What's Cookin?

[Zen_seeker]

no, i've never heard of that one!!! not sure i could even try a cherry pickle.. i'll file that one along with green beer.. nope.. somebody once told me ketchup is great on tuna, not trying that one either!! haha

I haven’t used ketchup since I was 8-10. I don’t remember what happened but I just stopped it cold turkey.

Tuna I like and had just the other day, but ketchup, even if I still liked it, just sounds wrong. I think it would look gross too.

 

[Zen_seeker]

I've never heard of ketchup on tuna. Like tuna salad or seared ahi?
Either way, no thanks lol.
I saw ketchup slices once and just about threw up.

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Only thing I use ketchup for is to load it it up with hot sauce or black pepper and dip fries in it. There's usually better condiments to choose. Toom or Lebanese garlic dip and chile crisps have been my go-tos lately.
I don't dislike ketchup but don't like it either.

If ketchup is part of a dip, like for shrimp, loaded with hot sauce and other seasonings I can eat it. It’s no longer ketchup then.

 

[Stoneyluv]

I've never heard of ketchup on tuna. Like tuna salad or seared ahi?
Either way, no thanks lol.
I saw ketchup slices once and just about threw up.

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Only thing I use ketchup for is to load it it up with hot sauce or black pepper and dip fries in it. There's usually better condiments to choose. Toom or Lebanese garlic dip and chile crisps have been my go-tos lately.
I don't dislike ketchup but don't like it either.

like straight up on tuna salad!!! ewww.. he said well you put tomatoes on your tuna hoagie, it's the same thing... i said no, no it's not the same!!! hahaha

i only use ketchup on one thing.. omelets. for some reason i gotta have it!! it's the only thing i use it on, a bottle lasts for years!!! haha

I got the idea from a boss I had in Newark NY. We dice olives, bacon, maybe sausage, peppers, stuff like that and roll it all in. The best part is the olive oil after it’s had things added and sat a while. Beats butter hands down.

If we actually had a bread maker I would be able to leave the house, stuck in the door frame.

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man those bread machines are such cheaters, you can taste the cheat too!!!! i ain't joking, a hand kneaded bread with love has so much more flavor in it. especially when ya make it the machine on the rapid setting like i do. bread should not be made in under 2 hours but it does it somehow.. my chickens get most of it.

I haven’t used ketchup since I was 8-10. I don’t remember what happened but I just stopped it cold turkey.

Tuna I like and had just the other day, but ketchup, even if I still liked it, just sounds wrong. I think it would look gross too.

damn i'm proud to hear that... kinda like my stent without eating a hotdog!!!! i was a teen the last time. but 8-10 is right around when ketchup "should" be the bomb!!! haha

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picked up a sack of little necks today... i'm the only one that eats them so i get em all!! hehe

 

[Bandit420]

Came home late last night after a full day of playoff baseball to find my wife had made a taco bar.
2am, I went to town! Al pastor, vegan, gringo, and a few others not shown. Mixed and matched 3 different 'tillas, 2 proteins, 5 choices of sauce, and all the fixins'!
I only got one pic though




Bakery dept has these theme cakes I like to look at but I bet they're gross and just taste like food coloring and white frosting

 

[Stoneyluv]

Came home late last night after a full day of playoff baseball to find my wife had made a taco bar.
2am, I went to town! Al pastor, vegan, gringo, and a few others not shown. Mixed and matched 3 different 'tillas, 2 proteins, 5 choices of sauce, and all the fixins'!
I only got one pic though

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Bakery dept has these theme cakes I like to look at but I bet they're gross and just taste like food coloring and white frosting

View attachment 130652

tacos look killer!!!! that cake would probably put me in a coma..

so whats your favorite man, flour or corn tilla's? i see you with a lot of corn shells so i assume.

i prefer the flour ones over corn but still get a craving now and then.. maybe five flour to every one corn..

