The Taco Wire: Mission District ‘Tamale Lady’ Dies; Uber Driver Attacked by Tacos; Tapatio Rip-Off?

Welcome to The Taco Wire. Each week, we serve you a roundup of stories on all things tacos that are making headlines in Los Angeles and beyond. Cuz, it’s never not a good time for tacos.

Virginia Ramos, Beloved Mission 'Tamale Lady' ~ RIP

[dropcap size=big]S[/dropcap]She was known as the expert tamal vendor in the bar scene of San Francisco's Mission District, home to the city's Mexican and Central American immigrant community. Virginia Ramos spent years selling tamales and dispensing love advice to hungry bar-hoppers, until she was banned from selling inside bars (due to the culture-killing effects of gentrification). Ramos charted a return with a brick-and-mortar restaurant, which was scheduled to open this very year. Ramos, 65, died on Sept. 27, the San Francisco Examiner reported. Read more about Ramos's extraordinary life here; a vigil will be held in her memory in the Mission on October 9. Ramos was known for always telling her customers, "I don't know you, but I love you." Que viva Virginia Ramos!

Uber Driver Assaulted With Tacos

[dropcap size=big]V[/dropcap]ideo footage surfaced of a drunk woman attacking an Uber driver with tacos during an argument. Video captured on the Uber’s surveillance camera shows the driver, identified as Marie Chavez, trying to get a woman who appeared to be drunk to exit her car, when the passenger threw takeout boxes of food at the driver as she climbed out of the back seat. The incident happened in Midland, Texas. Stunned, Chavez told the woman she was on camera and tearfully told her and a male passenger she was calling the police.

Hot Sauce Rip-off?

[dropcap size=big]C[/dropcap]ute, counterfeit, or cultural appropriation? A former punk-rock drummer from Chicago, turned LA jam-maker found herself at the center of a debate over cultural appropriation when she recently launched a hot sauce that shared a copycat resemblance to the iconic Tapatio salsa. Laura Ann Masura created her Tapawtio line depicting a cat version of the famous mariachi that dons every bottle to sell to a few restaurants and online. The salsa caught the attention of some critics, and it didn’t take long for Masura to scrub her website and social media pages of any mention of the hot sauce. (She never returned L.A. Taco’s calls.)

Del Taco Tests ‘Breakfast Wrap’ on Select Menus

[dropcap size=big]D[/dropcap]el Taco is looking to expand its breakfast offerings by testing out a new toasted wrap at eight locations in Nevada, the Reno Gazette Journal says. The 2-dollar wrap, featuring scrambled eggs, cheddar, hash browns, and salsa is wrapped in a flour tortilla that’s flattened and grilled. The pilot is part of the Southern California chain’s new Breakfast All Day menu and will be available the first half of October before the company considers whether to expand it to other areas.

7lb. Thing They Are Calling a ‘Taco’ Hits New York

[dropcap size=big]A[/dropcap] high-priced eatery in New York is rolling out its gimmicky seven-pound ¡Taco Enorme! dish this week in observance of the equally gimmicky National Taco Week, which obviously we’re not even into because every week is Taco Week at L.A. Taco, duh. NBC New York reports the seven-pound thing — because it's not a taco! — contains Waygu beef, Mexican truffles, seven different cheeses, poblano peppers, caramelized onions, salsa cascabel, chipotle guacamole, and crema with crispy corn and flour tortillas. This monstrosity will go for $65, to be shared between three to six diners a piece. (It's just a big wrap or like a calzone... right?)

New Texas Taco Docu-Series Starts Streaming

A new seven-episode series has premiered on YouTube and focuses primarily on the contributions of the tacos of the Lone Star State, the Houston Chronicle reports. "The Tacos of Texas" stars fellow taco journalists Mando Rayo and Jarod Neece. The series launched in partnership with PBS Digital and includes filming in Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Brownsville, Corpus Christi and Dallas, according to the daily.