Last night, Wake and Wander invaded Paramount Studios in Hollywood for Tacos and Tequila – a TASTE event celebrating the great Mexican food and culture in the City of Angels.

I must say: Hollywood is not glamorous at all. I drove from Santa Monica up Santa Monica Blvd, a twelve-mile drive that took an hour (took twenty minutes on the way home), and once I got through Beverly Hills my surroundings slowly began to become less appealing – the streets weren’t as clean, the buildings not well maintained. I can’t speak to the safety in the area, but the pleasing aesthetics go down the drain, especially at night when you don’t have a view of the riviera.

Once inside Paramount Studios I found it quite pleasant, walking through the complex where so many different shows and movies have been filmed. I like when you are able to pull back the curtain on these kinds of things in life, see something you’ve always seen but never really seen.

Does that make sense? We should talk tacos.

I was breathing fire on a few occasions last night, at times unable to think about anything else besides the fact that water does absolutely nothing to soothe the bite of a pepper.

La Flor de Yucatan got me pretty good, although it didn’t stop me from having another one later. I thought they had one of the best flavored tacos of the night, but the tortilla could have used some sprucing up. Instead of supporting the filling, it engulfed it.

Pink Taco was delicious as well – and of course they had some very attractive women serving them up and having fun with the sexual innuendo. I will admit I may have blushed when one of them asked me if I wanted to try her pink taco.

Turns out it was false advertising – they weren’t serving the tacos – and she handed me shrimp ceviche on a silver-dollar sized chip. I forgive her, mostly because it was the best ceviche I tasted last night.

My gold star for best taco has to go to Malo Restaurant’s Beef and Pickle Taco. From the crispy (fried) shell to the fact that there was a pickle on my taco, this thing really sang a simple tune, yet it sang it very well. The beef/pickle combo makes your brain think hamburger, but instead of soft (filling) bread, you get the crunch of the fried shell and the flavor of their (mild) salsa, and then the fresh crunch of the pickle with the juices of the beef.

I’m making myself hungry, and I’m not sure if reliving the experience is heaven or hell. Memories bring back a lot of good times, however they tend to end with a realization that those times are over. There were two live bands last night, lights strung up above the New York City streets, people laughing with their mouths full and promoting the most recent taco they enjoyed.

The tequila didn’t hurt anyone’s mood – especially not mine. Tequila and Mexican go hand in hand (don’t tell that to Altamirano’s, though), but once I discovered that Gosling’s was mixing rum with ginger beer, my tequila drinking was over.

It went down easy like a whiskey and soda highball – it would taste fantastic on a hot day. I probably had three or four of them – it was such an enjoyable and refreshing combination. You sacrifice some of the spice of the dark rum – the ginger beer mellows it out – but it’s still there and the drinkability is worth the small sacrifice.

Looking forward to the next thing always helps to ease the pain of watching things pass, and I’m headed to have some mimosas and brunch on Rodeo Drive.