Make Your Own DIY Taco Bar

I've been meaning to tell you about Logan's birthday party. I told you about the Tissue Paper Floofs I made for the party. I also mentioned, at least on Twitter, how I bought a billion fake mustaches accidentally.

If you're buying fake mustaches from Oriental Trading Co., when they say you're buying a dozen mustaches and there are three per sheet....this means each pack of a dozen is actually made up of 36 mustaches. Thinking a pack of a dozen means there are 12 mustaches in each pack...you may be tempted to over order. On the bright side, it's really shocking how many mustaches 40-ish people can go through in just one night.

Equally surprising is how many fake mustaches one can go through in their every day life. Maybe just people who have a policeman fetish. Errrr.

These are the centerpieces from the party. We had several brands of 40 ounce beers on each table. One was even a Colt 45. I think of this as a One To Grow On birthday spanking.

I also wanted to talk about the taco bar we put together for the party.

I am a lame blogger because I did not take pictures of the creation of our taco bar. But honestly it was so simple you would have been all, "Yawn. Chopped tomatoes. Ooooh....onions. Shocking!"

We originally planned to order the food from our local Qdoba chain but when it turned out the cost of serving tacos to 50-ish people ($500) was just over what it cost to serve our casual cocktail party fare from an actual restaurant at our wedding, we thought that seemed a little silly.

So we bought a buffet set with sterno cups from our local party store for $25. Then we set about creating our own DIY Taco Bar.

I asked for advice about serving tacos to a crowd at Twitter. Stefania from CityMama answered my call.

Here is her note because I should not be the only one to benefit from this information. (FYI: If she told me to throw some ketchup on my shoe I would have done it because I am that clueless in these things.) (PS; Isn't it cute how she doesn't even swear?):

Hey you,

I just did a DIY taco (salad) bar.  It's something we do a couple times a year esp because kids love it so much.  You will use up every single motherfrickin bowl in your entire house though.  I just set out bowls of the following and let people have at it:

Meat/Protein:
Sauteed seasoned ground beef and/or turkey or grilled fish like snapper
small tofu cubes

Beans:
Whole black beans
Refried beans with melty cheese

Toppings:
Shredded lettuce (Or cut up lettuce in a bug huge bowl for salad)
Chopped tomatoes
Chopped red and green bell peppers
Chopped yellow onion
Sliced green onions
Olives
Cilantro leaves
Sour cream

Cheese:
Shredded Mexi-blend
Shredded hot pepper jack
Crumbled cotija
Shredded vegan cheese

Salsa (3-4 different kinds)
Red
Green
Hot
Mild

Extras:
Whole jalapenos en escabeche (with carrots and onions, i like Embasa brand)
Vat of Spanish rice
Taco shells (blue and yellow corn)
Tortilla chips
Salad dressing (if you are doing taco salad)

Then, I couldn't even figure it out from there so I sent another note asking, "BUT HOW MUCH!? I DON'T HAVE A BRAIN!!!"

Stefania understands that and sent this:

For 50ish people I'd figure 1-2 tacos per person and not very much meat go into each, maybe 2 tbsps?  So you could probably do 10 chicken breasts grilled/sliced, maybe....8-10 lbs of beef sliced just to be safe (you can always freeze leftovers), and maybe 2 bricks of tofu in water cubed?

As far as beans, gosh that is hard!  2-3 cans of black beans and enough refried to fill a 9x13 baking dish or two? Do people like beans? I never know...rice seems easier, at least you can look on the box (cuz I always get the boxed Spanish rice for these fancay occasions.) Seeds of Change has a nice cilantro quinoa box if you want to go that route.

This worked out very well. I actually printed out the email and brought it to the store with us.

The only things we didn't put in our DIY Taco bar was the tofu and vegan cheese because Stefania's from California where that stuff is the norm and I'm from Michigan where that's Show-Off-Y.

We bought our produce from the Eastern Market in Detroit where we got 20 limes for $3.00. TWENTY LIMES FOR THREE DOLLARS.

Someone asked what we'd do with 20 limes. We used 10 of them at the party and the other ten we juiced and froze. When we need a little lime juice we break off a bit and use it. TWENTY LIMES FOR THREE DOLLARS.

We got almost all our produce at Eastern Market and what we didn't get there we went to Honey Bee La Colmena on Bagley in Detroit to find. (Hooray Detroit! GET WEBSITES!)(Steal my idea! Sell websites to local businesses in Detroit. For stores like Honey Bee, just give them presence. For stores, help them take their inventory on-line so I can send traffic/customers their way). (People here don't have money to spend. People who are not here may still have money to spend. Help them spend it Detroit!)

Jim from Sweet Juniper sent us to Honey Bee calling the Guacamole "Black Tar Heroin". And it was. One of Logan's coworkers has been crouching by the kitty litter boxes since the party asking for "More of the stuff..." since the party. It's awkward because I just don't have it in me to drive back down and get the stuff for him. It feels like enabling.

We found all sorts of Mexican cheese and sour cream. Also delicious rice, authentic mexican rice and Detroit made taco shells and tortillas. I did not know we had these things available within reasonable driving distance in Detroit outside of restaurants in Mexicantown.

Additionally we got the joy of seeing our kids gaze upon calf tongues in the meat counter display. When she complains about what's for dinner I just have to remind her of the tongues.

Chopping and grilling and sizzling all our ingredients was a bit of a pain. But the $200 we saved was worth the money.

