Webisode: The Taco Temple

Here it is, our first detour off the pizza trail to The Taco Temple in Morro Bay, California, the culinary altar of Chef Adam Pollard and his hard working team of, well, tacaiolos.  We stopped here mainly because Brad English, who is the producer and director of our webisodes (who, along with Jeff Michael dreamed up Pizza Quest in the first place), had been there before on one of his visits to the Central Coast. He couldn’t stop thinking about how great those fish tacos were, which means this place fit right in with one of the major thrusts of Pizza Quest: food memories that rock our world. I’ve written many times that my definition of the difference between good pizza and great pizza can be defined by that one word, memorable. In other words, a place you just have to bring friends to, can’t stop thinking about, and that becomes the benchmark example of a food that lands in your memory Hall of Fame. The Taco Temple was that kind of place for Brad and he felt duty bound to share his Hall of Fame experience with us, and we’re so glad he did.

As we drove past it on our way to Cayucos and The Cass House Inn (which we’ll show you in next week’s webisode), Brad shouted, “There it is!!” I was half asleep and didn’t know what he meant as I jolted awake, but the Pizza Quest van (we’re still working on getting a real “bus,” but this was on our maiden voyage and had, instead, a nicely outfitted production van) made a quick, squealing U-Turn and, before I knew it, we were parked in the lot of, as you will see, a funky, coastal taco shack.  “This is the place I’ve been telling you about,” Brad said again. “You’ve got to try one of these babies!”

I went in first and introduced myself to Adam, told him about Pizza Quest and about Brad’s exaltation of his restaurant, and asked him if we could film him. He laughed and said, “Really? You want to film me?  Sure, come on in.”  And we did.

So, what you’re about to see is a little of what we experienced there; a totally soul satisfying meal, the best sea scallop taco I’ve ever eaten or could imagine, along with a whole bunch of other house specialties, not all shown on this tape, including a huge wedge of carrot cake made by Adam’s wife. He told us about the weekly farmer’s market held right there in his parking lot, where he picks up most of his ingredients, and about his commitment to fresh and local foods. His sense of pride, along with his allegiance to the fresh and local vision he’d cultivated at The Temple, left a lasting impression on all of us, and helped us to formulate a deeper sense of what Pizza Quest was all about — the Quest, not just the Pizza.

You’ll see what I mean when you click the button, so kick back and join us at The Taco Temple….