PODCAST · society
10,000 TACOS®
by Isidro Salas
Tacos are life and cilantro is a choice. This is a storytelling show about the taco life. Having grown up in a taco truck, I can't help but think of life events and tie them to the experiences and lessons learned from parents who made tacos for a living. Tacos are my life. Tacos are my culture. I am the Proud Son of a Taquero and I invite you to a taco with me (digitally) and hope your day can be made better with some of the stories we tell!
Episodes
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Black People Tacos
If you've spent any time on social media lately, you've seen the viral joke about "White People Taco Night"—the boxed hard shells, packet seasoning, and cold shredded cheese. But when I see that yellow box, I don't think of suburban kitchens. My mind goes straight back to East San Jose in the…
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One Canned Tomatillo at a Time
Episode Summary In this deeply personal and reflective episode, I mark the one-year anniversary of my first brain surgery to remove a pituitary tumor I nicknamed "Luke Brainwalker." I open up about processing the fear, gratitude, and emotional weight of surviving two major brain surgeries in a...
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Connected by Masa
I'm coming to you today with a slightly different setup because I'm diving headfirst into something I never saw coming. I have been given the incredible, beautiful responsibility to narrate my very first audiobook. It's a heartwarming story that is right down my alley, but I'll admit—I'm…
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Denver Food Scene Sucks
S7 E12: Denver Food Scene Sucks The Denver food scene sucks. At least, that's what I used to think. After living in Colorado for nearly six years, I realized my opinion wasn't based on experience—it was based on assumptions. Too often, I found myself saying, "This place sucks," before I'd…
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Change Dispenser
"That's not a pizza, that's a quesadilla!" That was just one of the lovely comments that rolled into my socials this week after I posted a video highlighting a local taquero's "pizza birria." A few years ago, that angry commenter would have been me. I used to be incredibly protective—adamant,...
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Promotional Decline
In this episode of 10,000 Tacos, I am sharing a recent experience at a Denver taco truck that has been lingering on my mind for the past week. I met an older, humble taquero who instantly gave off a good, honest vibe and reminded me of my uncles from Mexico. The food was absolutely incredible—I…
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Who are you and what's up with that Mexican burger?
Episode Summary What does a stacked Mexican street burger have to do with deep identity reflection? Turns out, a lot. This week, we're hitting up the La Comarca taco truck for a culinary masterpiece, sharing bites with strangers, and diving into a bittersweet question from my late father that...
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TACO BREAKUP
Episode Description: What happens when greatness just… stops? In this episode, a chance encounter with a young taquero in San Jose sparks a deeper conversation about endings, expectations, and the subtle entitlement of being a consumer. From the legendary culinary staples of San Jose to the…
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Tortillas Don't Puff
We've all had those moments where our best intentions meet a harsh reality. You finally get the perfect ingredient ratio down, you visualize the fluffy tortillas you're about to enjoy, and then… a mishap with the oven timer and a blazing temperature leaves you with a tray of burnt sopes instead....
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Digital vs Real Hustle
Episode Overview The floor keeps shifting, but the grind stays the same. In this episode, we dive into the exhausting tension between running a traditional physical business and maintaining a modern digital presence. Reflecting on a time 30 years ago when marketing tools didn't exist, we ask a...
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Real Talk, Real Taste (Why I'm Not a Reviewer)
Real Talk, Real Taste (Why I'm Not a Reviewer) Episode Summary Let's set the record straight right from the jump: I am not a food reviewer. In this episode, I'm breaking down the two main reasons why I absolutely hate that label. First, unfair negative reviews can genuinely destroy a small…
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The Math of Doing Something (Why I Choose to Believe)
Día de los Taqueros has come and gone. Was it a massive economic windfall? Did it break the internet? Honestly, I don't have all the data yet—but if you ask me, it was a massive success. In this episode, I'm getting vulnerable about what it actually takes to build something from the ground up.…
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He Loved Making Tacos (Redefining Wealth)
What does it actually mean to be "wealthy"? In this episode, we are throwing out the traditional playbook on success and digging into a different kind of riches: loving what you do. Our journey starts with a realization about my dad. He didn't just make tacos; he genuinely loved making them. For...
