Taco Night Saved and Made Better

So I bought these Shells from Ortega to have Taco Night at home. I love Taco Night and like to do it myself instead of paying Taco Bell or going out. At least I know exactly what kind of meat I am using, etc.

So when I opened the box I was very upset because my shells were all broken.

I had some soft taco shell so I was going to have to have soft tacos instead. But I really was craving crispy tacos. So I took the broken pieces of the taco shell and put them on top of the soft shell.

Then I dressed up my taco with my regular ingredients.

It was awesome. Better then a normal taco. I have seen something like this on Taco Bell's menu before but always said who would want to do this. Well add me to the list. I might do this for now on.

So the lesson we learn here is sometimes think outside of the box and when you think something is ruined it might not be.

The Rise of Downtown Tucson

Photo Credit - Bill Morrow

Once upon a time in the city of Tucson if you were to walk down the streets this is what it would feel like. No one was around. It was a ghost town, well worse then that at least ghost towns have tourists.

Photo Credit - nogwater

Sure Tucson had tourist, about once a year at least they would come to our great city for the Gem Show. I know, I know... El Tour de Tucson. Yes they would come for that as well.

But on a regular weekend you can go around downtown and it would be empty.

But then something changed. What changed, I really don't know. Some might say the Over priced, Under Regulated Rio Nuevo worked. I highly doubt that. 

Businesses just started opening downtown. First a few restaurants, then some more. A few breweries, then some housing came in. 

I have gone to some places downtown and will review a few of them and review a few more soon, so Downtown has risen and is a happening place now. Join the Tucson Food Guy and let's discover downtown together over the next few weeks.

I'm running for Kiwanis Governor-Elect

So I am running for Kiwanis Governor-Elect. I am very excited. My District in Kiwanis included Arizona, New Mexico, and El Paso County Texas. It is a great district. We have amazing people and culture. And we have AMAZING food!!!

You have the Mexican Influence, the Native American Influence, and some Cowboy Cuisine mixed in there.

So the food guy will get to have wonderful food around the District.

But what is Kiwanis... It is a Community Service Organization that changes the World, ONE CHILD and ONE COMMUNITY at a time.

You should join Kiwanis and join me in changing the World.

Coming Soon... Pizzeria Bianco

3 hour wait for a pie... You gotta be kidding me? Nope. That is normal at the Phoenix eatery of Chris Bianco. It must be worth it to have people waiting that long. I mean you can get pizza anywhere. But this is a Bianco pie. It is the top of the pizza world, well at least the national pizza scene.

Rated as one of the best pizza places in the nation by countless news outlets and surveys. This place is the pizza mecca. But Michael, they don't have the fancy certificate and number from Naples like Vero Amore. Well maybe not, but they have something that Vero Amore nor no other pizza place have, a James Beard award.

Well I have never tasted the pizza heaven that is Bianco. Well consider it is a 2 hour drive to Phoenix, plus you have the 3 to 4 hour wait. Well I can't handle that for a pizza. But alas, have no fear, Chris Bianco and his pizza will be near...

That's right, Chris will be opening his trademark Pizza location here in Tucson. It is part of the downtown revitalization that is sweeping through Tucson. I think it will be a welcomed addition. If Chris keeps to his ways of using local sourced foods as much as possible and if Chris becomes part of the Tucson community I think Chris has what it takes in his character as told by others, me never have met him, to overcome the Tucson-Phoenix rivalry that has made victim many a restauranteur that has tried to make Tucson their second home.

Once Chris comes to town I hope to try his pizza. Right now Vero Amore is my favorite pie in Tucson but I am always willing to try new pie. Does the Tucson Food Guy know Pizza? I would say so... I am from Pizza Pedigree. My cousins have owned and operated Denino's Pizza on Staten Island, named one of the best pizza places in New York since 1937. Denino's will always be the best pie I have ever eaten.

Hopefully Bianco's Tucson Pizza will take the place of the family as the best pizza in my heart.

Triberr - The Bloggers Superhero... with Proof

Many of you have heard me sing my praises for Triberr before. But it really is a superhero...


 

But now I have the proof... Back in 2007 I started Tucson Food Guy.

Don't you love my little cactus. Well back then I was a little blogger with really no audience. Well unless you count my mom, who even she didn't like my blog. 

Well after some redos and mistakes I think I finally hit a mega 50 page hits... Yippie.

Then something changed in my life. I met this dude named Dino. And he was telling me about this awesome business he started with a friend called Triberr. Well I was like, yeah ok Dino, you're my friend's friend so I will be nice to you and sign up but whatever, I have no views anyway.

