Intro: Hi, my name is Anthony
Intro: Macias.
Intro: I'm a taco blogger and
Intro: connoisseur from Dallas,
Intro: Texas.
Intro: To me, tacos sound like the
Intro: sound of a bell when you open
Intro: the taqueria door.
Intro: Tejano music playing in the
Intro: background and everybody
Intro: having a great time.
Intro: This is Anthony, also known
Intro: as Ant Eats 214.
Intro: And you're listening to Tacos
Intro: of Texas on KUT.
Speaker: [bell dings two times]
Speaker: Bienvenidos
Speaker: publico, en esta esquina tenemos el taco de frijoles y en la
Speaker: otraesquina son los de bean and cheese Welcome to the
Speaker: Bean and Cheese Battle
Speaker: Royale. [bell dings three times] [crowd applause and fades into
Speaker: intro music]
Mando Rayo: Who's sweating out
Mando Rayo: there. What's up, taco
Mando Rayo: world? I'm taco journalist
Mando Rayo: Mando Rayo.
Mando Rayo: And welcome to the Tacos
Mando Rayo: of Texas podcast season
Mando Rayo: tres, tres, tres, produced
Mando Rayo: by Identity Productions
Mando Rayo: in partnership with
Mando Rayo: KUT and KUTX Studios.
Mando Rayo: And we're back exploring
Mando Rayo: taco culture in Texas
Mando Rayo: through the eyes of the
Mando Rayo: people in the Lone Star
Mando Rayo: State.
Mando Rayo: So grab some beans and
Mando Rayo: lots of cheese and
Mando Rayo: get ready for some muy
Mando Rayo: tasty taco
Mando Rayo: conversations.
Mando Rayo: Welcome, everybody.
Mando Rayo: As you know, we are
Mando Rayo: we're here for the meat
Mando Rayo: and cheese Battle Royale.
Mando Rayo: Today's Tacos of Texas
Mando Rayo: is being recorded live
Mando Rayo: in San Antonio, Texas.
Mando Rayo: We're at Jaime's Place
Mando Rayo: hosting the top three
Mando Rayo: eateries that you voted
Mando Rayo: for in that 2023
Mando Rayo: being in cheese battle
Mando Rayo: royale.
Mando Rayo: We started with a list
Mando Rayo: of 16 los
Mando Rayo: dieceseis mas dulces, and
Mando Rayo: down to those ocho mas
Mando Rayo: pocho and finally, los
Mando Rayo: quatros baratos.
Mando Rayo: Well I don't know about that
Mando Rayo: but you know bean and
Mando Rayo: cheese could be pretty
Mando Rayo: barato, right?
Mando Rayo: Yeah.
Mando Rayo: So we had four
Mando Rayo: categories.
Mando Rayo: We had old school mom
Mando Rayo: and pop shop.
Mando Rayo: We had drive thru
Mando Rayo: edition. We have
Mando Rayo: restaurants and food
Mando Rayo: trucks.
Mando Rayo: We had each of these on
Mando Rayo: a bracket. We did two
Mando Rayo: rounds of online voting
Mando Rayo: and now we're here for
Mando Rayo: the final battle between
Mando Rayo: Tacos El Rey.
Mando Rayo: Everybody give it up for
Mando Rayo: Taco El Rey, The
Mando Rayo: Original Donut Shop,
Mando Rayo: and Rosa's Kitchen.
Mando Rayo: The winner today
Mando Rayo: will be selected by our
Mando Rayo: beautiful and
Mando Rayo: sweaty jury right
Mando Rayo: here.
Mando Rayo: We have Stephanie
Mando Rayo: Guerra of Puro Pinche.
Mando Rayo: We have
Mando Rayo: Nydia Huizar of Barbacoa Apparel
Mando Rayo: and Richard Diaz as well
Mando Rayo: as from Barbacoa
Mando Rayo: Apparel.
Mando Rayo: And of course, we're
Mando Rayo: going to have the
Mando Rayo: Gentes' Choice Awards,
Mando Rayo: which you will be voting
Mando Rayo: for. The winners will be
Mando Rayo: crowned with this custom
Mando Rayo: made crown made by
Mando Rayo: El Guapo Fabrication and
Mando Rayo: Design. So thank you
Mando Rayo: partners, not only
Mando Rayo: Barbacoa Apparel and
Mando Rayo: Puro Pinche for coming
Mando Rayo: together and believing
Mando Rayo: in the dream.
Mando Rayo: We couldn't do this
Mando Rayo: without Jaime Macias
Mando Rayo: from Jaime's Place. What's up?
Mando Rayo: Y'all proud to be here
Mando Rayo: in the West Side?
Mando Rayo: All right, here's the
Mando Rayo: thing, San Antonio.
Mando Rayo: We're gathered here
Mando Rayo: today in honor of the
Mando Rayo: bean and chees taco, or,
Mando Rayo: as I call it, the
Mando Rayo: people's taco.
Mando Rayo: It's simple, delicious,
Mando Rayo: and different from one
Mando Rayo: taco to the next with
Mando Rayo: plenty of protein and
Mando Rayo: energy it gives you when
Mando Rayo: you eat it.
Mando Rayo: And I definitely call it
Mando Rayo: the Mexican protein bar.
Mando Rayo: Anyone have their
Mando Rayo: Mexican protein bars today? It's
Mando Rayo: something that's affordable,
Mando Rayo: something that's on the
Mando Rayo: go. But like you always
Mando Rayo: had a pot of beans at
Mando Rayo: home, didn't you?
Mando Rayo: Right. And then some
Mando Rayo: tortillas and a little
Mando Rayo: bit of that quesito.
Mando Rayo: It's just something
Mando Rayo: that, you know, you can
Mando Rayo: make in a large batch.
Mando Rayo: And our vendors are here
Mando Rayo: today, our finalists,
Mando Rayo: and they're going to have
Mando Rayo: plenty for you to taste.
Mando Rayo: The beans and cheese now
Mando Rayo: has secured as a special
Mando Rayo: place in so many of our
Mando Rayo: corazón es and so thank
Mando Rayo: you all for being here.
Mando Rayo: Again, my name is Mando
Mando Rayo: Rayo, I'm a taco
Mando Rayo: journalist and host of
Mando Rayo: the Tacos of Texas
Mando Rayo: podcast.
Mando Rayo: We're going to take a
Mando Rayo: quick break, but when we
Mando Rayo: come back, we're going
Mando Rayo: to have our guest jury
Mando Rayo: panel, come up here and
Mando Rayo: talk about the bean and
Mando Rayo: cheese tacos.
Mando Rayo: So let's get ready
Mando Rayo: to rumble.
Mando Rayo: [bell dings two times] [music plays] [crunch sound effect]
Mando Rayo: Oh, it's taco time.
Mando Rayo: And now here's a word
Mando Rayo: from our sponsors from
Mando Rayo: me.
Mando Rayo: Vamos a Chuco Town con Visit
Mando Rayo: El Paso.
Mando Rayo: It's the hometown of
Mando Rayo: this taco journalist.
