren, Gina, Amanda, Vanessa.

I mean, what he’s doing takes guts. He’s stealing the taco idea out from under the noses of an entire culture. But he’s got a palate I’m starting to trust. It’s not just splotting anglo nosh into a Mexican tortilla. It’s creating new taste experiences. I find myself saying “Huh,” about every second chomp. I think he’s onto something. I know taco purists will roll their eyes just as much as Tokyo sushi chefs do at the mention of “California roll.” But I think: now that he’s done the unthinkable, it doesn’t feel unthinkable any more.

So, about a week later, I’m back, and desperate to try the taco with macaroni and cheese on it. Just because, well, outrageous, right? Can it actually be tasty too? I end up getting three tacos.

The smokey pork and mac is definitely interesting. Flavor’s bolstered by the pork’s sour cream and sriracha mix-up. The macaroni adds the cheesy note. Not bad. I move on to Kelly’s Shrimp Taco (named after Sam’s wife, turns out). Good and garlicky, and plenty of the little guys. But the standout has to be the Korean short ribs. They taste like…well, just like Korean short ribs. Dark, juicy. Sour cream and ginger garlic soy sauce carry the day. The gochujang red pepper sauce adds zip and flavor. The crispy panko gives crunch. Beautiful combo.

I’m way full. Next time, I’ll venture on to Sam’s dessert taco, the Vanilla Mango ($5). It’s a crispy cinnamon sugar tortilla with fresh mango, vanilla ice cream, almonds, spicy honey and lemon.

Finally, I’m starting to get what the name’s about. They’re not not tacos. They’re kinda tacos. Heck, let’s just call them what they are: Gringo tacos.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The danger of San Diego's hoarders

The $1 million Flash Comics #1
Sam’s Meatloaf Taco.
Sam’s Meatloaf Taco.

When is a taco not not a taco?

Sam

I’ve come to this brand-new Little Italy Food Hall’s opening day to find out.

From The Princess Pub, you can see it happening at the other end of the Piazza della Famiglia. Crowds mill around the food hall entrance near the fountain. Red chairs, black umbrellas dot the piazza’s broad space between.

But I’m searching for this TV food guy who’s supposed to be here, the guy who’s invented a new take on the taco.

Korean short rib taco
Smokey Pork + Mac taco.
The new reality: mashed potato taco.

I make it to the food hall’s entrance, by the fountain. And right outside sits this 3-wheel, white and blue tuk-tuk with a counter cut into its side. I go up to the gal at the counter. Misa. “Is the food hall open yet?” I ask. “They’re just having a little ceremony in there,” she says. “Then we’ll be open for business.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Turns out she’s selling beer and wine. Or will be when this whole operation launches.

“Wow. We can drink it out here?”

“You got it.”

“We don’t have to sit behind barriers or go inside?”

“You got it. Anywhere in the piazza.”

OMG. That’s a revolution. Where else can you drink on a public street?

Somebody comes running out.

“They’re open!”

“Alright. That makes you Customer Number One. Beer or wine?”

Hey hey! I ask for a beer. Get draft Pizza Port Chronic Ale. Go sip it at a public table near the fountain. Cool! That’s one small sip for man, one giant gulp for social San Diego.

Place

Piazza della Famiglia

523 West Date Street, San Diego

Now I peek inside. Huh. All the different food places. Roast, a beef place from Canada; Ambrogio 15, a pizza place with a $50,000 Italian oven, so someone says; Wicked! Maine Lobster; Single Fin Kitchen, fish place, and at the other end; Mein Street, a noodle joint; and aha! “Not Not Tacos.”

Except, what da heck does “Not Not Tacos” mean?

Its sign says “By Sam the Cooking Guy.” Turns out he’s a TV cooking celeb. I join the line. Prices range from $4 to $6.50. People stew aloud over which ones they’re going to order. Let’s see: Sam’s Meatloaf Taco ($6) promises meatloaf with a chipotle apricot glaze, monterey jack, sour cream. The, uh, Mashed Potato Taco ($4), is basically that, mash, plus sour cream, cholula, and chips. You can add bacon for 50 cents. Deal.

Then there’s one called “Sunday Dinner,” (5.50). It’s chicken, stuffing, gravy, crispy onions, parsley, and sour cream.

Starting to get this. We’re pushing the taco way out of its comfort zone. Each one feels like a fresh idea. Smokey pork and mac ($6) promises real mac’n cheese on the pork, plus a bit of hot sauce and sour cream. Curried egg salad ($4.50, or $5 if you add bacon) is “Sam’s favorite,” menu says. Me too. I’ve always loved curried eggs. But in a taco?

Food Hall Ambassador Shaunta holds my beer, three minutes after the official opening.

Plus there’s a pastrami taco, a shrimp taco, an Asian salmon taco, and a Korean short rib taco. And, uh, a dessert taco? Lawdy.

I go for the top two, Sam’s meatloaf and the mashed potato taco. Figure they’ll go with my beer. And hey, the meatloaf would go with anything. The meat is herby, and with that chipotle apricot glaze and the cheese and fresh-looking spring onions, the word is lush, the feel is louche. And it sluices down beautifully with the Chronic Ale. Even this crazy idea of dumping a wad of mash in a tortilla gets me feeling Sam the Cooking Guy knows his gastronomical stuff. Because the mashed potato taco, which coulda been totally bland, is saved by the Cholula green onion, and sour cream, plus salty potato chip pieces. This one hits the bullseye.

Sam the Cooking Guy himself comes by. Have to ask him how he got this idea. “On TV, I do weird,” he says. “I’m not a purist. I’m a food agnostic. And one day I was sitting eating a taco. Good pollo asado. Then I thought ‘But why not load it with other stuff?’” It was as simple as that.”

First to exercise the piazza’s freedom to imbibe laws: Lauren, Gina, Amanda, Vanessa.

I mean, what he’s doing takes guts. He’s stealing the taco idea out from under the noses of an entire culture. But he’s got a palate I’m starting to trust. It’s not just splotting anglo nosh into a Mexican tortilla. It’s creating new taste experiences. I find myself saying “Huh,” about every second chomp. I think he’s onto something. I know taco purists will roll their eyes just as much as Tokyo sushi chefs do at the mention of “California roll.” But I think: now that he’s done the unthinkable, it doesn’t feel unthinkable any more.

So, about a week later, I’m back, and desperate to try the taco with macaroni and cheese on it. Just because, well, outrageous, right? Can it actually be tasty too? I end up getting three tacos.

The smokey pork and mac is definitely interesting. Flavor’s bolstered by the pork’s sour cream and sriracha mix-up. The macaroni adds the cheesy note. Not bad. I move on to Kelly’s Shrimp Taco (named after Sam’s wife, turns out). Good and garlicky, and plenty of the little guys. But the standout has to be the Korean short ribs. They taste like…well, just like Korean short ribs. Dark, juicy. Sour cream and ginger garlic soy sauce carry the day. The gochujang red pepper sauce adds zip and flavor. The crispy panko gives crunch. Beautiful combo.

I’m way full. Next time, I’ll venture on to Sam’s dessert taco, the Vanilla Mango ($5). It’s a crispy cinnamon sugar tortilla with fresh mango, vanilla ice cream, almonds, spicy honey and lemon.

Finally, I’m starting to get what the name’s about. They’re not not tacos. They’re kinda tacos. Heck, let’s just call them what they are: Gringo tacos.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The danger of San Diego's hoarders

The $1 million Flash Comics #1
Next Article

Halloween opera style

Faust is the quintessential example
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader