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Yes, evidently American's coastal waters are being invaded by giant cannibal shrimp, or just really large Asian tiger shrimp that like to eat smaller shrimp. And yes, there are some issues that only scientist really understand, just know this — you can eat them.

Cinco de Mayo is right around the corner and the Tucson Taco Festival, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. today, is the perfect place to build up taco-eating and tequila-drinking endurance before the big day.

The Taco Festival is at Rillito Downs, 4502 N. 1st Ave., and costs $10 per person, kids under 12 are free, plus $2 for every taco sample. Twenty-five taco teams comprised of professionals and amateurs will battle it out to make the winning taco and receive a $5,000 prize. The competition categories are: chicken, beef, pork, and fish plus best salsa, guacamole, anything goes taco, and best booth design.

If stuffing your face with tasty tacos isn’t enough fun, there’s Lucha Libre wrestling to enjoy, and plenty to drink. Besides a main bar, bartenders will compete in a Margarita Challenge, and a Boutique Tequila Expo tent will feature over 30 premium tequilas.

For more information visit http://www.tucsontacofestival.com/

James Beard Award nominee Janos Wilder is closing his Janos and J-Bar restaurants at the Westin La Paloma.

He announced the news to the staffers at the restaurants yesterday.

The fact that one of the area's most renowned restaurants is closing will come as a shock to foodies around the country. However, it's not a total surprise. In January, the Arizona Daily Star reported that Wilder had bemoaned the condition of the La Paloma in court documents related to a transfer of control of the struggling resort:

In another document, John S. Wilder, a premier Tucson chef widely known as Janos, said failure to move forward with the plan would jeopardize his ability to continue operating his restaurants at the Westin La Paloma.

"The lack of capital investment and general rehabilitation of the resort property has significantly impacted the ability of Wilder to maintain operations of the restaurant and bar," the document says.

Wilder, who runs Janos Restaurant and J Bar, said any delay in renovating the resort would likely lead to his closing those operations and laying off 44 employees.

More information on the closure is expected to be revealed later today.

The closure is not expected to affect Wilder's newest venture, Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails.

I'm bringing a couple pans of my newest creation, the "chard-sagna," to the Solar Potluck and Exhibition at Catalina State Park this weekend. I'm sure the experienced solar chefs at the event will be underwhelmed with this paltry contribution, but it's the best I've got so it'll have to do.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the event, which will surely be celebrated with much enthusiasm and plenty of information on new developments in all things solar. You can read more about the event over here.

About that "chard-sagna." It's basically a lasagna, but I use different colors of chard from my garden instead of lasagna noodles. I'm still tweaking the recipe, but it's a good way to use up an abundant amount of chard before the plants bolt during these first days of the Tucson summer.

Luke Cusack of Redline Sports Grill says he has parted ways with former business partner Lindy Reilly, but he gives a far different account than the one Reilly provided yesterday.

Cusack says the idea behind the business was not only to serve Reilly's unique take on burgers and other items, but to have Lindy on site as a sort of local celebrity.

But he says Reilly stopped spending much time at the restaurant as the months rolled on, so they made a new agreement for the restaurant to use Reilly's name and image for $1,000 a month.

Cusack said he never shared any harsh words with Reilly, and that he thought everything was fine between them until he received a letter demanding $90,000 from Reilly's lawyer several weeks ago.

"Out of the blue we got a letter from his lawyer saying we have 10 days to change everything," said Cusack.

"I never told him to fuck off and that he couldn't have his equipment," said Cusack. "I'm sorry he harbors so much hate."

Cusack says Reilly and his lawyer have since dropped the amount of their demand to $30,000.

When asked what he thought may have caused the rift, Cusack also pointed to another happening at the restaurant.

"Our customers were coming to us and telling us that we needed to have more than just burgers, so I started working on a menu with more items. I guess that upset him and he thought he’d throw it back in my face," said Cusack.

Cusack also says he paid Reilly all the money owed to him, something Reilly flatly denied today.

"It's just lies," said Reilly, adding that there was no new agreement for a lower per-month payment. "He wanted to re-do the deal and I said 'I'm not doing anything else if it's not in writing.'"

Reilly says Cusack agreed to pay him $1,500 a month, two-thirds of food sales and two percent of all drinks sold there. He says he received about $8,000 in total. He also says Cusack took creative control over some menu items, which was strictly prohibited by their business agreement.

Reilly said he has been banned from the property and that he is continuing with his attempt to take back the rights to the food he created.