Mando Rayo: On every corner of El
Mando Rayo: Paso, you will find a
Mando Rayo: variety of delicious
Mando Rayo: cuisines that will suit
Mando Rayo: any budget from
Mando Rayo: authentic Mexican
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Mando Rayo: several decades ago to
Mando Rayo: up and coming award
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Mando Rayo: twist. El Paso's food
Mando Rayo: and drink scene is
Mando Rayo: recognized for its range
Mando Rayo: of flavors, the
Mando Rayo: birthplace of the
Mando Rayo: margarita.
Mando Rayo: Few things go better
Mando Rayo: with El Paso's authentic
Mando Rayo: selection of Mexican
Mando Rayo: food than ice cold
Mando Rayo: margaritas.
Mando Rayo: With the introduction of
Mando Rayo: the margarita in the
Mando Rayo: 1940s just south of the
Mando Rayo: border, the tangy and
Mando Rayo: sweet drink soon became
Mando Rayo: a staple in restaurants
Mando Rayo: and bars across the
Mando Rayo: region.
Mando Rayo: Follow El Paso's
Mando Rayo: Margarita Trail by
Mando Rayo: visiting one or more of
Mando Rayo: these iconic
Mando Rayo: establishments and treat
Mando Rayo: yourself to some of the
Mando Rayo: best margaritas you can
Mando Rayo: find.
Mando Rayo: The Kentucky Club.
Mando Rayo: The world famous
Mando Rayo: Kentucky Club takes
Mando Rayo: pride in being one of
Mando Rayo: the oldest bars in
Mando Rayo: Ciudad Juarez, Mexico,
Mando Rayo: and claiming to be the
Mando Rayo: birthplace of the
Mando Rayo: margarita.
Mando Rayo: Craft breweries make up
Mando Rayo: an exciting and growing
Mando Rayo: segment of El Paso's
Mando Rayo: culinary culture.
Mando Rayo: With places like Dead
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Mando Rayo: and others.
Mando Rayo: Beer fans and foodies
Mando Rayo: can enjoy refreshment
Mando Rayo: and light bites at one
Mando Rayo: of the many breweries in
Mando Rayo: town.
Mando Rayo: Muchas gracias to our
Mando Rayo: friends at Visit El Paso
Mando Rayo: for sponsoring this
Mando Rayo: podcast episode.
Mando Rayo: Follow Visit El Paso on
Mando Rayo: Instagram and Facebook
Mando Rayo: at Visit El Paso or on
Mando Rayo: their website at Visit
Mando Rayo: El Paso dot com.
Mando Rayo: [music] Our first guest
Mando Rayo: intro was cut because we
Mando Rayo: lost power when she
Mando Rayo: introduced herself, so
Mando Rayo: I'm going to introduce
Mando Rayo: her now.
Mando Rayo: Today's guest is
Mando Rayo: Stephanie Guerra from
Mando Rayo: Puro Pinche. Based in San Antonio,
Mando Rayo: Texas, Stephanie is an
Mando Rayo: experienced consultant
Mando Rayo: offering creative services
Mando Rayo: such as social media,
Mando Rayo: marketing, event
Mando Rayo: production, content
Mando Rayo: creation, y mas.
Mando Rayo: Stephanie founded Puro
Mando Rayo: Pinche at Puro Pinche dot com
Mando Rayo: in 2010 to help
Mando Rayo: celebrate and support
Mando Rayo: San Antonio's vibrant
Mando Rayo: cultural scene.
Mando Rayo: Puro Picnhe's recognition
Mando Rayo: has made her the go to
Mando Rayo: person for when and
Mando Rayo: what is happening in
Mando Rayo: South Texas.
Mando Rayo: Puro Pinche's social
Mando Rayo: media channels constantly
Mando Rayo: aggregate and share need
Mando Rayo: to know information
Mando Rayo: about culture and events
Mando Rayo: happening to its
Mando Rayo: audience of over 60,000
Mando Rayo: people.
Mando Rayo: So the power was cut
Mando Rayo: because we're doing a
Mando Rayo: live event and it's like
Mando Rayo: 100 plus degrees out
Mando Rayo: here in San Antonio, the
Mando Rayo: gateway to South Texas.
Mando Rayo: That's right.
Mando Rayo: So we're going to be in
Mando Rayo: and out.
Stephanie Guerra: The competition is even hotter.
Mando Rayo: And the competition is
Mando Rayo: even hotter.
Mando Rayo: That's right. That's
Mando Rayo: right. All right.
Mando Rayo: So let's go ahead and go
Mando Rayo: back to Barbacoa
Mando Rayo: Apparel.
Mando Rayo: Nydia, well, let's start
Mando Rayo: with you. Why don't you
Mando Rayo: introduce yourself and
Mando Rayo: tell us what your role
Mando Rayo: is at Barbacoa Apparel?
Nydia Huizar: Hi there. Thanks, Mando.
Nydia Huizar: I'm Nydia, and I am
Nydia Huizar: the designer and
Nydia Huizar: co-owner of Barbacoa
Nydia Huizar: Apparel. The designer
Nydia Huizar: and I do social media
Nydia Huizar: stuff, too.
Mando Rayo: Nice, Richard.
Richard Diaz: My name is Richard Diaz,
Richard Diaz: also co-owner.
Richard Diaz: I do events,
Richard Diaz: printing, a little bit
Richard Diaz: of everything. Yeah.
Mando Rayo: Nice. Nice.
Mando Rayo: And so I got to ask each
Mando Rayo: of you, have you had a
Mando Rayo: bean and cheese today?
Nydia Huizar: I have not, but I know
Nydia Huizar: somebody who has.
Richard Diaz: I did. I actually.
Richard Diaz: I have to confess, I had
Richard Diaz: one right before the
Richard Diaz: event because I was hungry,
Richard Diaz: so.
Mando Rayo: Good, good.
Stephanie Guerra: Yes. I had a bean
Stephanie Guerra: and cheese taco today,
Stephanie Guerra: but no, I won't
Stephanie Guerra: say where I got it
Stephanie Guerra: from.
Mando Rayo: Oh, come on.
Mando Rayo: It's not on the finals.
Mando Rayo: Los finales.
Stephanie Guerra: It was one of the.
Stephanie Guerra: It was one of the
Stephanie Guerra: top 16.
Mando Rayo: Oh, okay. Good, good,
Mando Rayo: good, good, good.
Mando Rayo: Well, San Antonio is
Mando Rayo: known for many things,
Mando Rayo: but definitely the bean
Mando Rayo: and cheese.
Mando Rayo: Stephanie, let's start with
Mando Rayo: you. Why is the bean
Mando Rayo: and cheese taco so
Mando Rayo: important to the city of
Mando Rayo: San Antonio?
Stephanie Guerra: I, I think that
Stephanie Guerra: the bean and cheese taco
Stephanie Guerra: is a great
Stephanie Guerra: representation of
Stephanie Guerra: the people of San
Stephanie Guerra: Antonio. Right?
Stephanie Guerra: Like San Antonio,
Stephanie Guerra: people are hard
Stephanie Guerra: workers.