So I used Triberr for a post or 2 on my blogger site. Then I took down my original blog and did some revisions and what not on WordPress. So it brings me to now. I came back to Blogger because of the integration with Google Plus. But wait... I looked at my visits chart on Blogger... And look what I see...

Wow my numbers shot through the roof during the time I was tracking visits with Blogger and was using Triberr.

I had over 4000 hits in the few months that I was online with Triberr and Blogger. Nevermind how many more hits I had with Wordpress and Triberr.

So now with the proof in hand I ask you... Why are you not on Triberr?

Food and our Lifestyle

Sorry I have not posted in a while. It is not that I am not interested in food anymore, it is quite the opposite. I still love food, but I was caught up in trying to lose weight. Well losing weight is a good thing, right? Yes it is a very good thing. I like my clothes fitting nicely, I like not having to worry about sitting in chairs, I like being healthy. But why should I say being caught up? Well I was trying the wrong way to lose weight. I was on a VERY restrictive diet. It worked. I lost almost 40 pounds so far, but it made me give up who I am. Food is an intimate part of my life. Besides being the "Tucson Food Guy" I am an Italian American. It is in my heritage to love food. But on a restrictive diet I didn't love food anymore. I got tired of eating salads and meat. I missed my sauces, my potatoes, my CARBS!!! Well now I am still on a diet, I am still losing weight, but I switched. I made a switch to Weight Watchers. I am doing very well. Weight Watchers is not for everyone. Some people hate the math of points, hate tracking, etc. But I don't mind it. It helps me figure what I can eat and what I should stay away from. It helps me MAKE CHOICES, not be told what to eat. In our quest as Americans to lose weight and be healthy we have forgotten a lot. We follow these very restrictive diets but really, what help is that. If you take away certain foods from me I am only going to crave them more. Instead let me eat them but TEACH me how to live a healthy lifestyle. So the Tucson Food Guy is back and I will start blogging on restaurants and food again, now that I can enjoy them while losing weight and being all in all healthy.

Tucson Food Guy... Foodie, Blogger, Social Media and Technology Guru, Activist, and Friend!!!

So now that I am back I figure I need to explain what this blog is and why I do it...

This blog is my experiment. My main purpose of this blog is to learn how to blog. I am not an expert but I need a place to learn and this is it. As I grow I will have new blogs. Each blog will bring new and exciting things. I already own some domain names and will be starting different blogs in the future.

So who am I??? I am Michael and I consider myself the Tucson Food Guy. I have been in the Tucson area on and off for over 10 years. I was a restaurant and hotel manager with different companies in Florida, Arizona, and California.

I am passionate about Food. I have been on a "lifestyle change" now for a few months and have dropped about 20 pounds. This is hard when you are a Food Guy. As I continue to get smaller I will tell everyone about my lifestyle change and maybe even be able to help people commit to a healthier lifestyle. My goal is once I am done and get to my goal weight the Tucson Food Guy will be able to share how you can enjoy life and the great foods around Tucson without being unhealthy.

So what else...

Well first of all I am a terrible writer. I am lucky I got through College English, only did because Dr. Mark Edmunds was the greatest professor ever and really pushed me along the way. I still can't write very well, my English is horrible. I talk with a Staten Island accent which will make my podcasts all so amusing. I write with Staten Island english which if you don't know what that is catch this season of Big Brother and listen to Gina Marie. But then why blog... because I have a lot in my brain I can share and who says it has to be perfect English.

What is this long title next to your name... Well it is what I cover... Foodie, Blogger, Social Media and Technology Guru, Activist, and Friend!!!

What it means is...

1) Foodie - I love Food, I love Food History, Food Service, Food Preparation, Food culture, and now maybe even some healthy eating. I am looking at maybe taking classes in Food Anthropology because the study of Food is awesome and Food sustains us, entertains us, comforts us, and maintains our traditions. And it is something every human in every generation has in common.

2) Blogger - Well you are here... This is my first blog of others to come.

3) Social Media and Technology Guru - I love both. I worked on a Congressional Campaign as the Director of Social Media which is where I found my love of it. I also love Technology, especially Google and Apple stuff.

4) Activist - I am an activist. I believe in community activism and service. I am a proud member of Kiwanis where we Change the World, One Community and One Child at a time. I also get involved in Politics although I have to take a break for the next 3 years as I was appointed by Governor Brewer to a State Commission post which means I can not be an officer in a Political Party. But one can still be an activist without being in the party. In fact neither party wants me anyway... I am too socially liberal for the Republican and too fiscally conservative for the Democrats. I guess that makes me a Moderate.

5) Friend - Last but not least I am a friend. I love people. I think people are great. Do I get along with everyone, no but I try. Those who allow me into their circle know I am someone who they can tell anything to and know I will always give advice when needed and care about them.

