Poquito Mas – Dinner Plate with Steak

Back on Sunset Strip, this time about a half mile south of Frankie and Johnnie's Pizza.  I wish I knew this place existed before because it is a Baja Fresh-esque white people mexican food place within walking distance of all the venues I go to for shows.  Lesson learned – don’t take a couple years to check yelp for tacos in a certain area.

I got the dinner plate with steak. The general consensus on yelp was this place was pretty standard, but has an excellent salsa bar.  Definitely agree.  It had a lot of variety; if you can’t find a good salsa here then you got problems, man.  Some of the hot stuff:

Only one missing was a pineapple salsa, but oh well.  I got the mild versions of the pico de gallo and mild salsa (bottom left and center).  I mixed them together at one point and it was exellente.

Onto the meal:

Pros:

-          Corn tortillas were some of the best I’ve had:  fresh, thick, and soft. 

-          Salsa quality and quantity – I had about 3 ½ cups of the pico with my meal, delicious.

Neutral:

-         Rest of the ingredients – steak, guac, (free) chips, beans and rice were all decent/average

Cons:

-          No cheese included

Fat rating: 6.5/10 (w/ chips)

Salt rating: 7/10

Taste rating: 7/10

Juanita's - Shredded Beef Burrito and Chicken Taco

Haven't been here in a year, it's a good hole in the wall place in a bad area.  I've gotten the burrito before.  This place has really gooey homemade tortillas.  Probably full of lard but meh, THEY'RE SO GOOEY.  The ingredients are also good.  Shredded beef was moist, rice and beans were good.  Not sure if they even put cheese in it.  The sauce here is sorta unique.  It is a tomato sauce with a peppery taste and slight spice.  It is a bit like a mix of marinara and enchilada sauce but peppery.  It's not bad, it works in the burrito for some moisture.  I'm not too picky with salsa any more unless it's too spicy or too onion-y.  This was neither but needs tomatoes ALL SALSA NEEDS TOMATOES.  No picture, I got one at home but can't find it on my phone, probably deleted it. Oh well, it looks like a burrito. 

Fat rating: 7/10   Salt rating 8/10   Taste rating: 7/10

The chicken taco looks soft but it was actually crunchy.  Definitely the least greasy fried taco I've ever had.  There was a lot of shredded chicken, some lettuce and topped with cheese.  I will definitely want to get this again, along with a shredded beef one.  I'll ask if I can get it with some tomatoes though.  ALL TACOS NEED TOMATOES.

Fat rating: 4/10

Salt rating: 5.5/10

Taste rating: 6.5/10

Tacographics GIVES YOU THE 411 ON HOW TO MAINTAIN A HEALTHY WEIGHT

For anyone who reads this blog and doesn't know me, you may think DAMN THIS TACOGRAPHICS GUY MUST BE A FATASS LOL ROFL HE'S ALWAYS EATIN' FAST FOOD.  It's actually the opposite - I'm really skinny/quasi-fit.

Almost all the unhealthy restaurant food I eat is posted and reviewed on this blog.  The rest of my diet is healthy-ish.  I'm obviously not a health freak  - I believe in moderation of both unhealthy food (because it generally has a high taste rating) and healthy food (full of vitamins/minerals that your body needs), as well as exercise.

HEALTHY AS FUCK FEELIN' GOOD ALL DAY PERFECT SMILES RANDOM SUNFLOWER

 EATING A HUGE ASS WATERMELON

Unhealthy food in moderation (a few meals a week) is fine as long as you watch it.  Eating healthy food is absolutely a must for well-being and to stay at a decent weight.  While my metabolism is probably faster than yours (just saying),  I can still give my simple advice on how to lose a few lbs. and maintain a healthy weight.  If you follow it I am confident it will yield results (expect at least two weeks to a month).  Just remember though, since all of this is in moderation, expect moderate results.  If you want to lose more that 5-10 lbs. quicker then look elsewhere.

The Tacographics Lifestyle is highlighted by the following:

- Jumping rope or jumping jacks (usually after waking up) or any time on empty stomach for at least 5-10 minutes a day

- Any mode of transportation where you're standing up  (or bikes)

- Smaller meals  - NEVER keep eating if you're on the verge of being full

- Replacing white bread, pasta, tortillas, etc.  for whole wheat bread, pasta, tortillas, etc. as much as possible.

- At least one serving of green veggies a day - broccoli, spinach, romaine lettuce (NOT iceberg), anything else green.

- At least one serving of non-green veggies a day - potato, corn, carrots, squash, etc.

- At least one serving of fruit a day - kiwi (with skin, yes it's edible), apple, orange, berries, melon, grapes, etc.