Stephanie Guerra: We have all
Stephanie Guerra: different ways of
Stephanie Guerra: getting things
Stephanie Guerra: done and we make
Stephanie Guerra: sure we get them
Stephanie Guerra: done. And I think
Stephanie Guerra: that, you know,
Stephanie Guerra: everybody has
Stephanie Guerra: beans in their
Stephanie Guerra: house, like you said,
Stephanie Guerra: a pot of beans.
Stephanie Guerra: Everyone can find
Stephanie Guerra: a different type of
Stephanie Guerra: cheese that they
Stephanie Guerra: love. And then you
Stephanie Guerra: got to put all the
Stephanie Guerra: love into making
Stephanie Guerra: the fresh tortillas.
Stephanie Guerra: And San Antonio
Stephanie Guerra: works hard to make
Stephanie Guerra: those all come
Stephanie Guerra: together.
Stephanie Guerra: And especially
Stephanie Guerra: since we are a
Stephanie Guerra: predominantly
Stephanie Guerra: Mexican American
Stephanie Guerra: city, you know, we
Stephanie Guerra: love our tacos,
Stephanie Guerra: but bean and cheese
Stephanie Guerra: always reminds me
Stephanie Guerra: of comfort of
Stephanie Guerra: home, of my
Stephanie Guerra: abuelas making
Stephanie Guerra: bean and cheese tacos
Stephanie Guerra: or going to our
Stephanie Guerra: taqueria down the
Stephanie Guerra: street. I grew up
Stephanie Guerra: actually going to
Stephanie Guerra: one on Commerce
Stephanie Guerra: for the majority
Stephanie Guerra: of my life, so I'm
Stephanie Guerra: not too far away.
Stephanie Guerra: And I just think
Stephanie Guerra: like bean and cheese
Stephanie Guerra: is the perfect balance
Stephanie Guerra: and will tell you
Stephanie Guerra: if a Mexican
Stephanie Guerra: restaurant is
Stephanie Guerra: good.
Mando Rayo: Hey, I think that's
Mando Rayo: right. Right?
Mando Rayo: Nydia, what do you say about
Mando Rayo: that?
Nydia Huizar: Well, how can I expand
Nydia Huizar: on that? I don't even
Nydia Huizar: know. Stephanie said
Nydia Huizar: it all. I definitely
Nydia Huizar: think that bean and
Nydia Huizar: cheese tacos, they're
Nydia Huizar: an affordable
Nydia Huizar: taco. If you have a
Nydia Huizar: large family, a lot of
Nydia Huizar: a lot of us come from
Nydia Huizar: large families. That's
Nydia Huizar: like a really great
Nydia Huizar: way to stretch out
Nydia Huizar: a comfort food that's
Nydia Huizar: packed in protein,
Nydia Huizar: like you said, and is
Nydia Huizar: just delicious and
Nydia Huizar: part of, you know,
Nydia Huizar: Tex-Mex.
Mando Rayo: Yeah, Nydia.
Mando Rayo: Who made your first
Mando Rayo: bean and cheese for you
Mando Rayo: growing up?
Nydia Huizar: They were in the top
Nydia Huizar: six team - Lupita's.
Nydia Huizar: I lived like within
Nydia Huizar: walking distance to
Nydia Huizar: that restaurant, and
Nydia Huizar: my first memory is my
Nydia Huizar: grandma telling me to
Nydia Huizar: avoid stepping
Nydia Huizar: on broken beer bottles
Nydia Huizar: as we walked over,
Nydia Huizar: which is pretty sweet.
Nydia Huizar: And it's so good, you
Nydia Huizar: know, it's a soft food,
Nydia Huizar: so it's perfect for
Nydia Huizar: kids and it's just I
Nydia Huizar: don't know. It's home.
Mando Rayo: It's home. What about you, Richard?
Mando Rayo: Tell me about your love
Mando Rayo: for bean and cheese.
Mando Rayo: And when did it start?
Richard Diaz: I was introduced to
Richard Diaz: bean and cheese as a kid.
Richard Diaz: I think, like, you
Richard Diaz: know, a lot of kids can
Richard Diaz: be picky when they eat.
Richard Diaz: And I think bean and
Richard Diaz: cheese is a safe taco
Richard Diaz: to have. So it's a
Richard Diaz: good introduction for
Richard Diaz: kids. I remember
Richard Diaz: growing up, my mom
Richard Diaz: would make it. We
Richard Diaz: would go to a lot of restaurants
Richard Diaz: on the West Side.
Richard Diaz: I think Elena's on
Richard Diaz: Zazamora was probably
Richard Diaz: one of my first, but
Richard Diaz: there's so many restaurants
Richard Diaz: on the West side and
Richard Diaz: yeah, it's I would I
Richard Diaz: definitely judge a
Richard Diaz: restaurant based on
Richard Diaz: their bean and cheese taco.
Mando Rayo: Nice. Nice.
Mando Rayo: Now, let's talk about,
Mando Rayo: like, some technical
Mando Rayo: aspects of the bean and
Mando Rayo: cheese.
Mando Rayo: You know, when I grew
Mando Rayo: up, I grew up definitely
Mando Rayo: tacos and burritos too,
Mando Rayo: because I'm an original
Mando Rayo: from El Paso. Chuco Tow, represent, what's up.
Mando Rayo: And for me, it was the
Mando Rayo: bean to the cheese ratio
Mando Rayo: is muy importante right.
Mando Rayo: It was funny because I
Mando Rayo: was like, go to our
Mando Rayo: restaurant and you
Mando Rayo: know, most most bean and
Mando Rayo: cheese looked very
Mando Rayo: similar, but when we got
Mando Rayo: home, they had a
Mando Rayo: different color, like
Mando Rayo: because we used that
Mando Rayo: Munster cheese, maybe
Mando Rayo: like white beans,
Mando Rayo: like.
Stephanie Guerra: I think we should
Stephanie Guerra: poll the audience
Stephanie Guerra: and see what kind
Stephanie Guerra: of cheese they like,
Stephanie Guerra: right? Yellow or
Stephanie Guerra: white.
Stephanie Guerra: Is there another one?
Stephanie Guerra: A third option.
Nydia Huizar: Mix.
Stephanie Guerra: Mixed cheese?
Mando Rayo: A mix.
Stephanie Guerra: Okay.
Stephanie Guerra: Who can hear us
Stephanie Guerra: out there? Who wants
Stephanie Guerra: to vote really quick?
Stephanie Guerra: All right.
Stephanie Guerra: So if you grew
Stephanie Guerra: up with yellow
Stephanie Guerra: cheese, let me
Stephanie Guerra: hear you.
Stephanie Guerra: Who grew up with yellow
Stephanie Guerra: cheese in their bean and
Stephanie Guerra: cheese. All right.
Stephanie Guerra: All right.
Stephanie Guerra: Okay.
Stephanie Guerra: Who grew up with white
Stephanie Guerra: cheese in there being
Stephanie Guerra: cheese tacos?
Stephanie Guerra: All right, well.
Mando Rayo: There's one person.
Stephanie Guerra: Maybe it's only
Stephanie Guerra: the West Texans. Who knows?
