Houston pride is at stake
Shark, gator, grasshopper & mystery meat: Are you fearless enough for a Feast ofthe Brave?
One of the perks of working at CultureMap is that you never know who is going to show up at our doorstep. So today, when I was feeling particularly hungry, we got a call from the organizers of The Feast of the Brave, offering to set up their food truck in our parking lot.
There was only one catch: They were serving "exotic" tacos. Our choices were shark, alligator, crickets and "mystery meat." As part of the competition between six major cities (Houston, Dallas, Austin, Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles), sponsored by the makers of Dos Equis beer as a celebration leading up to the 150th anniversary of Cinco de Mayo, fearless residents get points for their hometown by trying these out-of-the ordinary delicacies.
I felt fortunate with the "mystery meat," because I feared it would be calf tongue or pig's brains. Instead, it looked like a small, crunchy scorpion's tail.
Houston receives 10 points for every shark taco consumed, 20 points for each alligator taco, 30 points for one with crickets and 100 points for trying the "mystery meat."
Currently, with just 50,000 points, Houston trails Austin (just over 56,000 points), Chicago (77,350 points) and Miami (with over 100,000 points). At least we are ahead of Dallas and LA.
In a brave attempt at salvaging our city pride I agreed to try all four tacos.
I felt fortunate with the "mystery meat," because I feared it would be calf tongue or pig's brains. Instead, it looked like a small, crunchy scorpion's tail, whose flavor was mitigated by red and yellow peppers. (Organizers plan to reveal the "mystery meat" at the end of the competition late Saturday on Twitter (@stay thirsty) or Facebook.)
It wasn't half bad.
But it wasn't nearly as tasty as the shark taco, favored with chunks of mango, or the alligator taco, with big portions of deep-fried meat and spicy sauce. By the time I got to the last taco, filled with crunchy crickets, pickled beets and a special sauce, I was feeling a little woozy, but definitely satisfied.
Alas, there is no beer on the food truck, which is operated by H-Town strEATS, the venerable Houston food truck that Dos Equis contracted out for the Houston portion of the competition.
You, too, can do your part for the hometown team by downing one or all four of these types of tacos at the following locations:
- Kroger North Shepherd store, 1035 North Shepherd, Friday, 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
- War'Hous Visual Studios, 4715 Main, Friday, 8 p.m. - 10 p.m.
- Liberty Station, 2101 Washington, Saturday, 12:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
- Boneyard Drinkery, 8150 Washington, Saturday, 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.
- Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel, Saturday 8:30 p.m. - 10 p.m.
For other locations, check out the Facebook page for updates.
Good news: The tacos are free.
But it might be a good idea to take along a bottle of Pepto-Bismol.