FRUIT RULES, GET INTO IT

- At least one serving of lean (not fried) protein -  skinless turkey or chicken breast, eggs (I hate eggs), fish (I hate fish), or 8oz of low fat milk (I hate milk)

- Limiting red meat to 1-2 times a week

- Limiting sugar as much as possible - (soda, desserts, snacks, juice drinks, sports drinks, etc)

- Limiting fried food to 1-2 times a week or cut out all-together

- Switch to low fat cheeses, dressings, butter, and sauces whenever possible

- Drink plenty of water - some with meals, some before/after

And the bottom line:

Male - Do not exceed 2000 calories a day

Female - Do not exceed 1500 calories a day

3500 calories = one pound.

calorie information can be found on nearly everything when you buy it - and at restaurant chains

Expected reaction whilst reading nutrition facts at any restaurant

 Other recommendations:

- Get enough vitamins
- A jump rope is worth the (very small) investment.  It is a great calorie burning exercise. 

- Always warm-up by either running in place, jumping rope or do jumping jacks before doing any workouts such as push-ups and sit-ups (which are great, do them until you can't do any more)

- Stretch after working out.

- If you do eat out at a restaurant or fast food place, take a sip or two of Aloe Vera Juice any time to aid digestion:

Yes, this thing is like $25, but it'll last a long time and will help. It has no taste.

- Anything with fiber is filling -  fresh or cooked veggies and beans are great side dishes. Try to get 10-25g of fiber a day.

- Avocado and nuts are full of fat but they're good for you.  Eat them in moderation.

- Easy snack: wash a potato, wrap it in a paper towel and microwave for 3-5 minutes (depending on how big it is) and sprinkle with a little cheese and top with steamed broccoli if desired. 

- Eat Baked Lay's, Wheat Thins, Triscuits, or Sun Chips instead of regular potato chips if you like crunchy foods like me.

And finally, an easy and healthy taco idea:

- Whole wheat tortilla

- Fajita-seasoned boneless skinless chicken breast

- Spinach

- Low fat cheese

- Chopped tomatoes

Serve with some pinto or black beans and maybe a few tortilla chips for a Tacographics approved meal.

Fat rating: 3/10 (4/10 w/ a few chips)

Salt rating: 4/10

Taste rating: Fuckin' Healthy /10  

Frankie and Johnnie's New York Pizza - Pasta Pizza

I've been here a few times because it's the cheapest option where I go on the Sunset Strip (Hollywood for those who don't know).

Last two times I've gotten cheese pizza here but haven't reviewed it because it's... cheese pizza.  I'm probably not going to do many more reviews on topping-less pizza unless it stands out.

After waiting about 20 minutes, I ended up getting the last slice of pasta pizza they had sitting out.  What is pasta pizza?  Well, it's basically pizza with a bunch of spaghetti as an interior topping, and cheese on the exterior.  I've never seen a place with it so I got it.

Carb rating: 9/10

 If there's two things tacographics is a fan of, it's texture and not having to use utensils to eat something.  This delivered in those respects. As for the pizza itself, it was standard  but could have used more sauce.  It had a few basil leaves on it for presentation.  I later took those off and coated the pizza in oregano and parmesan for more taste.

Fat rating: 5.5/10

Salt rating: 7/10

Taste rating: 6/10

Mr G's - Cheese Pizza

It was PIZZA.  A little undercooked.  A little on the greasy side from garlic butter finish.

Fat rating: 5.5/10

Salt rating: 7/10

Taste rating: 6.5/10

El Cholo - Chile Colorado

Went here after a job interview, Tacographics looked ~ suave as shit ~ all dressed up and professional.


First the chips and salsa:

Standard fare.  The salsa was thin but had a classic mild flavor.  If they just added some chopped tomatoes it would be solid. 

This place is a step above Acapulco in price/quality.  I didn't want to spend $15 on a meal so I got the chile colorado for $11.  It was also pretty standard fare.  The beans were tasteless, rice was fine, and the guac was fresh but meh. 

The entree - chunks of shredded beef in an extremely mild chile/tomato broth, I liked the portion of the relatively lean stew meat. Any die-hard Tacographics fan should know I really enjoy the texture of shredded cuts (of meat) in general.  

Depending on your perspective, you can say El Cholo is less salty than some places... or just plain bland.  If you like mild food, this is your place.  Fans of spice: look elsewhere. 

Fat rating: 7/10

Salt rating: 7/10

Taste rating: 7/10

  

Pizza Hut - Breadsticks with Marinara

Another nostalgia food, Pete-zzuh Hut's breadsticks are not exactly something to be proud of eating.  They lack a natural softness that bread should possess, and if you save them in the fridge they become garlic-y and parmesan-y blunt weapons.

Aside from a lackluster texture and subtle greasiness, these are good.  The flavor is (like I just said) a garlic parmesan blend but they need dipping sauce. The marinara sauce it comes with it was more watery than I remember it being - DAMN YOU TARGET PIZZA HUT EXPRESS.  The flavor of the dip is basically a mix of rustic and tomato-y, solid. 

Fat rating: 6/10

Salt rating: 6.5/10

Taste rating: 7/10