Mando Rayo: I don't know.
Mando Rayo: Richard, let's start
Mando Rayo: with you. What do you
Mando Rayo: look for in your perfect
Mando Rayo: bean and cheese?
Richard Diaz: I think it's all about
Richard Diaz: the beans.
Richard Diaz: Some places make it
Richard Diaz: with, like, chorizo
Richard Diaz: and their beans.
Mando Rayo: Ooh, that's good.
Richard Diaz: And actually, one of
Richard Diaz: the restaurants that
Richard Diaz: was in the top 16 was
Richard Diaz: one of my personal
Richard Diaz: favorites.
Richard Diaz: And they, they use--
Mando Rayo: Who was it?
Richard Diaz: Taqueria Chapala
Richard Diaz: Jalisco.
Stephanie Guerra: The goth taqueria.
Richard Diaz: Yeah, sin 13.
Stephanie Guerra: Used to be an industrial
Stephanie Guerra: club now it's a taqaueria.
Mando Rayo: Oh, okay.
Richard Diaz: But they just do really
Richard Diaz: good beans and then
Richard Diaz: the cheese is great and
Richard Diaz: then I always add
Richard Diaz: bacon. I feel like
Richard Diaz: bacon just adds that
Richard Diaz: perfect saltiness to
Richard Diaz: it.
Mando Rayo: Love it, love it.
Mando Rayo: Do you guys like being
Mando Rayo: in cheese on corn?
Nydia Huizar: Yes.
Mando Rayo: Alright Nydia. Tell us!
Mando Rayo: Give us, give us your
Mando Rayo: statement on corn . Bean and
Mando Rayo: cheese on corn tortillas.
Nydia Huizar: Okay. So I feel like
Nydia Huizar: we might be in the minority,
Nydia Huizar: right? Like, yeah,
Nydia Huizar: flour tortillas are
Nydia Huizar: very important
Nydia Huizar: in San Antonio
Nydia Huizar: cuisine. Right.
Nydia Huizar: But corn tortillas,
Nydia Huizar: like when you when you
Nydia Huizar: heat them up, it brings
Nydia Huizar: out like other flavors
Nydia Huizar: that really complements
Nydia Huizar: the bean and the cheese.
Nydia Huizar: And so any time I
Nydia Huizar: pick up bean and
Nydia Huizar: cheese tacos, I usually
Nydia Huizar: ask for them on corn.
Mando Rayo: Nice. Okay.
Mando Rayo: Hey.
Stephanie Guerra: And corn is the
Stephanie Guerra: original tortilla,
Stephanie Guerra: right?
Mando Rayo: That's true. You're right, you're right, you're right. There
Mando Rayo: are certain tacos that I
Mando Rayo: like with corn.
Mando Rayo: You know what I mean? Like
Mando Rayo: a good al pastor.
Stephanie Guerra: Migas tacos.
Mando Rayo: Or carnitas, migas.
Mando Rayo: But there's some that,
Mando Rayo: like, I got to have it
Mando Rayo: on flour, you know what
Mando Rayo: I mean? And, you know,
Mando Rayo: where else can you come
Mando Rayo: and get some good flour
Mando Rayo: tortillas but San Antonio.
Stephanie Guerra: My mom Rosie, says
Stephanie Guerra: she will not eat
Stephanie Guerra: the bean and cheese
Stephanie Guerra: if it's not on a
Stephanie Guerra: fluffy tortilla.
Stephanie Guerra: So you know who
Stephanie Guerra: loves fluffy tortillas?
Mando Rayo: Fluffy
Mando Rayo: tortillas, what's up. There she is..
Mando Rayo: We'll call her la
Mando Rayo: fluffy.
Mando Rayo: So I like you know, you
Mando Rayo: mention a good
Mando Rayo: chorizo, right.
Mando Rayo: Chorizo with the beans
Mando Rayo: mix together, but not
Mando Rayo: just like assembly line.
Mando Rayo: You know what I mean? Not
Mando Rayo: on top of each other,
Mando Rayo: but it has to be mixed
Mando Rayo: in. That's kind of the
Mando Rayo: way I like it.
Mando Rayo: It's like because it
Mando Rayo: brings in all the flavors,
Mando Rayo: don't you think?
Richard Diaz: Exactly, exactly. Yeah. It
Richard Diaz: has to be mixed in. I
Richard Diaz: don't know if, like other
Richard Diaz: places, put other
Richard Diaz: things in their beans.
Mando Rayo: Is it still a bean and
Mando Rayo: cheese? If you add other
Mando Rayo: things?
Stephanie Guerra: People kept trying to add
Stephanie Guerra: people's bean
Stephanie Guerra: cheese and bacon
Stephanie Guerra: tacos in there,
Stephanie Guerra: but that was not
Stephanie Guerra: what we were voting
Stephanie Guerra: on. Yeah, we were
Stephanie Guerra: not voting on people's bacon. That's a whole nother
Stephanie Guerra: category.
Mando Rayo: People were like, Oh,
Mando Rayo: can we put avocado?
Mando Rayo: That's how way I like mine.
Mando Rayo: Yeah, right.
Stephanie Guerra: I think there's a
Stephanie Guerra: lot of vegetarian
Stephanie Guerra: people that can
Stephanie Guerra: eat bean and cheese tacos.
Mando Rayo: Sin grasa, sin grasa.
Stephanie Guerra: On corn tortillas.
Stephanie Guerra: But they won't put
Stephanie Guerra: the bacon in there.
Stephanie Guerra: Right. So we can't
Stephanie Guerra: include bacon.
Mando Rayo: What would you say the
Mando Rayo: per capita bean
Mando Rayo: and cheese tacos
Mando Rayo: that are here in the
Mando Rayo: city of San Antonio?
Stephanie Guerra: I want to say that
Stephanie Guerra: there's a taqueria
Stephanie Guerra: on every corner so
Stephanie Guerra: we can probably
Stephanie Guerra: get like 500
Stephanie Guerra: different kinds of
Stephanie Guerra: being and cheese tacos
Stephanie Guerra: in San Antonio. But
Stephanie Guerra: I could be exaggerating.
Stephanie Guerra: I don't know.
Richard Diaz: That sounds about right.
Nydia Huizar: Definitely in the hundreds,
Nydia Huizar: for sure.
Mando Rayo: Yeah, I believe 500. 500 is a good
Mando Rayo: number. We'll go with
Mando Rayo: that. Survey says
Mando Rayo: 500.
Mando Rayo: Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. You
Mando Rayo: are absolutely correct.
Mando Rayo: I may throw a curveball
Mando Rayo: here.
Mando Rayo: Do black beans count
Mando Rayo: on a bean and cheese
Mando Rayo: taco?
Richard Diaz: Let's ask the audience,
Richard Diaz: though, first, see
Richard Diaz: what they think.
Mando Rayo: All right, Audience!
Mando Rayo: Audience! What do y'all
Mando Rayo: think?
Stephanie Guerra: Listen up, listen up.
Mando Rayo: I can't hear you
Mando Rayo: - say yes or no.
Audience: No!
Richard Diaz: Black beans. No.
