Taco

Megan Ryan knows the tacos in her part of town. Over the past four months she has eaten an estimated 80 of them from about 20 different Baltimore eateries, most near her Fells Point home. She has discovered that a taco labeled "meat" can have one of a dozen different fillings, everything from steamed flank steak to "lengua," better known as tongue, a favorite offering of the taco truck that sets up shop on South Broadway near Bank Street. She has decided that the tilapia cooked with cloves from Arcos Restaurant is a hit. But the orange roughy topped with orange marmalade from Annabel Lee Tavern is a mess.

For last year's 20th anniversary season at Camden Yards, the Orioles and its concessionaire, Delaware North Companies Sportservice, brought in local favorites Gino's Burgers and Chicken and Stuggy's to the yard along with Dempsey's Brew Pub and Restaurant , a year-round restaurant located in the stadium's warehouse, and the Roof Top Deck in centerfield, an instant fan favorite. And then the Orioles did what they did. This year is more about tweaking, upgrading and responding to requests from fans — including, the Orioles acknowledge, vegetarians who were still making do with french fries and pizza.

Item: Taco Bell Home Originals dinner kitsWhat you get: 5 to 6 servingsCost: About $4Preparation time: 10 to 12 minutes in the microwave, 20 to 22 minutes conventional ovenReview: Though I'm not sure everyone wants to duplicate the fast-food taste of Taco Bell at home, these dinner kits earn high marks for convenience. We tried the Soft Taco Dinner and the Ultimate Bean Burrito kit. All of the nonperishable ingredients -- including flour tortillas and, in the case of the burrito kit, refried beans, cheese sauce and salsa -- came in the kit. This is not authentic Mexican food with real heat, but it's still satisfying.

The following is compiled from local police reports. Our policy is to include descriptions when there is enough information to make identification possible. If you have any information about these crimes, call the Wilkens Police Station at 410-887-0872. Baltimore National Pike, 6200 block, Feb. 22, 9:49 p.m. Man pointed gun at Taco Bell employee who ran. Nothing taken. Whitfield Road, 300 block, Feb. 19, between 10:50 p.m. and 11:05 p.m. Wallet and cell phone stolen by man armed with handgun.

Inexpensive, family-owned and tiny, Nino Taco restaurant on Liberty Road in Randallstown had built up a strong following in its 26 years. Now the restaurant has moved about five miles, to a larger location in a new shopping center off Owings Mills Boulevard. Seating has increased from 22 to 42, but that's not enough to keep lines from occasionally snaking out the door. Poor:]

It's is hard to pin down what is great about a great taco. Is it the succulent, smoky carne asada? The tender, charred handmade tortilla? The sweet, ripe, spicy brightness of pico de gallo? More likely it's the way all those things come together. You can find such taco greatness at restaurants, corner taquerias and taco trucks with cult followings. But the best tacos in the world might come out of your own kitchen. Imagine a warm corn tortilla filled with thinly sliced, pan-seared duck breast, tomatillo sauce and a cherry-chile compote.

Tortilleria Sinaloa is a tiny storefront in Fells Point with no tables but eight stools at two counters. That doesn't deter tourists, natives and neighbors from testing their Spanish on the barely bi-lingual but friendly staff while trying to order from the compact menu. And nothing makes me feel more comfortable in a first time visit to a little street joint than having a neat young woman in constant motion wiping counters, stools, equipment and anything else that might need wiping.

The very first customer to walk into Nino Taco left in a huff after his order for a sausage and egg sandwich was nixed.That was 17 years and about 250,000 tacos ago, long before the restaurant lovingly described as a "hole" by owner Nino Blitz became a landmark in Randallstown and a spicy foothold in otherwise bland suburbia.Blitz says she has served an estimated 10,000 loyal customers, who have included former Orioles slugger Eddie Murray, his brother Charles, local television reporters and attorneys who periodically step through the squeaky screen door, open seven days a week in the 9000 block of Liberty Road.

Taco kit comes loaded with pluses Item: Old El Paso Hard and Soft Taco Dinner Kit What you get: 6 servings Cost: About $3 Preparation time: About 21 minutes Review: Deciding what kind of tacos to have tonight just got easier, thanks to Old El Paso's new dinner kit. The kit includes six hard shells and six tortillas, plus taco seasoning and sauce. It can be used with ground beef or chicken (both take additional time to brown, but still put your dinner preparation time at under 40 minutes)

Tortilleria Sinaloa 1716 Eastern Ave., Baltimore -- 410-276-3741 Hours --7 a.m.-7 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays; 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays Restaurant's estimate --2 minutes Ready in --3 minutes La Fiesta Grill 9022 Church Lane, Randallstown -- 410-655-7630 Hours --11 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 11 a.m.-9:30 Fridays-Saturdays Restaurant's estimate --2 minutes Ready in --2 minutes This taco, $1.88, was more like what we grew up eating: shredded beef in...

