10,000 TACOS®

It that time of year! If you look around you, almost everywhere you go, you will see festive lights, crowds gathering at Christmas parks, packed ice rinks and, of course, tons of suckers, I mean, people at shopping malls. Yes, the holiday season is in full swing! But there is another season that is in full swing. A type of activity that involves tons of minutes of prep time. Perhaps tons of pair o...

Today on the show I want to share with you my take on Lengua. Not that many people, at least in America, are familiar with this tender type of meat. Especially on a taco. Lengua translates to tongue. It's beef tongue. I'm going to tell you a little bit about this meat. I'm also going to tell you a bit about how this meat and the many steps to ultimately get it into a taco used to drive me nuts. An...

Some time ago, I took a vow not to insert ads into our episodes.    I feel it's essential to tell a story without breaks, especially commercial breaks.    Instead, we invite you to visit our site and check out the merchandise we offer to support the show.  https://tenthousandtacos.com   Thank you for listening, and thank you for your support!   Isidro 

Chile Rellenos is a very popular dish in Mexico. It's also a favorite of mine, but for a reason, you may not expect. Today on the show, we talk about the some of the hidden steps a chile poblano goes through to then become a Chile Relleno. The transformation of this chili pepper is fascinating to me. It starts as a pure chile pepper. It gets called up – sort of - "You're up" It's your turn. This i...

You ever come up to a taco truck and stare at the menu? And before long you just don't know what to order because everything you see looks so freakin good! The power to choose the right one becomes very difficult. "The Paradox of Choice" the concept of "Why more is less" and how too many choice, at times, can leave us motionless in our ability to choose. It actually slows us down. It's something w...

On today's bonus episode 2, we take trip down to southern California. Ontario California to be exact. Here, we are hosted by Israel Miranda, the owner of The Taco Man.  He runs two locations in the outskirts of Los Angeles (east of LA) – in what is locally referred to as the Inland Empire. He also operates a thriving and efficient catering service out of the Ontario site. We sit down with Israel a...

On this bonus episode we check-in to let you know - while we are working on season 2 - we'll be providing updates both for the podcast as well as my personal life. This update is a personal one. I've decided to no longer field calls from recruiters or employers seeking to fill an EHS position. EHS stands for Environmental Health and Safety, which is what I did for the past 12 years.  After getting...

At some point or another, we've all had to face a bully. For my parents, that happened early on in their journey to break into the TACO TRUCK business. But first I tell you a bit about a recent trip I took to Southern California. A special trip to visit a few taquerias. But more importantly, I visited the person who's father started the company which built our taco truck. During that visit I was r...

Have you ever dreamed of winning the lottery? Well, on this episode, I'm going to tell you of a time I was in a conversation with an ex-coworker where the subject was just that.  Winning the lottery and my perspective of what it means to me to have won the lottery.  To win the lottery one has to be extremely lucky. What is luck? It is success or failure brought not by one's actions but by chance....

Today's episode, Isidro tells us something many people do not know about him. He is a huge OAKLAND RAIDERS fan. Those who know him wont be surprised he's a big RAIDERS fan. But even those close to him may not know the real reason he is a RAIDERS fan. Isidro tells us how he initially became a big fan and how getting ridiculed at a young age sent him on a mission to find out as much as he could abou...

In today's episode of 10,000 Tacos, Isidro takes us to a time where he and his dad went to a World Cup game. The year was 1994. It was a special time because - not only was he celebrating his dad's birthday - he also was in attendance while the US National Team was up against one of the best soccer clubs in the world – Brazil National Team. All this on the 4 th of July. One of the biggest surprise...

Today on this episode of 10,000 Tacos, Isidro concludes his story about how he got caught in a big lie and how not even the taco truck could have saved him from that embarrassment.  His then partner was adamant about finding out why there were others telling her he was out in a limo instead of the taco truck. She did not want to believe them but then the evidence was too good to ignore. As the old...

On today's show, Isidro takes us back to the time he was caught in a little lie – it was actually a big lie. He takes us back to a time he thought the taco truck was going to help him cover up for that lie. On this part 1, Isidro talks about a time he made plans with his then special friend only to skip out on her as he and his brother (the wing-man) rode around in a limousine through the busy cru...