Mando Rayo: Are you all
Mando Rayo: traditionalists?
Stephanie Guerra: We're very much traditionalists. Yes.
Richard Diaz: Yeah. I guess I
Richard Diaz: wouldn't say I won't eat a
Richard Diaz: bean and cheese taco with
Richard Diaz: black beans, but it's
Richard Diaz: not my go-to, yeah, at
Richard Diaz: all.
Mando Rayo: All right. All right.
Stephanie Guerra: I don't actually know
Stephanie Guerra: where I can find a
Stephanie Guerra: bean and cheese to
Stephanie Guerra: go with black beans.
Mando Rayo: You'll have to drive to
Mando Rayo: Austin.
Mando Rayo: [laughter] So what about, like, the
Mando Rayo: tortilla?
Mando Rayo: The base of the tortilla
Mando Rayo: is super important for
Mando Rayo: any taco, right.
Mando Rayo: Tell me, like, what you
Mando Rayo: all look for in a
Mando Rayo: tortilla that makes it
Mando Rayo: just spectacular bean
Mando Rayo: and cheese. Nydia, we'll
Mando Rayo: go with you.
Nydia Huizar: All right. If we're
Nydia Huizar: talking flour
Nydia Huizar: tortilla, it's got to
Nydia Huizar: be homemade.
Nydia Huizar: It's got to have that
Nydia Huizar: kind of floury,
Nydia Huizar: like, leave a little
Nydia Huizar: powdery.
Nydia Huizar: And fluffy.
Nydia Huizar: Yeah.
Nydia Huizar: But that's my criteria.
Mando Rayo: Perfect.
Stephanie Guerra: I think that the
Stephanie Guerra: tortillas need to
Stephanie Guerra: be hot, so
Stephanie Guerra: I don't know if that's
Stephanie Guerra: another battle, but
Stephanie Guerra: if I get served,
Stephanie Guerra: you know, hot
Stephanie Guerra: beans, cold cheese
Stephanie Guerra: and a cold tortilla,
Stephanie Guerra: that just kills it
Stephanie Guerra: for me. So I need
Stephanie Guerra: everything to be warm
Stephanie Guerra: and.
Stephanie Guerra: And comfy.
Mando Rayo: Well, you came to the
Mando Rayo: right event for that
Mando Rayo: because it is hot out
Mando Rayo: here.
Richard Diaz: It is warm.
Mando Rayo: You can probably warm up
Mando Rayo: a good tortilla just on
Mando Rayo: the on the concrete down
Mando Rayo: there.
Stephanie Guerra: I do see the lines
Stephanie Guerra: are getting full
Stephanie Guerra: and everybody is
Stephanie Guerra: eating the tacos.
Mando Rayo: All righty.
Mando Rayo: Any final thoughts?
Mando Rayo: I had this idea around
Mando Rayo: the bean and cheese, but
Mando Rayo: I was like, yeah,
Mando Rayo: it was a natural thing
Mando Rayo: for me to be in San
Mando Rayo: Antonio about.
Mando Rayo: What do you think is
Mando Rayo: important here?
Stephanie Guerra: I think San Antonio
Stephanie Guerra: likes to hold on
Stephanie Guerra: to the traditional
Stephanie Guerra: values of being at
Stephanie Guerra: home.
Stephanie Guerra: When you get into fancy
Stephanie Guerra: tacos, not everybody
Stephanie Guerra: can make fancy
Stephanie Guerra: tacos at home,
Stephanie Guerra: right? Like, not everybody
Stephanie Guerra: can afford the
Stephanie Guerra: ingredients or
Stephanie Guerra: knows how to season
Stephanie Guerra: things or knows,
Stephanie Guerra: you know, the right cuts
Stephanie Guerra: of meat to get.
Stephanie Guerra: Everybody can make
Stephanie Guerra: a bean and cheese
Stephanie Guerra: taco en la casa.
Stephanie Guerra: Right? So San
Stephanie Guerra: Antonio is
Stephanie Guerra: probably the king
Stephanie Guerra: and queen of
Stephanie Guerra: hay comida en la casa. We like to
Stephanie Guerra: eat at home a lot.
Stephanie Guerra: So I think, you know,
Stephanie Guerra: it's a it's a perfect
Stephanie Guerra: place to bring it
Stephanie Guerra: home. Hometown San
Stephanie Guerra: Antonio.
Stephanie Guerra: I know we have
Stephanie Guerra: made national news
Stephanie Guerra: in history, you
Stephanie Guerra: know, for bean and
Stephanie Guerra: cheese tacos and
Stephanie Guerra: just the Mexican
Stephanie Guerra: culture that we have
Stephanie Guerra: there. And I'm glad we're
Stephanie Guerra: hanging on to it. And I
Stephanie Guerra: think we should do this again
Stephanie Guerra: next year and have
Stephanie Guerra: it even bigger and
Stephanie Guerra: better. So let's
Stephanie Guerra: do it.
Nydia Huizar: I know we kind of talked
Nydia Huizar: about bean and cheese
Nydia Huizar: tacos, being some of
Nydia Huizar: the very early
Nydia Huizar: introductions to
Nydia Huizar: Tex-Mex that a lot of
Nydia Huizar: us, you know, have.
Nydia Huizar: And I think it's the
Nydia Huizar: nostalgia. People
Nydia Huizar: really like comfort
Nydia Huizar: food and they really
Nydia Huizar: like
Nydia Huizar: being reminded of like
Nydia Huizar: happy times in their
Nydia Huizar: lives, you know?
Nydia Huizar: And for me, when I
Nydia Huizar: think of San Antonio,
Nydia Huizar: we're like a very
Nydia Huizar: nostalgic city.
Nydia Huizar: As a few years
Nydia Huizar: ago, we came out with
Nydia Huizar: a bean and cheese
Nydia Huizar: shirt and that was like an
Nydia Huizar: instant hit.
Nydia Huizar: And it was really
Nydia Huizar: popular for parents
Nydia Huizar: to give their kids
Nydia Huizar: that shirt in that
Nydia Huizar: onesie. And so it's
Nydia Huizar: just I don't know,
Nydia Huizar: it's family.
Nydia Huizar: It's it's comfort
Nydia Huizar: food.
Richard Diaz: It's a lot of kids'
Richard Diaz: introduction to
Richard Diaz: Tex-Mex food.
Richard Diaz: It's very simple, but
Richard Diaz: it's delicious.
Richard Diaz: That taco specifically
Richard Diaz: crosses generations.
Richard Diaz: I mean, it's so easy
Richard Diaz: to introduce that to
Richard Diaz: your kids and then,
Richard Diaz: you know, they can get into
Richard Diaz: branched out into other
Richard Diaz: other tacos.
Mando Rayo: You know, speaking about
Mando Rayo: kind of those traditions
Mando Rayo: that we have at home, I
Mando Rayo: think it's super important
Mando Rayo: because at one point,
Mando Rayo: you know, now maybe in
Mando Rayo: our parents generations
Mando Rayo: or even in our
Mando Rayo: grandparents generations,
Mando Rayo: people were ashamed to
Mando Rayo: bring tacos from a home
Mando Rayo: to eat at school because
Mando Rayo: they couldn't afford
Mando Rayo: like white bread
Mando Rayo: and baloney and all
Mando Rayo: that. You know what I mean?