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This taquero was my dad.
With Día del Taquero coming up, I wanted to get personal for a minute. This day isn't just about finding the best al pastor or hitting up your favorite stand—for me, it's about my dad. My dad passed away on May 12th, 2020. I was already doing things to honor him while he was here, but after he...
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dia de taqueros - a simple Thank You
This isn't a holiday. It's not marketing. And it's not tied to any app, platform, or trend. Día de Taquero is just a reminder— a simple one—to recognize the people who have been feeding our communities for generations. In this episode, we talk about what this day really means, why May 15th…
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3 Reasons why I'm Not a Taquero: Chaos, Craft, and Self-Awareness
I'm Not a Taquero: Chaos, Craft, and Self-Awareness "I'm the proud son of a taquero, but I'd be a terrible one." In this episode of 10,000 Tacos, Isidro Salas dives deep into his personal connection to taco culture and why he's choosing to honor his family's legacy through storytelling rather…
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The Last Taco
As I wrap up this podcast, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering support throughout our episodes. This podcast has been a reflection of my life, my family, and the lessons learned in our taco truck days. A special thanks goes to Stanford Florence (Flobama), Patrick Owen…
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Inappropriate Motivation
Recently, when I heard some white girl call her salsa 'restaurant style home-made' I was triggered to make a reaction video to call her out on her use of 'catchy' words to attract an audience. When I think about social media's influence, I wonder if I would have taken to promoting our food like…
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Five Dollar Crisis - REPLAY
Episode Summary Thinking back four years to when the pandemic began is like rewatching a tough episode because it reminds us of how hard things were. Many people lost loved ones during that time. But it's also important to see that we made it through and are moving forward. Even though we still...
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Cilantro is a Choice
Episode Summary In this episode, I express my deep love for cilantro and its essential role in creating real tacos. To me, a taco isn't complete without the fresh burst of flavor that cilantro, along with onion and salsa roja, brings to the table. But my affection for cilantro goes beyond its...
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Peace, Love and Tacos: Taco Truck rules to live by!
Episode Summary In this special episode, we honor my dad on his birthday by sharing the invaluable lessons I learned from him that shaped his success as a taquero. These lessons, which I call "Taco Truck Rules to Live By," are not just for running a taco truck—they are principles for living a...
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Authenticity's Myth
Authenticity used to be a word with significant meaning, but I think it has now become subjective and often exploited as a marketing tool. I once tweeted, "The closer you come to making it from scratch, the more authintic it will be." And that tweet reflected my beliefs at that time. The belief…
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Microwaved my Tortillas
Today on the show, I want to share a recent internal conflict that inspired me to create a reaction video on TikTok. The video featured a Mexican lady making tacos, but they weren't just any tacos; they were White People Taco Night tacos. This stirred feelings of sadness and internal conflict...
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Change Dispenser
Today on the show, I delve into personal stories and the life lessons I learned from my dad, especially as he faced dementia. We'll explore the profound impact these lessons have had on my life and how they've inspired positive changes. Join me as I reflect on the question, "Who are you?" and…
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The Power of Tacos
Today on the show, I want to share with you the extraordinary power of tacos. Now, this is a kind of force that isn't visible to the eye. I remember as a kid, when I looked up the definition of work, it said, "Work is the ability to produce power!" Well, the power of tacos definitely requires…
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La Carne Asada
Today on this episode I want to revisit what carne asada means, as it relates to getting together. If you ever get invited to a carne asada consider yourself special. That event is seasoned and the experience would just make it taste better. I also want to tell you what this meat, or rather the...
