El Tren

I’m sitting on the train now on the way to New York for a night of ridiculousness. Much to my surprise the Acela now has free wireless. So what better to do now than write some more trivial bullshit!

I got to thinking about what I really wanted, and I realized that I haven’t had a hot dog in a while, and I usually get a hot dog on the train anyway. Now it’s a little known fact that hot dogs are pretty popular not only in Mexico, but all over the Latin world. The way I was always taught to make a Mexican style hot dog was by putting guacamole, pico de gallo, lettuce, and mayo on them. But this is a taco blog so why not make it into a taco?

Hot dogs, guacamole, lettuce, mayo, and those onions you find on hot dog carts swimming in some sort of tomato sauce all served on a corn tortilla. I think I can fuck with that.

-Geraldito

Cervezas Chingones

You’ve probably never seen one of these. If you are like me you probably wrote off Corona altogether in favor of better options like Negra Modelo, Tecate or Pacifico. This my friends is a bottle of Corona Familiar.

I had heard a number of rumors from the Mexican line cooks I worked with that there was a different Corona. One which did  not exist in the U.S.  One, which did not suck. I was certainly intrigued. But where could I find this if it just simply is not imported into the U.S. Well during one evening of taquiando in Hell’s Kitchen, I drunkenly stumbled into a Mexican deli. This particular deli, which will remain nameless, was famed for having some of the best tacos in New York.  As I went to the beer cooler to pick out a libation to go with my tacos, I was shocked.  A 940 ml bottle of Corona Familiar.  Not only is this Corona a tastier, fuller lager than regular Corona, but it’s illegal here, which instantly makes it more awesome.

So because this really has very little relevance, and I simply just wanted to rant about how much I like this stuff, here is a recipe for a drink you can make using Corona Familiar.

Corona Familiar or Tecate

1/2 lime (juiced)

2 dashes worcestershire sauce

2-4 dashes hot sauce

1 pinch salt

1 1/2 ounces clamato or tomato juice

ice

Fill a pint glass by half with ice. Add lime juice, worcestershire, hot sauce, clamato, and salt. Fill to the rim with cold beer. You can garnish with a salt rim, a slice of lime, cilantro stems or even some thin slices of jalapeno. This concoction is called a  Michelada the combination sounds a bit strange, but its amazing on a hot day with some tacos, or any other Mexican food for that matter. 

-Geraldito

La Mara Salvatrucha

Although the primary focus of this blog is centered around the search for the perfect taco, it is also to discuss the rich culture of Latin America.  Recently, Northern Virginia and the DC Metropolitan area has become the 3rd largest center in the U.S. for MS-13 gang activity proudly boasting over 5,000 members in this area alone. If one explores taco joints in the area for long enough he or she is bound to cross paths with members of this notorious gang.  Over the past two weekends we experienced first hand that these gang members enjoy taquiando almost as much as we do.

La Mara Salvatrucha was founded in the late 1980s in LA by Salvadorian immigrants after the civil wars in Central America.  The initial purpose of this gang was simply to protect Salvadorians from Black and Mexican gangs.  However, over the years the gang has spread throughout the US and to countries in Central America and now engages in numerous clandestine activities.  Some of these activities include drug smuggling, human trafficking, public decapitations and visiting taco trucks. 

These guys are for real.  Tread lightly around men with tattoos similar to the ones in these pictures and definitely don’t throw up any of these gang signs. 

-Taco Pato

Guacamayas

As most people have hopefully made it back from their tropical spring break destinations, throw this one in your back pocket for next year.  There are two locations, one in San Jose del Cabo and one in Cabo San Lucas.  As we continue to review Mexican food on the East Coast, it will be important to have a reference point, and Guacamayas is a perfect place to start.  One of my cutties from back in CA suggested we head to this restaurant because of their renowned tacos al pastor.  The atmosphere is really laid back and you better believe nobody working there spoke any English.  A telltale sign of good tacos al pastor is the pork trompo, or shawarma spit (pictured below), where the pork heats.  The outer edges of the pork remain crispy as layers are removed.  As the homie camarero started laying down plate after plate of tacos, Chancho got to work.  In all honesty, between two of us, we doneished 15 tacos.  The two corn tortillas with each taco were blackened and heated perfectly and then filled with crispy slivers of succulent pork.  On top was cilantro, diced onions, and the desired mix of salsas and sauces from their many choices.  The tacos are 13 pesos a pop, which comes out to about a dollar, making you feel like you’re getting robbed anywhere else.  In all, Guacamayas puts out a superlative taco.