Maryland State Police and Sheriff's Office reports: Aberdeen Dwayne Webb, 44, of the 500 block of Pleasantwind Drive, was charged Sunday with second-degree assault. Shelby Barnes, 24, of the first block of Church Green, was charged Sunday with failing to display a registration card on demand, driving an uninsured vehicle, resisting arrest, failing to obey a reasonable police order and disorderly conduct. Aaron Lee, 31, of the 300 block of South Law Street, was charged Friday with possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Howard County detectives are offering a reward of up to $2,000 for information that helps identify two masked men they say shot a Columbia Taco Bell manager early Sunday. Gary M. Graham, 42, of Columbia, remains in critical condition at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center after he was shot multiple times. Just after midnight, Graham and another employee had walked outside of the fast-food chain restaurant on the 7100 block of Minstrel Way to confront a suspicious person when police say two masked men appeared near a trash bin. One fired at Graham, who was struck several times in the torso.

Howard County police are investigating a shooting early Sunday morning at a Taco Bell restaurant on Minstrel Way in Columbia. Police responded at about 1 a.m. to reports that a manager had been confronted and shot multiple times by two unknown men outside the restaurant. Employees at the store called police. The manager, whom police did not identify, was flow by Medevac to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center where he was listed in critical condition. Howard County police said an investigation continues.

Oct. 4 is National Taco Day. (It's also National Vodka Day.) And we'd love to see your taco photos. Share your Instagrams from area restaurants by using #bmorediner on Twitter or Instagram, and your photo could appear in the Sun on Sundays. • Dinergram: Baltimore Diner Instagram photos Woody's Taco Island, from the people who brought you Chowhound Burger Wagon, is parking at Pratt and Commerce streets today. The truck features the tacos from Woody's Rum Bar and Island Grill , the rooftop joint on the corner of Thames Street and Broadway.

Clementine is bringing back Taco Tuesdays.  Clementine started serving tacos from its stall at the Lauraville Farmer's Market a few years back. The tacos were so popular that the restaurant started opening up on Tuesday nights just for tacos and drink specials. But then, customers started coming in wanting the regular menu and leaving dejected when they couldn't get them. So Taco Tuesdays stopped. (Thanks a lot, whiners.) But now Taco Tuesdays is coming back, in a slightly different form.

Vroom! It's a new Baltimore food truck headed your way -- Woody's Taco Island will be rolling out sometime around July Fourth. The truck, from the people who brought you Chowhound Burger Wagon, will feature the tacos from Woody's Rum Bar and Island Grill, the rooftop joint on the corner of Thames Street and Broadway. Don't know when you last looked, but Woody's got pretty serious about its tacos. Half-price taco Tuesdays were always a big thing anyway at Woody's.

Improving our eating habits just isn't that easy.The pressure is on to get the job done, what with the relationship between food, overweight and most chronic diseases. And yet . . .Our lives are so busy, there's so much to do.A recent study by the American Dietetic Association showed that people think healthy eating is really important, but weren't doing all they could for three very important reasons. They thought eating well was too complicated, took too much time, and required them to give up their favorite foods.

THE KEY TO enjoying cooked cicadas -- if that is possible -- is to eat them with your eyes closed. It is not a happy feeling when you are looking down at your cicada hors d'oeuvre and it is looking back up at you, with beady eyes. Cicadas don't have much flavor and they sure don't look appealing. Earthy and crunchy are two apt descriptors of the crispy critters I ate last week. Earthy makes sense because until they became lunch, these soft cicadas -- the stage before their shells get hard is supposedly when they are at their peak flavor -- had been living in the ground for the past 17 years.

Tortilleria Sinaloa is a tiny storefront in Fells Point with no tables but eight stools at two counters. That doesn't deter tourists, natives and neighbors from testing their Spanish on the barely bi-lingual but friendly staff while trying to order from the compact menu. And nothing makes me feel more comfortable in a first time visit to a little street joint than having a neat young woman in constant motion wiping counters, stools, equipment and anything else that might need wiping.

Taco Bell is going gourmet. The Irvine, Calif.- based fast food chain plans to roll out its new Cantina Bell menu to nearly all 5,600 locations on July 5, according to a story in Nation's Restaurant News. The menu was created by chef Lorena Garcia, who was a judge on "America's Next Great Restaurant" on NBC last year and is slated to appear on "Top Chef Masters" on Bravo, the chain said. "Lorena worked incredibly hard as a member of our team to make this happen, starting with 26 recipes and eventually we ended up with eight," Brian Niccol, chief marketing and innovation officer, said in a statement.