In the end our food budget, including all taco fixings, rice, sides, and even tamales from Evie's came to $425.

But really how can you look at the cost of the party when you see this picture, sent from one of Logan's co-workers Ryan.

Comments

[Lisame]

In Texas we eat cow tongues with eggs and cactus for breakfast. Would you a recipe? Muy Deliciouso!

[Saple]

Yum, Evies is the only place for tamales. They even make the special ones for christmas... Yummy Yummy

[HouseofJules]

This is so fantastic, I can't wait to have a taco party of my own. Loved the specificity of the quantities, I would never have figured that out. Well, eventually, but not having it at the ready surely would have discouraged me from even having a taco party to begin with. The mustaches are a perfect addition! Thanks...
Jules
House of Jules

[Nichole]

TWENTY LIMES FOR THREE DOLLARS?!?! That's almost like stealing.

[Lizzi]

I'm not quite sure I got that - was it TWENTY LIMES FOR THREE DOLLARS?

Everything sounds yummmy!

[ashley]

I'm so getting some porn 'staches for my next par-tay. :)

[LizP]

Yum! Tacos! My mom makes them for me for my birthday every year. It's the whole reason we moved her near us! (well not really) She does the full deal though ... boil brisket, shred meat, cook with tomatoes and stuff, and put out taco bar stuff.

Stefania is clearly feeding girls :-) For my last birthday there were 8 adults and we went through over a pound of the shredded beef, two cans of refried beans, and two cans of olives. Probably a half a pound of cheese and a head of lettuce too. Um, four of the people were men and two of the four were teenagers.

[Laura]

The thing I love about the picture- the open cabinet behind the subject. That was one of my mom's pet peeves when I was growing up - it seemed all our photos had an open door in the background - too funny to see we aren't the only ones.

It sounds like a great party - I bow to your party hosting prowess!

[anna]

"I am a lame blogger because I did not take pictures of the creation of our taco bar. But honestly it was so simple you would have been all, "Yawn. Chopped tomatoes. Ooooh....onions. Shocking!""

When has this ever stopped anyone? You could ear yourself six million pageviews a month using this strategy, silly girl!

[melissa]

Twenty Limes for Three Dollars? *speechless*

[Becky]

Oh my. After looking at that picture, I realize that we are about one billion mustaches short here.

[cecilia]

One of our favorite family outings has been going to Los Galinos on Bagley, especially when the weather is good we sit outside on the patio. One time they even had strands of paper flowers much like the ones you have so graciously given instructions for. My youngest is 11 now so we can actually go out without the hassles of taking toddlers.We have children over 21 so we can even enjoy a carafe of margaritas(gasp)with our Mexican fare. Then we waddle over to La Gloria, pick up our cafeteria tray and fill it with outrageous baked goodies that are SO CHEAP. We go home with way more than we can eat in the day or two it stays fresh for, but we can toss it without guilt.

[Astrogirl]

I'm almost ready to drive the 800 miles (is it that far? I have no idea - I just pulled that number out of my ass) to get 20 LIMES FOR $3!!! It's almost obscene.

What a great idea, tho - I'll have to remember the taco salad bar idea for future parties (I'll give cred where cred is due tho). I envy you your plethora of Latino food options - upstate NY is a bit lacking in those options...

[claire]

Oh god I hate you. I live in rural Victoria, Australia and do you have ANY idea how hard it is to get good mexican food??!!? ANY?!?!
There used to be a lovely new mexico gentleman that had a tex/mex place and oh god that stuff was my black tar heroin. But it is no more. And every time i read a favorite US blogger and they talk about this sort of food I kind of want to stab them a little bit.
You don't understand! You can't even get the ingredients for that stuff here!!

This sounds like it was an awesome party. Maybe for my birthday in December (you know, when its really nice and hot and sunny here? haha suck it!) I could make the effort to trek to Melbourne to get the stuff for a taco bar. The food you described? Together with tequila? AWESOME!

[Meg]

kind of mean to mention Twitter and then not tell your new readers your Twitter name!

[Bailey]

Love the centerpieces, love the mustaches, love the taco bar idea, and love the couch (I have the same one:) )
Shame on you for not taking pictures. I love pictures!

[vanessa]

Have I told you how much I'd love to be one of your neighbours just so I could attend one of your parties???

*sigh*

[mojo]

Ditto what Vanessa said. You guys have the best parties in your neighborhood, and you yourself seem to throw the best of the best. I want more photos!!!

[Kristin]

I'm a Lansing gal -- I live in Florida now, but my heart belongs in Michigan. That is just a side note LOL

Love the Taco Bar idea. I have taco night at home every so often, never thought of it as a party idea.

Have a great week!
Kristin

[Barb]

Burt Reynolds was at your party?

[court]

in order to conserve on bowls, we do what we like to call a "walking taco" (mind out of the gutter, please). we have all the fixins set out on the table, but rather than have actual taco shells, we use mini bags of chips (doritos, fritos, etc.) and make a taco salad-like concoction inside the bags. its great party/tailgating food and virtually no cleanup.

sounds like your taco party was great fun! i also love the 40's as table decorations... i might have to steal that idea for our next party. cheers!

[Michele]

I am totally taking party advice from you next time I decided to throw one!

[atalou]

Speaking of fake mustaches...we incorporated them into our engagement portraits.
http://atalou.blogspot.com/2008/08/mouthbrow.html