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How Do You Chase Tacos and Micheladas? With a Hot Dog.

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The 10th annual Taco Truck Throwdown at Chukchansi Park. The Fresno Grizzlies said more than 8,000 attended (GV Wire/David Taub)
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I thought showing up late to the 10th edition of the Taco Truck Throwdown would mean easy access to lines.

David Taub

Even at 10 p.m. Saturday night, the party was still going strong. The Fresno Grizzlies (or was it the Fresno Tacos?) organized the event, along with Fresno Street Eats. The team said more than 8,000 people attended.

Lines at the 18 trucks were busy. I chose the trucks with the shortest lines, and the tacos were still awesome.

I missed out on Taco Pinto, which drew the most customers. The truck, operated by the wife-husband team of Martiza Silva and Luciano Morfin, won the judge’s choice for the second year in a row.

The wife-husband team of Martiza Silva and Luciano Morfin operate the Taco Pinto truck. (GV Wire/Jahz Tello)

The Winners

Other winners included Tacos La Vaporera (people’s choice), and Miche Firme taking the judge’s and people’s choice award for the micheladas.

For me, Tacos El Mandilon and Coculas Taqueria provided my fill of asada and pollo.

Trucks were set up on the baseball field at Chukchansi Park. Even with all the beer and micheladas flowing, it was a chill crowd. People just wanted to eat, drink and listen to music.

The sounds blasted from the stage set up on center field. Ginuwine was the lead act, starting his performance around 11 p.m. At one point, he was joined by Fresno’s favorite violinist, Patrick Contreras.

As I departed, rows of hot dog vendors lined the sidewalk outside the stadium. These were the big juicy sausages, wrapped in aromatic grilled onions. Even with thousands of tacos sold inside, there were takers for the post-taco hot dog snack.

Curiosity drives David Taub. The award-winning journalist might be shy, but feels mighty with a recorder in his hand. He doesn't see it his job to "hold public officials accountable," but does see it to provide readers (and voters) the information needed to make intelligent choices. Taub has been honored with several writing awards from the California News Publishers Association. He's just happy to have his stories read. Joining GV Wire in 2016, Taub covers politics, government and elections, mainly in the Fresno/Clovis area. He also writes columns about local eateries (Appetite for Fresno), pro wrestling (Off the Bottom Rope), and media (Media Man). Prior to joining the online news source, Taub worked as a radio producer for KMJ and PowerTalk 96.7 in Fresno. He also worked as an assignment editor for KCOY-TV in Santa Maria, California, and KSEE-TV in Fresno. He has also worked behind the scenes for several sports broadcasts, including the NCAA basketball tournament, and the Super Bowl. When not spending time with his family, Taub loves to officially score Fresno Grizzlies games. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Taub is a die-hard Giants and 49ers fan. He graduated from the University of Michigan with dual degrees in communications and political science. Go Blue! You can contact David at 559-492-4037 or at Send an Email

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