On today's show, Isidro takes us back to the time his sister started driving. Recall in a previous episode – Trust the Tortilla -, he told us of a time when his sister would take the neighborhood kids to school in a car though she was too young to legally drive. In this episode, Isidro sits down with his folks to ask them how his sister came to drive. What were the circumstances that lead them (hi...

We do not break our episodes with ads. We feel it's important to tell a story without breaks, especially commercial breaks.  Instead, we invite you to visit our site and check out our merchandise we offer in order to help support the show.   https://tenthousandtacos.com   Thank you for listening and thank you for your support!   Isidro 

On today's episode Isidro talks a little about parenting, specifically a time when his parents helped him, at the ripe old age of 31, set up his own apartment. The lesson he learned was not to be so quick to judge people when it comes to how and what parents will do for their children. Isidro talks about how some of his childhood teachers would, at times, criticize the way his parents were raising...

Today on the show, Isidro starts by asking what are the hidden ingredients in every great taco? Though it may be hidden by all sort of toppings on a taco, it's not the meat. It also isn't the seasoning or the blended ingredients in the salsa. And though all those things are important, it is not what he is referring to. Con confianza! Which translates to "WithTrust!" Isidro asks if that has ever be...

Today on the show, Isidro talks about what he refers to "Tacos that I used to know." When he thinks of them, a little sadness ensues because he knows he will never get to taste those tacos again. Isidro tells us a little more why he hated selling tacos as a kid and some of the reasons for that odium.   Although he'll never get to taste them again, he does not regret it. He reminds us how regret, i...

On this episode, Isidro sits down to have a good conversation with a fellow podcaster – Rob Gokee, the host of Tacocity Podcast – Rob shares a little bit of his journey as well as some personal stories while growing up in Los Angeles.  They both agree, this conversation could have lasted a whole week! This is part of a crossover episode where Isidro also joins Rob on his podcast. To get the other...

In this episode Isidro talks about how his dad would use the following phrase to deal with the harsh rhetoric from people telling him things like, "GO BACK TO MEXICO!" or "IF YOU DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH, THEN YOU SHOULDN'T BE IN THIS COUNTRY!" The phrase he'd use was, "NO ME CHINGLES!" – which, if you speak Spanish, can be easily construed as a "bad" phrase.  "Don't mess with me" – But to Isidro's fat...

Today's episode Isidro describes what he referred to his parents having a whole lot of  "Ganas" – recall in the very first episode– which is popularly known today as GRIT. What is it? How do you know if you have it? He gives us a few examples of what it is as well as a personal tale told to him by his good friend who grew up in the same side of town as Isidro did.    "The excuses that we put in fr...

Today's episode concludes this 3 part series of how Isidro's dad became one of the "Baddest Taqueros" who roamed this earth. Isidro best describes why his dad was a badass taquero by telling us his father was always "GAME". Being up to doing what ever it takes to get the job done is what Isidro describes as being GAME. Isidro takes us on an exciting and a bit of an emotional journey by giving us a...

On this second part of "The Baddest Taquero",  Isidro describes how his dad was a taco truck pioneer. Isidro talks a little bit about how his father set himself apart from the rest of the taqueros of his time. How a price point of $1.25 for a big taco was a brilliant idea, from a marketing perspective! While others were offering a small taco, Isidro's father got customers to come in with a competi...

  Today we talk about the person who literally drove the truck! Isidro's father - the person who Isidro considers the "Baddest Taquero" who roamed this earth. In this episode, Isidro tells us about why he gets emotional when talking about his dad as well as what his folks went through on the initial day of operating their first food truck. The intentions, persistence and the difference a turn can...

Today we dive into some of the operations within the wheels of his parent's taco truck and all the work that went into making it run smoothly. It's not an easy task to run a taco truck and Isidro's parents did it every day, 7days a week. Hours of prep along with early mornings and late nights were a testament to how devoted his family was to run the truck correctly. If you think your chores growin...