As for the future of Redline Sports Grill, Cusack says he has rewritten the menu and basically scrubbed the building of any sign of Reilly. He's says there are now 20 kinds of hot wings, new salad and that many more items are made with homemade ingredients than when Reilly ran the kitchen.

I asked Cusack if the items on the new menu resemble Reilly's food - as Reilly indicated yesterday - and he said some items from the old menu did carry over, but they are items that other restaurants also serve. He said if anyone has any doubt about it they should come down and check it out for themselves.

Reilly says he got his hands on a preliminary copy of the menu and that the only thing that has changed on many items are the names.

"So like, there's a burger with blue cheese and bacon, lots of people have a burger with blue cheese and bacon, but I'm known for a certain style of food in this town, and that's what I'm trying to protect," said Reilly. "He's stealing me. He's trying to steal me. That's what got me fired up."

The subject of keeping chickens within the city limits is nearer and dearer to many hearts than one might think. A growing number of people are quite interested in raising their own chickens, both for the nutritious, cruelty-free eggs and the rich fertilizer said hens and roosters produce.

A new Facebook group called Tucson CLUCKS - The Tucson City Living Urban Chicken Keeping Society - has emerged to serve this population of chicken enthusiasts. From the sounds of things the members are looking to loosen the regulations on keeping other kinds of animals too, which means that herd of pygmy goats you've been considering could be moving in sooner than expected.

Here's an excerpt of the description of the group from the initial Facebook posting:

A group for allies of urban agriculture in Tucson and Pima County, Arizona. Allies include supporters as well as current keepers of food producing animals.

This group was designed to mobilize supporters of urban animal husbandry in preparation for upcoming public hearings held by the Tucson City Council to examine proposed changes to current animal policies and land use codes.

Proposed changes include eliminating current property line setbacks for animal structures (currently set at 50 ft from property line) and reclassification of animal policy based on animal units in relation to square footage of residential lots.

Lindy Reilly of the downtown burger joint Lindy's on Fourth has parted ways with the owners of what used to be called Lindy's at Redline Sports Grill and is suing to retain intellectual-property rights to the food he created there

Reilly teamed up with Luke Cusack and several other parties to open Lindy's at Redline Sports Grill at 445 W. Wetmore Road in early 2011. He says things went well for the first few months, but that his business relationship with Cusack has been deteriorating ever since.

Reilly says he got a lawyer about two weeks ago in an attempt to enforce an intellectual-property contract that covered his image and the wildly creative burgers he creates, both of which were thrust into the national spotlight after Lindy's on Fourth was featured in an episode of popular television show Man V. Food.

He's also looking into getting an injunction to halt the owners of what is now known as Redline Sports Grill from releasing their new menu in the coming days because some items bear a striking resemblance to items Reilly creates.

"I've never dealt with anything like this. I'm beside myself," said Reilly, taking a break from a kitchen shift at Lindy's on Fourth, in which he is still a partner. "My food has been turning a profit there since last June, and he pretty much told me to go fuck myself, refused to pay me ... and stole $14,000 worth of equipment."

The "Lindy's" name has been removed from the exterior signage, but is still found in several places on the online menu and website.

Luke Cusack, who co-owns Redline Sports Grill and the adjoined RPM Nightclub, has not responded to several messages left for him at the restaurant over the last week. Cusack was also a partner in A Steak in the Neighborhood, which closed last year.

The Cheba Hut, a sandwich shop at 1820 E. Sixth St. that's as well-known for delicious sandwiches as it is for naming those sandwiches after strains of marijuana and other references to the pot culture, throws its annual 420 celebration this week.

Live music, cheap eats, contests and more take place throughout the day on Friday, April 20, which is largely celebrated throughout the marijuana world as a time of great merriment. There's more on the restaurant here.

Cartel Coffee Lab has moved from it's corner spot in a strip mall in the 2500 block of North Campbell Avenue to a larger and very stylish spot just a few doors down. Watch the time-lapse video from the grand opening over yonder.

The place applied for and got a liquor license some time ago as well, so libations are available. In fact, if you find yourself plagued by a thirst this evening, Cartel has one of the first runs of beer from the new local brewery Dragoon Brewing Co. on tap.

I've only had the coffee there - it comes highly recommended - but you can check out what's available as far as food goes here.

A small caravan of food trucks will convene at Brookline College at 5441 E. 22nd Street this Thursday, April 19. There's more on the event over here.

My favorite truck these days has to be Ni Hao Amigos, which serves both Mexican and Asian fare out of a cool, weathered old truck. They're next on the list for a Food Truck Diaries piece, which have been woefully scant due to my intensely hectic schedule but will be returning with gusto - with special guests! - in the coming weeks.