Turtle Island Tacos
Frybread and Fillings with Mexican Flair
by Holly Madrigal
photos by Joyce Perlman
First, you will hear the music, the thumping bass drawing you in. It’s hard not to dance as you approach the food truck called Turtle Island Tacos where owner and frybread queen Tasha Jarshaw is holding court. Tasha deftly switches between making frybread, taking orders, prepping more dough, and working the fryer, keeping a close eye on the sizzling oil as the frybreads bob like pillowy clouds. Each taco is made to order to your particular tastes. Want a beef and bean taco? A golden, fluffy frybread will be covered in a hearty helping of ground beef and seasoned beans with fresh lettuce and tomatoes on top to balance the richness. The Caprese has tomato and mozzarella while the key lime pie consists of a mini frybread smothered in citrus and whipped cream—perfect if you are feeling your sweet tooth. If you’re looking for a truly unique concoction for quenching your thirst, try the food truck’s signature drink: pickle lemonade. This refreshing beverage may sound weird, but the minute you taste the sweet lemonade with a hint of dill pickle salty goodness, you may become a believer.
Tasha sets out her fry-bread dough, fluffy and almost overflowing out of the bowl. She takes out handful-sized portions to add to the piping hot oil. “I started doing this at BBQ’s and little home parties with friends,” Tasha shares. “They would say, ‘You have really good fry bread. This is the best bread, so fluffy.’ And then those parties started getting bigger, and the list of people who wanted me to tell them
when I was cooking got bigger, and I started doing this more. I would start texting everybody, ‘Hey, we’re having a frybread party.’ It began to seem like making this dish could become a viable business.”
Her first gig was the Willits Car Show. Local business owner and events organizer Jim Montalvo invited her to have a booth there, and though she was hesitant at first, she decided to give it a try. The booth was a huge success, showing Tasha that there was a demand for her food. She began traveling around to festivals from her base in Willits. She completed all of the official requirements to operate a food business and purchased her food truck. Now she takes it to festivals, rodeos, and roadside stops, selling an array of different frybread taco options wherever she goes.
Tasha grew up at Dry Creek Rancheria in Geyserville in Sonoma County. She’s lived in Willits for around twenty years and has three daughters who get wrangled into helping out at events. Sometimes they are more into it than other times. “My plan was to have all three of my daughters and their friends to help out but they are all busy, “ she laughs. “They help out when they want some extra cash, but some parts of this whole adventure have turned out differently than I thought. [In 2019] My three-year goal was to have a trailer and then in March of 2022, I bought this. So I reached my goal! It actually happened.”
Frybread was originally created as a survival food when white settlers and the US government forcibly removed people from their indigenous lands. Torn from their historical hunting territories and food sources, tribes made do with substandard government rations. The basics of frybread is a simple dough of flour, baking powder, and salt which is left to rise and then portioned into handfuls and fried in oil or lard until golden brown and fluffy. Over time this dish has been elevated as a staple of Native American cuisine. Fry bread is versatile, eaten as-is or topped with all manner of things. Using it as a taco wrap combines Mexican and indigenous cuisine and is the perfect food for an event like a fair or rodeo. It’s filling, you can add all the toppings you want, and it’s contained in one hand—a complete, satisfying meal for an affordable price.
When asked who taught her how to make frybread, Tasha becomes thoughtful. “I don’t know if anyone ever officially taught me. I had seen my family making frybread growing up and I’m a huge Food Network fan. I was always watching Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse, Rachel Ray—that is all I watched, so I learned techniques and incorporated some of that. For example, if you want fluffy, airy biscuits, you fold it instead of stirring. So I fold my dough. A lot of people knead it, but I touch it as little as possible.“ Her reputation for airy, delicious frybread is well-earned. Tasha is always looking for new foods and toppings to offer. Since 2020, she’s filled her tacos with local, grass-fed beef from John Ford Ranch of Willits. She is looking to the future, dreaming of ways to expand. “I have my eye on having a restaurant,” she shares.
Tasha keeps hustling to make her dreams happen. She travels to Layton- ville, Fort Bragg, Lake County, and beyond. This year, Turtle Island Tacos had a line down the street for the 100th Anniversary of the Willits Frontier Days Rodeo. Hungry fans can go to the Turtle Island Instagram account to see where to find them.
Sometimes Tasha will set up in front of ReFind, a popular used furniture store on the coast. “We get a lot of positive reception over here,” she says. She is even open to cooking for private events if it works with her schedule. So next time you are at a community event and you hear great music and smell the intoxicating aroma of fried dough, stop by Turtle Island Tacos, live on the wild side, and try the pickle lemonade.
Turtle Island Tacos
Instagram & facebook: @turtleislandtacos
Holly Madrigal delights in sharing what’s great about Mendocino County. She enjoys meaningful work with the Mendocino Land Trust and publishing this magazine.
