The Brooklyn Taco Experiment

On January 31st, 2010 i went to Brooklyn to support my good friend, great chef and avid food competitor Andrew in a taco making competition he was participating in. The competition was called The Brooklyn Taco Experiment, an event created by a pair of cookoff obsessed foodies Theo Peck and Nick Suarez. It was an event where cooks of various levels of expertise came to show off what they each thought were the best tacos in New York. A week before the competition Andrew had a few friends over to sample some of the possible tacos he would be competing with. Everything from savory chicken mole tacos to carnitas cooked to a tender perfection where some of my favorites we sampled. I couldnt wait to cheer him on and attend my first food competition!!I was even more excited and actually a little intimidated to find out that i would be taste testing each and every taco competing in the The Experiment. Apparently news about the event spread fast amongst New York foodies and tickets to the event sold out the day before the event. Thank you Andrew for making sure i got a ticket!!The event which was held at The Bell House in Brooklyn was basically a four hour taco glutton fest!! I went in thinking i was going to nibble on only a few samples of  local taco creations until i entered the main hall at the Bell House and was given a voting slip that contained the names of 30 different competitiors!!Whoa!!30 tacos really?? The aroma coming from Bell House was amazing!!And the crowd who patiently waited outside in the freezing cold(some for over an hour) to have their turn to taste tacos after tacos, ran around to each taco station in a desperate and feverish pace, drooling to taste what they were smelling!!! I thought it would be a Iron Chef style competition but instead it was designed like a wine tasting but with tacos.With local talent DJ Kilahertz playing fun taco eating music in the background,i proceeded to grab my first taco sample and then my second taco sample. I realized that in order for me to judge properly and get the best experience from this event, i had to have a game plan!!I knew that ultimately i was going to vote for Andrew's tacos but like a true foodie i had to scope out or should i say taste out the competition. I was extremely excited to see that so many of the competitiors thought outside the box in terms of their taco creations. There were breakfast tacos made with pork belly, Indian influenced tacos made with curried chicken, pork tacos braised in hibiscus flowers,duck tacos,shrimp tacos and even for the vegetarian or vegan there were tempeh and cilantro tacos. I enjoyed the fact that many also chose to break away from the usual salsa and Tapatio sauce and create their own condiments like tequilla cremes, cactus pear vinagrettes, spicy bearnaise sauce, sweet corn and bacon bit relish and would you believe truffled chicharrones!!! I was in taco heaven and i didnt want to leave!Some of my favorite tacos where the simply made ones in which flavor and close to home cooking yumminess was all that mattered. Andrew offcourse chose to make just that.... simply delicious and close to home tasting tacos. Mike Mcgowan another competitor impressed me as well with his shredded osso bucco and braised short rib tacos that had no bells and whistles just plain goodness!!The Brooklyn Taco Experiment i found  was not only a great food event and foodie heaven but it was an oppurtunity to raise money for a good cause. Portions of the ticket proceeds went to ovarian cancer research and Andrew being the sweetheart that he is promised to donate $10 to Haiti earthquake relief  efforts for every one of his friends that attended the competition to support him.The competition which was sponsored by Aeromexico and Tortillera Chinantla, was not only being judged by New York City foodies but by well respected, well known chefs and food experts of the culinary world. Iron Chef judge and Bon Appetit editor Andrew Knowlton, owner/chef of  Cascabel Taqueria Todd Mitgang and David Vendley of Calexico were a few of the judges whose job it was to also consume 30 different tacos and somehow determine who was worthy of the taco making crown.In the end, a group of guys who called themselves Serious Business and who also happen to be wearing silly taco outfits throughout the competition, were crowned the ultimate winners based on the main judges selection. Ironically enough i was only able to eat twenty-six tacos, and i use the word "eat" loosely because some tacos werent worthy of more than a bite or two. Serious business just happend to be one of the four tacos that i just didn't have any more room in my already stretched out belly to consume. Serious Business won a round trip ticket to Mexico and some money to spend. Andrew my good friend didn't win any money or a trip but he sure did win my respect and the respect of a few other New York foodies that attended the event that day!! I have a renewed  love for tacos and have been inspired to work on my own abilities in making kick ass tacos and do so with an open mind and more of a willingness to think outside the box in terms of ingredients.Spamitos are my latest idea in tacos. Good old Spam cooked in a green chile sauce and doused with lots of cheddar cheese. Stay tuned for the recipe. I hope know one has come up with that one yet!!!Feel free to donate to Haiti relief efforts and/or ovarian cancer research by clicking on the links above and following the instructions online!!