Mando Rayo: And so what do we eat?
Mando Rayo: We have bean and cheese,
Mando Rayo: and that's a beautiful
Mando Rayo: thing.
Stephanie Guerra: Our ancestors passing that love
Stephanie Guerra: down to us.
Mando Rayo: That's right. That's
Mando Rayo: right.
Mando Rayo: Well, I want to thank so
Mando Rayo: much our panelists
Mando Rayo: today.
Mando Rayo: You're you will now be
Mando Rayo: crowned as bean and
Mando Rayo: cheese experts.
Richard Diaz: I think I've eaten
Richard Diaz: enough to you know.
Richard Diaz: Yeah.
Mando Rayo: You qualify, you
Mando Rayo: qualify.
Mando Rayo: Awesome. Well, thanks so
Mando Rayo: much for being here.
Mando Rayo: And now we're going to take
Mando Rayo: another short break.
Mando Rayo: And during the break, we
Mando Rayo: want to make sure we
Mando Rayo: hear from some of you as
Mando Rayo: what you look for in a
Mando Rayo: bean and cheese taco.
Mando Rayo: [music] All right.
Mando Rayo: We're here in the locker
Mando Rayo: room, you know,
Mando Rayo: sweating, sweat, todos
Mando Rayo: sudados sweaty, you know
Mando Rayo: what I mean?
Mando Rayo: And we're here to find
Mando Rayo: out, like, what
Mando Rayo: motivates you to become
Mando Rayo: the best bean and cheese
Mando Rayo: taco maker of all of San
Mando Rayo: Antonio.
Mando Rayo: All right, here we go.
Mando Rayo: Here we go. We got our
Mando Rayo: finalists. Tell us your
Mando Rayo: name and who you're with
Mando Rayo: and then give us your
Mando Rayo: best like strategy
Mando Rayo: of how you're going to
Mando Rayo: win this bean and cheese
Mando Rayo: battle royale.
Alejandro Hernandez: My name is Alejandro
Alejandro Hernandez: Hernandez, and
Alejandro Hernandez: I'm with The Original Donut
Alejandro Hernandez: Shop.
Alejandro Hernandez: Man, we got the best
Alejandro Hernandez: donuts if y'all could tell.
Alejandro Hernandez: We've got the best donuts bro.
Paloma: Hi, my name is Paloma, and
Paloma: I'm with Rosa's Kitchen.
Paloma: And the way we're going to
Paloma: win is cause not only are
Paloma: representing the best state
Paloma: in Mexico, Coahuila,
Paloma: we're representing 70207,
Paloma: our hood.
Paloma: So go ahead, make some
Paloma: noise. Come on.
Andrew Arredondo: My name is Andrew Arredondo, I'm with Tacos El Rey.
Andrew Arredondo: The way we're going to win, we
Andrew Arredondo: put out hot food
Andrew Arredondo: fast, consistent.
Andrew Arredondo: That's pretty much it.
Andrew Arredondo: We're going to win this. I already
Andrew Arredondo: got the crown on.
Mando Rayo: He actually does eat.
Mando Rayo: He has a crown on.
Mando Rayo: But you know, it's from
Mando Rayo: the dollar store.
Mando Rayo: All
Mando Rayo: right, all right. What
Mando Rayo: makes your bean and
Mando Rayo: cheese different from
Mando Rayo: any other place in San
Mando Rayo: Antonio.
Alejandro Hernandez: The tortillas
Alejandro Hernandez: are homemade
Alejandro Hernandez: and of course
Alejandro Hernandez: it is made
Alejandro Hernandez: there it is
Alejandro Hernandez: fresh the best
Alejandro Hernandez: little tacos, bean and cheese
Alejandro Hernandez: tacos, man.
Mando Rayo: Original donut shop
Mando Rayo: shop.
Stephanie Guerra: All right, what makes our bean
Stephanie Guerra: and cheese the best
Stephanie Guerra: bean and cheese is that not
Stephanie Guerra: only are tortillas
Stephanie Guerra: handmade.
Stephanie Guerra: Nada maquina.
Stephanie Guerra: Nothing like that.
Stephanie Guerra: My mom is back
Stephanie Guerra: there, you know,
Stephanie Guerra: with a palo, just
Stephanie Guerra: going ham on the
Stephanie Guerra: tortilla and the
Stephanie Guerra: masa cooking it up on
Stephanie Guerra: the grill. And we
Stephanie Guerra: have the best
Stephanie Guerra: beans cooked with,
Stephanie Guerra: you know, some of that
Stephanie Guerra: good bacon grease.
Stephanie Guerra: Y'all know what I'm talking about?
Stephanie Guerra: Yeah.
Andrew Arredondo: Our beans are cooked
Andrew Arredondo: 4 to 6 hours every
Andrew Arredondo: day. Everything's
Andrew Arredondo: hot. Tortillas, homemade.
Andrew Arredondo: Like I said, as long as we're
Andrew Arredondo: putting out fast food.
Mando Rayo: You're solid. Right?
Mando Rayo: Right. All right,
Mando Rayo: everybody, everybody
Mando Rayo: give a round of applause
Mando Rayo: for our finalists.
Mando Rayo: [music] Qué onda taco world,
Mando Rayo: we're here with
Mando Rayo: Jaime Macias at Jaime's
Mando Rayo: Place in San Antonio.
Mando Rayo: Well, first I want to
Mando Rayo: say thank you for
Mando Rayo: opening up your space.
Jaime Macias: Oh, it was it's a
Jaime Macias: pleasure hosting
Jaime Macias: United Tacos of
Jaime Macias: America, Tacos of
Jaime Macias: Texas podcast.
Jaime Macias: Thank you all for considering
Jaime Macias: us. First and foremost,
Jaime Macias: really excited to host
Jaime Macias: such a wonderful
Jaime Macias: event. Thank you,
Jaime Macias: Mando.
Mando Rayo: Yeah, no, we're here to
Mando Rayo: do the being in Chiefs
Mando Rayo: Battle Royale.
Mando Rayo: And tell me from your
Mando Rayo: own words, why is bean
Mando Rayo: and cheese on important to San Antonio?
Jaime Macias: Well, you know, it
Jaime Macias: really is a staple of
Jaime Macias: our gente, right?
Jaime Macias: I mean, back in the
Jaime Macias: day, you know, you you
Jaime Macias: ate frijoles, you
Jaime Macias: know, And, you know,
Jaime Macias: it's been a staple in
Jaime Macias: the household for so
Jaime Macias: many years.
Jaime Macias: And, you know, we
Jaime Macias: somebody somewhere
Jaime Macias: added cheese to them
Jaime Macias: and they realized what
Jaime Macias: a wonderful combination
Jaime Macias: it was.
Jaime Macias: And now, I mean, it's
Jaime Macias: protein filled.
Jaime Macias: You know, you get some dairy,
Jaime Macias: you know, I mean, what else
Jaime Macias: do you want?