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Taco Freakin Holders
Taco Freakin Holders Today on this episode we explore my opinion of taco holders. Not going to lie, I freakin hate them. I think taco holders are superfluous at best and colonial hierarchy at worst. But on this episode we'll just focus on the good. I tell you a quick story of how taco holders are...
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Sazon Finale
Welcome to the season finale of our podcast! This episode closes out a sazon of amazing conversations, topics, and of course, tacos. We're about to wrap up, no pun, with some fun tasting insight from our hosts. We'll revisit some of the good takes from this season, introduce a new guest host, and...
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Replay - Tamales Season
It that time of year! If you look around you, almost everywhere you go, you will see festive lights, crowds gathering at Christmas parks, packed ice rinks, and, of course, tons of suckers, I mean, people at shopping malls. Yes, the holiday season is in full swing! But there is another season that...
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Loco Motion
When I think of Mexican sports and athletes, I think of golfer Lorena Ochoa or boxer great Laura Serrano. Speaking of boxers, I think of Canelo Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez. I also think of the relationship Mexicans have with their futbol (soccer) greats. I don't ever think of winter sports…
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Taco Pit-Maestro
Today, we not only get to talk tacos, we also get to talk barbecue and where the two intersect. Today we speak to Joe Zavala from Zavala's Barbecue. Zavala's Barbecue is in Grand Prairie, Texas. It's owned by Christan and pitmaster Joe Zavala. Zavala's, the barbecue joint, began as a backyard...
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Taco Literacy w/ Steven Alvarez
Today on the show we bring you someone who studies TACOS, specifically the culture and food. As we've said before, "Tacos are bigger than us." Perhaps no one knows this better than Steven Alvarez. A poet and professor at St. John's University in Queens, New York, Dr. Alvarez hails from the small...
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Good Sauce with Ali Kahn
Today on the show we speak to Ali Khan, a native of St. Louis. Ali Khan has been in food writing and showbusiness for a long-o time. He went to film school at USC. He's written for L.A. Taco. And he got his big break in 2015 with the Cooking Channel series Cheap Eats. The show ran for five…
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Tacos In Verse
Tacos In Verse This week's guest infuses culture, food–which is culture—and Spanglish in inspiring ways. His work has appeared in chapbooks, anthologies, and the streets of San Antonio. He's traveled the country to perform his work, including, most recently, Louisville, KY, where he won a haiku...
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The Mexican't
Today's show is a special one. We're going to talk about one of Jose's articles, specifically, his review of The Mexican, a fancy new restaurant in Dallas, specializing in—wait for it, yes, you guessed it—Mexican food. But not just any Mexican food: Overpriced Mexican food with commodity…
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Tacos & Tech
Today on the show, José and I welcome Martha Niño, a Silicon Valley veteran who has a good story to tell. It's a story I'm very familiar with. Beneath the Silicon Valley lies the Santa Clara Valley, which really should be called TACO VALLEY. When I first met Martha, I referred to her as my…
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Powered by Sazon
There is something magical about combining ingredients to make a delicious plate. It's like creating a work of art with every meal. And, just like an artist, you can use different seasonings to create different flavors. For me though, the magic comes from watching others add a healthy dash of...
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FACO The Alamo!
On this episode we talk with Jason Stanford, former chief of communication and community engagement for the Mayor of Austin, Steve Adler. We speak to him about the Great Breakfast Taco War, the book he co-authored, Forget the Alamo, and other taco wars. We begin with José telling us how Texans…
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Reclaiming Cinco de Mayo
In our previous episode, we touched on the history of Cinco de Mayo. We also spoke a little more on the French and their ambitions to help, you know, Racistas del Sur, we mean the Confederacy. We also touched on the way some people celebrate this day, and dress up like a Mexican. This week, we're...
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Cinco de Gringo
The nineteenth century was a year of almost constant war for Mexico. One of those wars was against the French who invaded the country because Mexico's president, Benito Juarez, refused to pay its debts to France. Secretly, though, the French dreamt of expanding their empire, installing a puppet...
