Pasco has some great tacos. Here is where to find (some of) them

Ever wanted an authentic taco and weren’t sure where to head? Pasco’s 2018 Taco Crawl celebration of food trucks and Mexican restaurants has you covered.

Tickets are available now for the two-week event, which runs April 20 to May 5.

Taco Crawl (motto: Because Tacos!) combines culinary exploration with a friendly competition among vendors for the title of Pasco’s best taco. Twenty restaurant, food trucks and retailers are competing for business and the title this year.

The 2018 newcomers are Trejo’s Mexican Restaurant, Evergreen Mexican Grill and El Aguila.

Here’s how it works: Participants purchase tickets good for a booklet that contains vouchers for one taco each from the 20 participants. The cost is $20 per person, with the option to make a donation to Boys and Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties.

Taco Crawlers take notes and vote on their favorite taco at the end by dropping ballots at Flor de Michoacan. Returning champions Tacos Palomino (2017) and Tacos La Esperanza (2016) are again part of the lineup.

Emily and Craig Maloney and a half dozen friends concocted Taco Crawl as a way to showcase downtown Pasco to visitors.

They figured there was plenty of interest, because who doesn’t like tacos? But people unfamiliar with Pasco could be intimidated and uncertain where to go to satisfy their taco cravings. Founders tested the idea with an informal Taco Crawl. Deeming it a success, they rolled it out to the public in 2016.

“People had to know there were good tacos in Pasco. How could there not be? People just didn’t know where to go,” said Emily Maloney. Craig Maloney has since been elected to the Pasco city council.

Taco Crawl has generated $12,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs and moved 12,000 tacos, Emily Maloneys said. If Taco Crawl continues to grow, it could become an independent nonprofit in the future.

Taco Crawl vendors report the event provides a welcome shot of publicity for businesses that can ill-afford to advertise. Many report a 15 percent bump in business during the event, with a sustained increase in customer traffic afterward.

Organizers are selling tickets now, which can be redeemed for booklets at Vinny’s Bakery & Cafe, 1107 W. Lewis St., on April 20. The vouchers are good through May 5.

The Best Taco winner will be announced during the Downtown Pasco Development Authority’s Cinco de Mayo Festival the following day.

Visit pascotacocrawl.com for information and tickets.

Additional participants include Taqueria El Tacoyote, Willy’s Mexican Restaurant, Lara’s Tacos, El Antojito, Tacos Tiscareno, Donita’s Tacos, La Farma, Taqueria Los Lopez, El Sazon, El Paraiso, Carneceria La Barata, El Aguila, Los Pinos, Mi Lindo Nayarit and Fiesta Foods.

Asparagus is April. April is Asparagus

Asparagus growers are watching their fields, waiting for the right temperatures. The 2018 harvest should begin this week, according to the Washington Asparagus Commission.

With that in mind, Eat All About It reminds readers that the asparagus harvest signals the start of the growing season and the Mid-Columbia is the epicenter of the state’s $23 million crop. Look for the green shoots of spring in restaurants, grocery stores and farm stands, and remember to support your Washington growers.

Up your asparagus game by attending the third annual Asparagus Festival, 5 to 10 p.m. May 12, at Middleton Farms, 1050 Pasco-Kahlotus Road. Asparagus ice cream, deep fried asparagus and pickled asparagus are on tap, and Badlandz performs at 7 p.m.

Visit the commission on Facebook and Pinterest for news and recipes.

Nail that tax deadline with a free shaved ice

Local Kona Ice trucks will offer free cups of tropical shaved ice for Chill Out Day, better known to taxpayers as the deadline to file federal income taxes, April 17.

Kona trucks will be at 500 Among Park Road in Richland from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., at Albertsons grocery store in Pasco from 3 to 5 p.m., at Texas Roadhouse Restaurant at Columbia Center from 4 to 7 p.m. and at TRAC in Pasco from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

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This story was originally published April 10, 2018 at 12:53 PM with the headline "Pasco has some great tacos. Here is where to find (some of) them."