Mando Rayo: Well, you know, I call
Mando Rayo: it the Mexican protein
Mando Rayo: bar.
Jaime Macias: You know, I think that's
Jaime Macias: such a wonderful phrase.
Jaime Macias: I think you ought to make
Jaime Macias: a sticker out of that.
Jaime Macias: ¡Ándale, ándale!
Mando Rayo: Well, tell us about
Mando Rayo: Jaime's Place. What are you trying to
Mando Rayo: do here?
Jaime Macias: Well, so we're we
Jaime Macias: opened up October 9th
Jaime Macias: of 2020.
Jaime Macias: There were some changes
Jaime Macias: happening into the
Jaime Macias: West Side, which has,
Jaime Macias: for the most part,
Jaime Macias: been a a
Jaime Macias: an area where has seen
Jaime Macias: a lot of disinvestment.
Jaime Macias: It's percolating with
Jaime Macias: new interest.
Jaime Macias: And we're here
Jaime Macias: preserving the cultura
Jaime Macias: at Jaime's Place built
Jaime Macias: for the barrio and, of
Jaime Macias: course, beyond for our
Jaime Macias: brothers and sisters
Jaime Macias: from Austin, Texas.
Jaime Macias: You know, come on down
Jaime Macias: where it's real and
Jaime Macias: and Yeah, and the
Jaime Macias: beer's cold.
Mando Rayo: No, that's that's what
Mando Rayo: I'm here for.
Mando Rayo: [crunch sound effect] What's up taco world?
Mando Rayo: All right, We're back
Mando Rayo: here at a very VIP
Mando Rayo: exclusive spot of
Mando Rayo: Jaime's Place.
Mando Rayo: We're here with some
Mando Rayo: taco lovers bean and
Mando Rayo: cheese.
Mando Rayo: So tell me your names.
Mando Rayo: And what do you look for
Mando Rayo: in a bean and cheese?
Rosie Guerra: My name is Rosie
Rosie Guerra: Guerra. I'm Puro
Rosie Guerra: Pinche's mom.
Ralph Guerra: Ralph Guerra, I'm Papa Pinche. That's what they say.
Mando Rayo: Love it, love it.
Mando Rayo: So Papa
Mando Rayo: Pinche, tell me like.
Mando Rayo: You have a you have a
Mando Rayo: number one taco?
Ralph Guerra: I had a number one
Ralph Guerra: taco. My mother passed
Ralph Guerra: away last year.
Ralph Guerra: That was the best taco,
Ralph Guerra: bean and cheese taco
Ralph Guerra: ever. So I'm looking
Ralph Guerra: for the number two
Ralph Guerra: best bean in cheese
Ralph Guerra: taco.
Ralph Guerra: We have a good place.
Ralph Guerra: It's called Elizabeth's.
Ralph Guerra: It's on Timberhill on
Ralph Guerra: the northwest side of
Ralph Guerra: town. Of course, there's
Ralph Guerra: many taco places that
Ralph Guerra: we haven't eaten, so
Ralph Guerra: we're not sure. But
Ralph Guerra: Elizabeth's taco hut
Ralph Guerra: is really good.
Rosie Guerra: And me? Well,
Rosie Guerra: my thing is pretty
Rosie Guerra: big. I have to have a
Rosie Guerra: really fluffy tortilla.
Rosie Guerra: I have to have some
Rosie Guerra: refried, refried beans
Rosie Guerra: and then the cheese.
Rosie Guerra: When you put it on it,
Rosie Guerra: it has to be really
Rosie Guerra: melted really good
Rosie Guerra: in order to be a great
Rosie Guerra: taco.
Rosie Guerra: So I like actually
Rosie Guerra: I like quite a bit of
Rosie Guerra: places, but there's a
Rosie Guerra: little place called La
Rosie Guerra: Barca
Rosie Guerra: off of Probandt and Steves.
Rosie Guerra: Elizabeth's also is
Rosie Guerra: great.
Rosie Guerra: The taqueria by my
Rosie Guerra: house makes really
Rosie Guerra: good refried beans
Rosie Guerra: with the cheese and
Rosie Guerra: all fluffy tortillas
Rosie Guerra: and there's just a
Rosie Guerra: bunch of places.
Rosie Guerra: But like I said, mine.
Rosie Guerra: If you don't have a fluffy
Rosie Guerra: tortilla, I don't want
Rosie Guerra: to eat it.
Mando Rayo: And, and it's double
Mando Rayo: refried. Right?
Mando Rayo: You said because you
Mando Rayo: said refried, refried.
Mando Rayo: Well, thank you all for
Mando Rayo: coming out.
Mando Rayo: And we'll see.
Mando Rayo: We'll see what happens
Mando Rayo: at the end of the Bean
Mando Rayo: and Cheese Battle
Mando Rayo: Royale.
Mando Rayo: [music] [crunch sound effect] Oh, it's
Mando Rayo: taco time.
Mando Rayo: And now here's a word
Mando Rayo: from our sponsors from
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Mando Rayo: Whatever you crave,
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Mando Rayo: amazing array of
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Mando Rayo: Muchas gracias to our
Mando Rayo: friends at Visit Laredo
Mando Rayo: for sponsoring this
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Mando Rayo: Follow Visit Laredo on
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Mando Rayo: [music] All right, here we go.
Mando Rayo: So everybody is going to
Mando Rayo: get a finalist
Mando Rayo: certificate.
Mando Rayo: As you can see right
Mando Rayo: here.
Mando Rayo: It's very fancy.
Mando Rayo: You can't even, like,
Mando Rayo: fold it.
Mando Rayo: It's hard.
Mando Rayo: First finalist is Rosa's
Mando Rayo: Kitchen.
Mando Rayo: Second finalist is Taco De Rey.
Mando Rayo: And of course, the Original
Mando Rayo: Donut Taco Shop.
Mando Rayo: All right, here we go.
Mando Rayo: Second runner up is
Mando Rayo: Rosa's Kitchen.
Mando Rayo: First runner up
Mando Rayo: is
Mando Rayo: Original Donut Shop.
Mando Rayo: And the winner is: y
Mando Rayo: sigo sien del Rey. Tacos de Rey! All
Mando Rayo: right. Come over here and come say a
Mando Rayo: few words.
Andrew Arredondo: I want to say thank you to
Andrew Arredondo: San Antonio for coming
Andrew Arredondo: out.
Andrew Arredondo: Our faithful customers
Andrew Arredondo: in the Edgewood District. I
Andrew Arredondo: know we're like
Andrew Arredondo: the forgotten side of town.
Andrew Arredondo: But we let San
Andrew Arredondo: Antonio know we do
Andrew Arredondo: have good cuisine on
Andrew Arredondo: our side of town.
Andrew Arredondo: I like to thank all
Andrew Arredondo: of y'all.
Mando Rayo: Congratulations.
Mando Rayo: So here's the thing is:
Mando Rayo: everybody's
Mando Rayo: a winner today,
Mando Rayo: no? Because out of over
Mando Rayo: 30 restaurants.