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A Burrito Is A Taco!
Is a burrito a taco? In this new season, we tackle this question. I know the answer, but 10,000 TACOS now has a new voice as of this moment. And this voice has a different answer to mine. We take this moment to introduce you to José Ralat. He is the author of American Tacos, A History and Guide.…
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Neighbor HOOD Watch
Growing up in East San Jose, hearing the phrase "Neighborhood Watch" had a different meaning. It meant watching out for one another. Yet in some cases, it meant watching out for the cops. Today on the show, we take you back to my college days when a FACO commented why he thought crime was high in...
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The International Taco Council
The announcement of the International Taco Council with discussion following. Panelists Isidro Salas is a proud son of a taquero and host of the 10,000 Tacos podcast. José R. Ralat is the Texas Monthly taco editor and author of American Tacos: A History and Guide. Serena Maria Daniels is the...
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Soft-shell Fallacy
What do we mean by a soft-shell fallacy? It's a phrase used to describe tortillas and therefor tacos. And for many years it's gone unchecked. Today on the show we give you our take as to why it's a fallacy. Soft and shell are two contradicting terms. Yet not much is made of it. Simply put,...
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Nixtamalization
Panelists: Andrea Aliseda is a Tijuana-born journalist living in Los Angeles. Andrés M. Garza is a culinary anthropologist, chef, and the owner of Neighborhood Molino tortilleria in McAllen, a Texas border city in the Rio Grande Valley. Anastacia Quiñones-Pittman is a first-generation Tejana and...
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Burrito Loyal
Who here likes being challenged? It's rarely a good time to be critiqued or challenged. Today on the show, I want to tell you about a time when my (older) brother stepped in and corrected a mistake I was about to make. A possible mistake as it came to serving our customers burritos made the…
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No Mo'e California Snow
In this bonus episode, we update you on our move to Colorado. I also come to this moment in my podcast journey to see what my "WHY" is. I'm passionate about tacos and the culture. But what I'm more passionate about is the word TAQUERO. I believe the word TAQUERO should be elevated to that of...
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Obama Self
Do you remember when you learned to brush your teeth? Do you remember who taught you how to tie your shoelaces? If you're as old as me, that may take you a while to recall those things. But the truth is that perhaps those are the little things that we forget, and as life goes on, our brains do...
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Taco Blockchain (REPLAY)
Imagine being able to get credit to buy as much food as you can from a taco truck. Imagine not having a credit limit. Also, imagine not having to have a background run on you to get this credit. If you cannot imagine a world where this exists, then you may want to listen to this episode. My…
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McCreery Ave
What does a street (avenue) and wearing a mask have in common? McCreery Ave is a street in East San Jose that we used to use to get to that infamous corner to sell tacos every weekend. And because it was narrow, having to pull to the side to let incoming cars go through helped me see that being...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Tacos are life and cilantro is a choice. This is a storytelling show about the taco life. Having grown up in a taco truck, I can't help but think of life events and tie them to the experiences and lessons learned from parents who made tacos for a living. Tacos are my life. Tacos are my culture. I am the Proud Son of a Taquero and I invite you to a taco with me (digitally) and hope your day can be made better with some of the stories we tell!
HOSTED BY
Isidro Salas
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does 10,000 TACOS® have?
10,000 TACOS® currently has 96 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is 10,000 TACOS® about?
Tacos are life and cilantro is a choice. This is a storytelling show about the taco life. Having grown up in a taco truck, I can't help but think of life events and tie them to the experiences and lessons learned from parents who made tacos for a living. Tacos are my life. Tacos are my culture. I...
How often does 10,000 TACOS® release new episodes?
10,000 TACOS® has 96 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to 10,000 TACOS®?
You can listen to 10,000 TACOS® on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts 10,000 TACOS®?
10,000 TACOS® is created and hosted by Isidro Salas.
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