My Kat Life

This past Saturday, Taco Takeover landed in San Jose at Avaya Stadium, and I was lucky to have been invited to attend as VIP.

I arrived at the stadium at 12pm when the doors opened to VIP, but late realized I should have arrived earlier. It took about 10-15 minutes to get through the line for security check, so it was almost 12:30pm by the time I made it on to the grounds. Having the extra 10 minutes or so to roam before general admission entered the festival made quite a difference with short lines for all food stands.

The planning team did a great job of spacing out the vendors to allow for lines to form. Vendors were organized in a U-shape around a plot of grass; in the middle were some tables, an inflatable where you put on a velcro suit and try to stick yourself on the wall, and a wrestling ring.

I spotted Churros El Guero first, so I made a beeline for it. Yup, I’m one of those people who will eat dessert before the meal. Why not? The line was short and while waiting, I watched the boss churn out churros and plot them into the fryer.

I went with my favorite flavor (I’ve visited the truck that’s stationed outside El Fresco Market at Eastridge Mall before) — vanilla. They also had chocolate, caramel, and strawberry available.

Next to Churros El Guero was Tacolicious, Taco Annex, and Sunny Side Up. There was a short line for Tacolicious, but the line moved quickly since they placed a tray of their El Dorado (crispy) tacos outside the tent for each individual to grab their own. I then hopped over to Taco Annex and grabbed one of their tacos sitting on the table — yay, no line! Both tacos were delicious — I looove my crispy tacos and the carne asada in the soft taco was so tender and flavorful.

I spied some food trucks nearby, so I took a walk over to one that had a shorter line — Akita Sushi. I was excited to get my hands on some seafood at this event; I wasn’t expecting it. There was a choice of seared salmon or seared ahi crispy tacos. I went with a seared ahi and it was delicious! I wish I could have had 10 more!

After devouring my first few tacos, I took a little break and watched some folks attempt to velcro themselves to the velcro wall. It seemed like it was harder than everyone thought, but it was all good fun. The plus ones were standing on the side, watching with phone in hand taking video of the failed attempts.

I heard the crowd cheering and the sounds of slams from the wrestling ring, so I walked over to take a peek. A quick elimination match was going down. Within about 10 minutes, wrestler after wrestler was eliminated and one was named the champion. Some of the guys had some nice moves, including flipping over the rope (although it eliminated them from the match)!

A little after noon, the sun was in full force and it was getting quite hot out. I don’t blame most of the attendees for hitting up the bar, which was located in the shade. I was so glad to see Mustache Mike’s Italian ice — I headed over to grab a scoop. If I had more time, I would have grabbed one of each flavor. I need to track down their truck again to try more flavors.

I decided to venture over to the other side to see what other vendors were around and happened upon Essentia Water. I grabbed a bottle of cold water to stay hydrated. Around the corner, I found the VIP guacamole bar. I had seen this posted as a perk of having VIP access and I’m glad I found it. I got my guac and chips, and grabbed a pulled pork taco (unfortunately I didn’t read the name on the tent; there was a guy outside dolling them out). Yummmmm…

Catch my Instagram takeover on @thetacotakeover from that afternoon below!

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