Picture this: I’m sitting on a concrete stoop near Valencia and 24th Street in the Mission district of San Francisco. It’s just past 1 a.m., and the fluorescent lights of my favorite taqueria cast an off-lime glow on the paper plate perched on my lap. Two chicken tinga tacos — bloated with smoky meat, radish coins, cilantro and white onion — are halfway finished.

I devoured those tacos in five hulking bites shortly after finishing a demanding Saturday night grill shift at an upscale Hayes Valley restaurant where I cooked on the line. Perhaps it was the fatigue, or the fluorescent lights, but I’ve never tasted tacos so damn satisfying.

Fast-forward to two years later, on the corner of Church and Cherry streets in downtown Burlington. I’m hungry, but I’m not looking for tacos. To be honest, I gave up the quest when I returned to the East Coast, where the bagels are unmatched and the maple syrup is dark and glorious, but the tacos tend to be flabby replicas of the ones I enjoyed during my brief stay out west.

Then I find Taco Gordo, the wheeled, wooden food cart on Church Street Marketplace.

The first thing to catch my eye on Taco Gordo’s small chalkboard menu is its housemade corn tortillas. Good tacos require good tortillas, and those at Taco Gordo are very good. They’re soft yet toothsome, with a toasty, deeply fresh flavor that doesn’t just pair well with the fillings, but asserts itself as a crucial backdrop.  I can get two tacos for $7, or three tacos for $10. [See update below.]

Did I mention I'm hungry?

I try three tacos on the menu: “The Bean,” a pile of spiced, perfectly cooked pinto beans; crisp-edged “Carnitas“ with slow-cooked pork; and “Tinga,” my old favorite: slivers of tender pulled chicken hinting at cumin and coriander. A row of toppings includes bright cilantro, limes, radishes, shaved cabbage and sweet white onion. Beside these trappings sits a trio of homemade salsas. I opt for Pineapple Serrano; it’s fresh and hot with an ample kick of sweetness. Plus, they have Mexican Coca-Cola in those curved glass bottles.

Only $10 later, I’m not just stuffed, but completely satisfied — satiated in a way that is only possible after one quells a long-standing craving. 

Update: Taco Gordo contacted us after this post was published to let us know that the business no longer offers three tacos for $10 (or two for $7). Prices per taco are $3 to $5, with a side of rice or beans for $2, so my meal currently costs $11 — still a deal.

Dining on a Dime is a weekly series featuring well-made, filling bites (something substantial enough to qualify as a small meal or better) for $12 or less. Know of a tasty dish we should feature? Drop us a line: [email protected].

After spending the holiday weekend visiting family in New York, I returned to a garden overgrowing with kale and broccoli rabe and bushing basil that demanded picking. The thing about leafy greens that need picking is this: If you don't pick now, you'll have less to pick later. So I picked and picked and picked, half-wondering what I'd do with so much roughage.

Then I remembered a recent conversation with my cousin, who reminded me that kale can be tenderized with a bit of rough handling, so I ripped up a bunch, and twisted and squeezed it. With some chopped herbs and a splash of oil and vinegar, a hearty, summery salad was born. And, if you're one of the hundreds of Vermonters who receives piles and piles of kale in your CSA share, you can make it tonight in 10 minutes or less.

One of my passions is teaching people to create their own simple recipes, by demonstrating how to take an existing recipe and break it down to its components.

When I'm instructing people on this concept, I typically use basic vinaigrette as an example. The dressing is primarily made of two building blocks: fat and something acidic. 

When I have just a few minutes to make breakfast, I invariably make "eggs over stuff": a pair of sunny-side-up eggs on top of whatever I've got kicking around in the fridge. It might be leftovers from the previous evening's dinner, a green salad, corn tortillas with salsa — pretty much anything. In the time it takes the eggs to sizzle in the pan, I can assemble the other ingredients, and that's all there is to it. 

On the other hand, if I have a little extra time in the morning, I make "eggs under stuff." It's the quick-cooking lovechild of an omelette and a frittata. I put the oven on broil, crack and whip two eggs together in a bowl with salt, pepper and herbs, and pour the mixture into a pan coated with hot butter. Cook on the stovetop until the bottom is set but the top is still wet, and slide it into the oven. (Make sure you use an oven-worthy pan!)

You've heard of Heady Topper? Focal Banger? The coveted cans from that brewery in Waterbury?

Those who brave the hour-long beverage-store queues to get cases and four-packs of the Alchemist's famed ales now have another option. Yesterday at 2 p.m., the Alchemist cut the ribbon on a brand-new brewery and visitors center at 100 Cottage Club Road in Stowe. Here, beer aficionados can enjoy a tasting section, retail shop and educational area with full views of the brewing process.

“John and I look forward to being open to the public again,” said Jen Kimmich, who opened the Alchemist with her husband, John, in 2003. “We missed the daily interaction with our community.”