So anyway that is the Tucson Food Guy in a nut shell. It is a self identified brand and I like it. I would love for all the Foodies in Tucson to one day join together to do something for Tucson and who knows what together we could do!!!

Tucson Food Guy is Back!!!

After a hiatus the Tucson Food Guy is back in business.

We are working on some projects...

1) Podcast - We will be having a Tucson Foodie Podcast

2) Guest Interviews

3) Tips of the Trade

4) On the Road with the Tucson Food Guy

Hope you enjoy the blog and the ramblings of the Tucson Food Guy.

Attention Bloggers... It's time to get TRIBERR!

Ok all you Bloggers out there. Have you joined Triberr yet? What you don't know what Triberr is? Well you really need to find out.

If you asked Dan or Dino what Triberr is they could tell you all about it in very technical terms.

But what I would say it is in very simple terms. Triberr is basically a community of Bloggers who utilize each other to advertise their blogs.

I can tell you that before Triberr I was lucky to get 3 hits on a post, and that was most likely my Wife, Mom, and Dad. Now I get hundreds, and my blog is not good, I mean it is getting better but I am not a high end blogger like many others are.

 But I know what you are saying... Michael, I have awesome content, so what would Triberr do for me. With the right content, Triberr can make the difference between a good blog with maybe 100's of followers to an awesome blog with 1000's or more of followers. The difference is not the material you supply but the engagement you have with your followers. Triberr can increase your engagement.

So I am not paid in any way by Triberr to talk about them, in fact I pay Triberr as a Prime Member which everyone should be.

So go check out Triberr. Your blog will be happy you did.

Chromebook vs Windows Tablet

This is a special Technology posting from the Tucson Food Guy...

Lately I have been using both a Samsung Chromebook and a Samsung Ativ Tablet PC... I like them both. Actually I like the Chromebook better. But my go to for now is going to be the Tablet PC...

I look forward to the day when the Chromebook will be my only travel computer, but that is a bit off. Here is what needs to happen...

1) Support for GoToMeeting. Kiwanis uses GotoMeeting for a lot of webinars and also for our District Board meetings. Chromebook can not run GotoMeeting right now. Run it and your closer to my business.

2) Tablet - I like having the tablet with the Keyboard dock of the Ativ... If and when Chromebook goes to Tablet form which rumors say could happen and they have a proper keyboard dock then I would get it.

The only computer I left off which I did have was the Microsoft Surface Pro... It was too heavy... The Ativ does everything the surface pro did but less weight. Come on MS... You can do better.

Did somebody say Pho?

Well I love Pho. It is such a wonderful dish. I never really thought I could love Soup for a meal, as it was always a side. But Pho is so different. This Vietnamese dish is a simple and wonderful meal.

I get Pho whenever I can. I usually like Dao's Pho here in Tucson. They make the best. I will review Dao in another entry.

So what is Pho. Well it is a soup. The base of the soup is a beef broth. They cook it with Vietnamese spices.  They use Rice Noodles. I get it with Tripe, Meatballs, and Beef. You can have it with any protein you want. They also serve it with Jalapenos, Thai Basil, and other veggies.

When I get in the mood for it I order in or go to my local Vietmenese restaurnat. I live in a University city so I have many of them. But for my readers who may not live close to one I have an alternative...

1) Buy a good Pho base. I use one that I get on Amazon and I included the link below. Make according to the directions

2) Add the protein and cook until just about done.

3) Add the rice noodles and cook until tender.

4) Get some Asian Veggies like Sprouts and some Chilis.

5) Add a good Vietnamese hot sauce to your liking.

6) ENJOY!!!!

Now you can make Pho anytime you like.

And for those less adventurous I also included a Ready to Eat Version for you to look at...

Tucson Food Guy... Version 2.0 - BACK TO THE BASICS

Welcome back. So you might see that we have reset and restarted the blog. We are going back to our roots, a Food Blog...

Stuffed Pork Chop at Tool Shed in Des Moines.

Being a food blogger is important to me. I love food. The science of food, how food is made and why people eat what they do. I love food anthropology, food history, food preparation, and most importantly food eating.  

So let's share some stories with each other. The blog will have some information about Tucson food joints. Some recipes that I personally like, some food history and cultural things.

If you are looking for my tech ramblings I will be featuring them on another site, TechToyGuy.com.

Also coming soon will be a new blog, podcast, etc. where me and one of my buddies will talk about all things Guys... More details will be forthcoming.

In the meantime, Welcome back, Glad you found us and as always I am The Tucson Food Guy... Foodie, Blogger, Social Media and Tech Guru, Activist, and Friend!!!