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i'm afraid to ask, but what is a gringo taco? i have a feeling it's the ground beef kind i make!!! hahaha

 

[Bandit420]

tacos look killer!!!! that cake would probably put me in a coma..

so whats your favorite man, flour or corn tilla's? i see you with a lot of corn shells so i assume.

i prefer the flour ones over corn but still get a craving now and then.. maybe five flour to every one corn..

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i'm afraid to ask, but what is a gringo taco? i have a feeling it's the ground beef kind i make!!! hahaha

There's probably a dozen or so different kinds of tortillas to choose from at the store here and TBH, I haven't met one I don't like



Just depends for me..Crispy corn and fatty skillet corn for tacos... fried white or yellow corn for dipping tacos... red ancho and flour for fajitas and bfast tacos.... white flour for enchiladas & bfast tacos... green chile for burritos... wheat for bfast or avocado vegan. We go nuts with tortillas haha!
The only ones I stay away from are the corn & flour blend, butter, and gluten free. First two are just way too fatty and are artery cloggers. The gluten free looks like a pita bread and if I want pita bread I just get pita bread.
Yeah gringo is just Taco Bell style home made. She mixes different Cholula taco seasonings, lean beef, and add a lot of extra peppers, garlic, & onions then simmers it for about an hour and half.

 

[Stoneyluv]

There's probably a dozen or so different kinds of tortillas to choose from at the store here and TBH, I haven't met one I don't like

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Just depends for me..Crispy corn and fatty skillet corn for tacos... fried white or yellow corn for dipping tacos... red ancho and flour for fajitas and bfast tacos.... white flour for enchiladas & bfast tacos... green chile for burritos... wheat for bfast or avocado vegan. We go nuts with tortillas haha!
The only ones I stay away from are the corn & flour blend, butter, and gluten free. First two are just way too fatty and are artery cloggers. The gluten free looks like a pita bread and if I want pita bread I just get pita bread.
Yeah gringo is just Taco Bell style home made. She mixes different Cholula taco seasonings, lean beef, and add a lot of extra peppers, garlic, & onions then simmers it for about an hour and half.

ah yeah, you're spoiled!!! around here we get two, flour and corn.. cuz thats all i'll make!! hehehe j/k...

so when you buy them like that i assume they're cold? and then you just do the hot towel in a basket kind of thing?

considering i'm about as textbook gringo as you can get it's only fitting that i only make those kind!!! hahaha i'm pretty embarrassed to tell you what kind of representation of a taco i grew up on as a kid... don't think you'd even eat one. i know i wouldn't anymore.

 

[Bandit420]

ah yeah, you're spoiled!!! around here we get two, flour and corn.. cuz thats all i'll make!! hehehe j/k...

so when you buy them like that i assume they're cold? and then you just do the hot towel in a basket kind of thing?

considering i'm about as textbook gringo as you can get it's only fitting that i only make those kind!!! hahaha i'm pretty embarrassed to tell you what kind of representation of a taco i grew up on as a kid... don't think you'd even eat one. i know i wouldn't anymore.

The crazy thing for me is I could have tacos every night and each night would be different tacos.
Nothing wrong with gringo or taco bell style at all unless it's actually Taco Bell lol. For real though man that style is very popular among Mexicans too and pretty much everybody really. That's the center of the universe when it comes to taco Tuesday!! The big thing though is just going home made and adulting it up and not that weird oatmeal beef mixture Taco Bell uses.
There's a difference between the national brands of crispy shells and what we get though. Like Old El Paso tastes like chemicals to me but the brand made in San Antonio is really good and it's like generic or some shit, cheaper than everything but no preservatives so they can go stale super fast.

That's the newer tortilliaria at the stores and they're kept warm in that rack.
Behind it is this thing and this is how they used to be put out...