Mando Rayo: You are the top three
Mando Rayo: finalists.
Mando Rayo: So congratulations to
Mando Rayo: all of you.
Mando Rayo: And thank you, San
Mando Rayo: Antonio, for making this
Mando Rayo: very hot, very
Mando Rayo: sudado and beautiful
Mando Rayo: Bean and Cheese Battle Royale.
Mando Rayo: [crowd cheers] Thank you.
Mando Rayo: Thank you, San Antonio.
Mando Rayo: And thanks to our panel
Mando Rayo: of judges.
Mando Rayo: Stephanie Guerra, Puro
Mando Rayo: Pinche.
Mando Rayo: Richard Diaz of
Mando Rayo: Barbacoa Apparel and
Mando Rayo: Nydia Huizar. And thank
Mando Rayo: you to the whole team of
Mando Rayo: Barbacoa Apparel and
Mando Rayo: including Catherine
Mando Rayo: Contreras-Sanchez
Mando Rayo: and Matt
Mando Rayo: Contreras.
Mando Rayo: What's up?
Mando Rayo: Thank you to our bracket
Mando Rayo: consultant, Mr. Dylan
Mando Rayo: Welch.
Mando Rayo: Special thanks to
Mando Rayo: Priscilla Gutierrez, our
Mando Rayo: cooks producer for the
Mando Rayo: day
Mando Rayo: and thank you to our
Mando Rayo: final three participant
Mando Rayo: restaurants: Tacos El Rey,
Mando Rayo: Original Donut Shop,
Mando Rayo: and Rosa's Kitchen.
Mando Rayo: Thank you Thank you to
Mando Rayo: our sponsor
Mando Rayo: Jaime's Place, the
Mando Rayo: fantastic venue which we
Mando Rayo: are here today in the
Mando Rayo: West Side.
Mando Rayo: Thank you to
Mando Rayo: El Guapo Fabrication and
Mando Rayo: Design for creating that
Mando Rayo: beautiful crown,
Mando Rayo: I want to give a shout
Mando Rayo: out to other
Mando Rayo: participating San
Mando Rayo: Antonio eateries who are really
Mando Rayo: close to being in the
Mando Rayo: final 4 bean and cheese.
Mando Rayo: Lupita's Mexican
Mando Rayo: Restaurant, Taqueria
Mando Rayo: Chapala Jalisco,
Mando Rayo: Eddie's Taco House, and
Mando Rayo: Teka Molino.
Mando Rayo: This has been the Tacos
Mando Rayo: of Texas podcast,
Mando Rayo: developed and produced
Mando Rayo: by Identity Productions.
Mando Rayo: If you enjoyed today's
Mando Rayo: episode and
Mando Rayo: are craving more taco content, go to our
Mando Rayo: website at
Mando Rayo: w-w-w dot Identity dot
Mando Rayo: Productions or follow us
Mando Rayo: on Instagram, TikTok,
Mando Rayo: Facebook and YouTube at
Mando Rayo: Identity Products
Mando Rayo: and United Tacos of America.
Mando Rayo: This is your host, the
Mando Rayo: big cheesy, Mando Rayo. Vamos a los tacos!
Mando Rayo: Now let's go back to our
Mando Rayo: taco VIP lounge to talk
Mando Rayo: to the winner.
Mando Rayo: All right. We are here
Mando Rayo: with the big winner,
Mando Rayo: Tacos el Rey, Andrew
Mando Rayo: and?
Andrew Arredondo's Son: Andrew.
Mando Rayo: Andrew.
Mando Rayo: Two. The two Andrews.
Mando Rayo: Andrew. Tell me,
Mando Rayo: what does it mean for
Mando Rayo: you to win the the Bean
Mando Rayo: and Cheese Battle Royale.
Mando Rayo: The crown. The actual
Mando Rayo: crown.
Andrew Arredondo: Oh, you know,
Andrew Arredondo: there's been years that
Andrew Arredondo: our customers have said
Andrew Arredondo: that we have the best beans
Andrew Arredondo: as Antonio.
Andrew Arredondo: Uh,
Andrew Arredondo: it means the world to
Andrew Arredondo: us.
Andrew Arredondo: It's the years of hard
Andrew Arredondo: work, and I've
Andrew Arredondo: been in that restaurant since
Andrew Arredondo: I could walk since
Andrew Arredondo: I was about his age. And
Andrew Arredondo: it's just.
Andrew Arredondo: It's a great feeling,
Andrew Arredondo: and it's great.
Mando Rayo: And did you know your
Mando Rayo: daddy was going to win
Mando Rayo: a crown today?
Andrew Arredondo's Son: Yeah.
Mando Rayo: Why?
Andrew Arredondo's Son: Because he always.
Andrew Arredondo's Son: Because he's the best
Andrew Arredondo's Son: dad.
Mando Rayo: Oh, that's so sweet.
Mando Rayo: I love it. I love it.
Mando Rayo: What is it mean for your
Mando Rayo: team?
Andrew Arredondo: We have a lot of restaurants
Andrew Arredondo: on the west side, on
Andrew Arredondo: our side of town,
Andrew Arredondo: Edgewood, that
Andrew Arredondo: we're kind of like the forgotten
Andrew Arredondo: side of town.
Andrew Arredondo: You don't get a lot of interviews.
Andrew Arredondo: There's not a lot of
Andrew Arredondo: camera crews on our
Andrew Arredondo: side of town.
Andrew Arredondo: But there's a lot of good
Andrew Arredondo: food and there's a lot of
Andrew Arredondo: loyal customers
Andrew Arredondo: that that come
Andrew Arredondo: every day for
Andrew Arredondo: work, for dinner.
Andrew Arredondo: And it's not just our restaurant.
Andrew Arredondo: It's all the restaurants
Andrew Arredondo: in our area that
Andrew Arredondo: we're kind of just forgotten
Andrew Arredondo: about. But we're
Andrew Arredondo: still there chugging along
Andrew Arredondo: and putting out
Andrew Arredondo: good food day in, day
Andrew Arredondo: out.
Mando Rayo: So you're like a
Mando Rayo: comeback kid, right?
Andrew Arredondo: I would say so.
Mando Rayo: I love it. [music]
Mando Rayo: In the next proximo
Mando Rayo: Tacos of Texas: Mexican
Mando Rayo: hands. The strength, the
Mando Rayo: tenderness and
Mando Rayo: techniques and how
Mando Rayo: recipes have been
Mando Rayo: developed in kitchens by
Mando Rayo: our matriarchs.
Outro: The Tacos of Texas podcast is
Outro: presented by Identity
Outro: Productions in partnership
Outro: with KUT and KUTX
Outro: Studios. Our host and
Outro: producer is Mando Rayo.
Outro: Our audio is mixed by
Outro: Nicholas Worthen and Ever
Outro: Calderon.
Outro: Our story producer is me,
Outro: Sharon Arteaga, and our
Outro: creative producer is Dennis
Outro: Burnett. Music was created by
Outro: Peligrosa in Austin, Texas,
Outro: and King Benny Productions,
Outro: located in the Quinto barrio
Outro: of Houston.