THE PUNK CHEF – Timmy Vulgar on food, Mad Coyote Joe & the kindness of European promoters.

Who’s Mad Coyote Joe?

Mad Coyote Joe!! He’s a chef and musician who lives in Cave Creek Arizona. I don’t know a ton about the guy but what I do know, is that he worked and lived on different farms in numerous places in Mexico and learned the old world traditional recipes of these Mexican farmers! And shares them in his book  ”A gringo’s guide to authentic Mexican cooking.” My girlfriend bought the book for me a few years back and I swear by it! Here’s a link to Mad Coyote Joe’s blog

What was the last tasty thing you ate?

Well not to toot my own horn, but the “Rojas Roasted Pork” I made last night for my taco night at the bar I work at was really tasty. I haven’t eaten yet today so that was the last thing I had. hahah! I simmered 6 pounds of bone in pork shoulder in chicken/tomato stock, red onion, garlic, chile powder, cumin and some other goodies for about 3 hours. And I made a red salsa to complement the pork. Topped the taco’s with the salsa, cilantro and onion on warm soft yellow corn tortilla’s or flour tortilla’s. But recently I’ve discovered an amazing Mexican soup called “Pozole” its tender chunks of pork with hominy (grits) in a red broth. You top it with raw onion, fresh cabbage, fresh radishes and cilantro. It’s my new fave!

The Mexican food over in the UK is often pretty rubbish, can you give us some key tips on what to avoid when looking at a Mexican restaurant menu?

Well, lets see it’s usually best if its ran by Mexicans haha! But not always. Avoid iceburg lettuce! Yellow shredded cheddar cheese or American cheese, bad picante salsa’s, sour cream is kind of a sin but i do love sour cream or creme fresh. Taco Bell shaped- taco shells, white corn tortillas bother me, those are some of the common gringo mexican food mistakes here in the states. I imagine you could get some good meats and spices to make a nice homemade authentic mexican feast over there in jolly ol’ England! I’ve heard that curry is really popular over there? If so you could easily get your hands on some herbs and spices that would work. Like… cumin, chile powder, cilantro (coriander), oregano? All though Mexican oregano could be difficult to find. Cinnamon, brown sugar, limes, all spice, dried arbol chilles, jalapenos, And I’m sure some nice cuts of beef, chicken, pork and fish. There shouldn’t be any reason to have a bad Mexican meal all over the world. It’s pretty simple stuff.

What are your top cities to eat out in in the US? Any specific places?

Yeah too many!!!! Well Detroit has a lot of great food: Coney dogs! Gyro sandwiches, sliders, great Indian food, probably the best Mediterranean food.. Some of the restaurants in “Mexican Town” in Detroit are just as good as the south west and west coast of the U.S. Pizza in Detroit is pretty great. We have some decent B.B.Q. But not as good as Memphis TN. or Texas. Chicago has a lot of great food as well – I’m a sucker for the world famous “Chicago Dog” “the Hot dog that’s been dragged through the garden!” as they say. Also you gotta try Chicago Italian Beef! Oh man Maxwell street pork chop sandwiches rule!! Really the best when your drunk and hungry! A bone in pork chop with grilled onions mustard and maybe a  large dark green sport pepper or two on a steamed hamburger bun comes with free french fries or the Maxwell street polish sausage! A huge polish sausage in a kielbasa bun with grilled onions mustard and a couple large dark green sport peppers! Which I think are pickled Serrano’s. Of course Chicago deep dish pizza is a popular fave. And they also have great Mexican food. There is a large Latino community in the windy city. New York has the best pizza! Stone oven cooked giant slices! Get your Cheese Steaks in Philly! Had an amazing soft shell crab sandwich in Baltimore Maryland on our last tour. I’ve had some great Cajun in New Orleans been a while though. But theee greatest thing I ever ate on the road was in L.A. back in 2008. Our friends took us to this little Mexican place to eat after our show the next day. I wish I could remember the name of the place! I ordered the Pork Chile Verde, I can’t tell you how amazing it was. Slow cooked shredded pork with these big pieces of roasted pablano and Anaheim chile’s stewed together in a tomtillo sauce. Served with warm homemade corn tortillas. I have been trying to recreate it to this day. Man I’m hungry!

What’s it like eating on tour? You seem to know your way around?

I love to eat on tour! I love to try the “staple” foods in the different city’s we play, you got to man!! We try to eat good but sometimes your kinda forced to eat fast food sometimes.

How does it differ in the US from Europe? 

In Europe you never go hungry because the clubs and promoters will always feed you! You get to the club around 6 or 7pm and they have lunch meats and cheeses with fresh baguettes laid out for you! That’s just the appetizer! Then they feed you pasta or frittata for the main dinner, it’s really great. So you end up taking the leftover food with you in the van too. I remember one of my favorite things were croquettes, breaded mashed potato’s of meats shaped into a cylinder then deep fried. Those were my favorite. In the U.S. they don’t feed you like that.

Any plans for a Human Eye UK tour?

No, but we would love to! We would love to tour Europe again too. But it is so expensive! I’d wanna hit Finland this time around cause I’m half Finn and I would love  to try the food and get drunk with my “family!!” hahaha!