It's a tortilla assembly line!!!
The ones on the table are piping hot. They sell pretty fast when they're hot and any that don't sell right away go in that warming bin and kept warm all day if they last that long but are usually sold out by 3pm. But this is an old pic so now they use that vertical rack.
Yep I bring a small insulated pizza bag to keep them separate from cold food. I like them to be a little undercooked then finish them on my skillet and they'll taste like they were made minutes earlier. Great to buy and freeze too. Like during hatch chile season they'll have a special run so I buy those and freeze them for later.
They do sell cold tortillas but those are in the bread aisle and have all the preservatives making them taste bad

 

[Zen_seeker]

This was mentioned before and side threads mentioned what is Texas authentic BBQ and what’s usually served.

I drove by today and noticed things looked cleaned up and no workers. I still don’t know yet but I’ve got higher hopes. Seems a local pop up celebrity is moving in.

Nice write up and he’s right about the location. He’ll have no problems putting out large outdoor grills and having all day fires. It’s an old industrial area transitioning slowly. But he’ll be in a huge lunch crowd area for certain. Even the fire station is only a few blocks away.

https://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2026/02/crosstown-craft-bbq-permanent-restaurant/

Going to have to go out of my way more often and see when opening day’s expected.

 

[Zen_seeker]

We needed a time out yesterday…

 

[Bandit420]

This was mentioned before and side threads mentioned what is Texas authentic BBQ and what’s usually served.

I drove by today and noticed things looked cleaned up and no workers. I still don’t know yet but I’ve got higher hopes. Seems a local pop up celebrity is moving in.

Nice write up and he’s right about the location. He’ll have no problems putting out large outdoor grills and having all day fires. It’s an old industrial area transitioning slowly. But he’ll be in a huge lunch crowd area for certain. Even the fire station is only a few blocks away.

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https://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2026/02/crosstown-craft-bbq-permanent-restaurant/

Going to have to go out of my way more often and see when opening day’s expected.

There's some to unpack but from here, everything look on point and I'd call that authentic Texas BBQ.
This looks like true BBQ and was cooked at around 275-300. This is good. We tend to go lower and smoke the meat at 225-250 for half the cook time then raise temps to 300 for finishing.
BBQ is fine and smoked is fine. Smoked will add more smoke flavor of course and you'll see it in a red ring between the bark and meat.

This is also the common 3 meat platter with some caveat to it.
3 meat is brisket, sausage, and either turkey or pork rib.
That looks like a beef rib up top and that would be unusual first because it's small and second because it's in the 3 meat package.
A Texas beef rib is a plate rib. We call them Dino Ribs because they look like the rib that tips over Fred Flinstones car. They're huge and usually sold by itself. It would cover everything on that plate.
I can see the small beef ribs being used due to availability. That right there is Texas AF, working with what you have and making it special and to me, nothing wrong with that at all.

The rub looks on point...black pepper and salt. People go wild about the rubs but man, the best BBQ that gets the awards only uses those two ingredients. Maybe some garlic powder too but rubs have gotten so silly lately.
Condiments are on point too and a plus 1 for using cornbread and not white bread loaf. If the pickled red onions are home made you're in for a treat.

Interesting about the beef cheeks. That's something that was actually perfected at a food truck no more than 500 yards from my home.
This is a dish where Texas and Mexican bbq styles meet and the result is pure awesomeness. It may be too rich and decadent for many IDK. If you've had Wagyu or Kobe beef, it's a similar experience. That would be what I would order because that's more than food...it's an experience.

I'm not a sausage guy anymore and consider it a filler much like sides. The star of the show is brisket and beef plate ribs.
Beef cheeks, barbacoa, al pastor may be harder to find but are also held in very high regards.

The value on the 3 meat platter is around $40/lb here so that's the bottom line pricing and depending on lots of factors, can be up around $250 if not careful. But expect $40/lb to be average for us. Sides can be good but not more than $6 no matter what it is.
I would expect those platters shown to be at around the $60-$80 price points in Texas at the quality spots.