Tacos 101

**Disclaimer: This post is basically just my love serenade to tacos. So prepare yourself for some…intimacy.

Um, yeah.

So it’s impossible to say that taco’s are the heart of Mexico. But what the hell fudge the police:

Taco’s are the heart of [my] Mexico.

I heart you taco-man

Don’t get me wrong, I realize this can add to the many stereotpyes that exist about Mexico. So I want to point out that there is a HUGE range of amazing and diverse dishes here. And I promise to try to post more about them. But today, I’m focusing on the one that comes up most in my life. Rich or poor, anybody can grab some tacos/quesadillas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or as a middle-of-the-night snack. You don’t need a special occasion, you just need an appetite and 40 pesos (oftentimes not even that)! And there is never a need to look far, as taco stands are on almost every corner of the city. Sometimes more.

To me tacos sum up Mexico really well: coming up to a brightly lit taco stand or being in a bustling taquería pulls you in by all your senses, like so many other things in this country. The smells of grilling meat fills the air, the bright plates the food is served on, the colourful (and spicy!) salsas, the chatter of the workers and the customers. And of course, the irreplaceable flavour-town of the tacos themselves. It’s like Christmas, just several times a week ya know?

It’s a food oasis.

—Getting some of that breakfast quesadilla action in Mexico City. This was actually one of my favourite quesadillas EVER. Fillings: Oaxaca cheese with huitlacoche (corn smut, a blue fungus that grows on corn. YUM!) Dough: blue maiz

My favourite part (obviously apart from the eating), is watching the taco-man work the pastor. Pastor is a big pile of seasoned meat roasting infront of a fire on a spit. On top is usually a peeled pineapple staked onto the spit. When an order comes in, the worker cuts off the cooked meat from the giant meat pile, then uses his taco-skill to cut/fling a piece of pineapple into your taco. It sails in the air, and gracefully lands inside the heaven-on-earth-food you are about to consume. Amazing.

Observe the pastor meat to the right. Although in this case, no pineapple.

The three most common and popular tacos I have encountered are: al pastor, bistec and chorizo. Pastor is meat taken from a spit, and is said to have been influenced from the arabic food traditions that existed in Spain. Bistec is steak meat, and chorizo is a sausage mixed with spices and herbs. Usually served not in sausage form, but rather like ground meat.

“Hanging out” with the chorizo. And telenovela.

If these types of meat aren’t your thing, you should hit up a special type of  taquería that specializes in more unpopular parts of the animal! Brain, tongue,  head, are just SOME of the taco types you can encounter 🙂 I enjoy some of them, but can’t say I love them all.

My friend Amanda went for some of the more “out there” flavours. Can you guess what body parts they are?

–Quesadillas prepared infront of your eyes! Pick your own fillings! [Quesadilla stand]

Shirtless mannequins and tacos. Great combo.

Rice with spinach and cheese. Can you understand why my pants keep getting smaller?

To complete the ritual, wash your tacos down with some good old Mexican cola. Made with real cane sugar!

So, if you’re ever in Mexico get a recommendation for a good taco place, or find somewhere that has a ton of people in it!!