In closing, there is no reason why Taco joints on the East Coast can’t live up to the standard set by Guacamayas.  We, the consumers, just need to begin holding restaurants accountable for the quality of their food.  Start supporting the places that make good, quality Mexican food and stop supporting those that don’t.  Make taquiando your lifestyle.

-Chancho

Tacos de mierda

I have eaten a lot of tacos in my day. I consider myself to be a taco aficionado. I will probably eat just about any type of taco offered to me, but I just have no patience for really bad tacos. Although my expectations in the DC area are rather low, rarely am I genuinely offended by the tacos I eat.

Taco Pato, Chancho and myself set out to Virginia  on this past saturday to find a nice taco truck. Unfortunately instead of listening to my amiga Veronica we decided to check out a little establishment in Alexandria called Taqueria el Poblano. After reading the name, I was excited for some good tacos hopefully made by some people from Puebla. There is a specialty there called a Cemita, which is the torta of Puebla. Meat, cheese, avocado, chipotle peppers, mayo, tomatoes, lettuce all on a sesame bun. Pretty delicious if you ask me. Much to my dismay, Taqueria el Poblano did not have cemitas. Heartbroken, I saw that they had tacos al pastor so my hopes for the restaurant were briefly lifted. This feeling did not last long. Tacos al pastor only available after 5:30 p.m. Are you fucking kidding me? I pleaded with the waiter but my attempts were useless. I settled for pork, fish, and beef tacos. I wanted to get a range of different options. Let me start off by saying that not a single tortilla that myself or my associates was served was heated at all. If you’ve ever had a corn tortilla, which isn’t heated through you know it is far from edible. That being said not only the tortillas, but also the fillings were cold. The only saving grace was the fish taco as it was pretty tasty. The fish was fried nicely, helping it retain its heat, and it was served with the traditional cabbage. The beef and pork tacos, on the other hand, were about as bad as they come. When you get tacos that are topped with lettuce, and unnaturally colored, unmelted cheddar cheese just walk away. This is the American bastardization of what I love so much. I have never eaten so little of what I ordered at a restaurant. I was embarrassed when the waiter came by, and almost everything of what I ordered remained on my plate, and I did not want a doggie bag. I think what offended me so much was that this was supposed to be a good authentic taqueria. The D.C area has a long way before it starts getting serious about Mexican cuisine.

-Geraldito

To piggy back on Geraldito’s post, I also like to think of myself as somebody who can appreciate the beauty of a wonderfully prepared taco.  As we walked into the Taqueria Poblano, I had high hopes as they had various accomplishments and awards displayed above the indoor seating area.  Also, their website reassures California residents like myself that, “If your roots happen to be in Mexico, California, or Texas; you will find that you no longer have to return home to find those true Mexican flavors that you have been craving!

I have found that anywhere you go the best food can be found at the establishments frequented by the locals, and it has never failed me.  Taqueria Poblano, despite its name being in Spanish and having what seems to be a menu of all the essential Mexican dishes, was packed full of Gringos, a foreshadowing of what was to come.  Despite my complete concurrence with Geraldito’s comments above, the restaurant did have a few aspects that made it…well, less shitty.  The chips and salsa weren’t bad, although they were not spectacular.  The margaritas were surprisingly delicious as I had expected them (after their taco performance) to bring me out one of the ice-blended frozen smoothies that you find at most Tex-Mex locales.

At the end of the meal, Geraldito needed to be restrained from physically assaulting whomever was responsible for our butchered tacos

Salud

-Chancho

Guaciando!

Que onda everybody? My name is Geraldito, and I’m here bringing you ruthless reviews, and some of the best Mexican recipes around.

Because Chancho has an unnatural love affair with the avocado, I felt that it was only appropriate that my first recipe would feature his obsession. Now this is not your typical, chunky, tex-mex, guacamole-in-a-plastic-container bullshit. This is a smooth avocado sauce, which is not only perfect for topping tacos, but pretty tasty with some chips, and a little salsa verde. Anyway, here is my recipe for guacamole or whatever the fuck you want to call it. 

4 avocados

1 small white onion (roughly chopped)

1/4 bunch of cilantro (cleaned, and major stems removed)

2 tablespoons H2O

limes (to taste)

jalapenos (to taste)

salt (to taste)

Put the avocados, onion, cilantro, and jalapenos in the blender. If you like your guac sauce spicy, I would suggest adding two jalapenos with all of the seeds left in. If you want something very mild then just add one jalapeno with the seeds removed. As far as the lime is concerned, I like to add a little bit more than one lime per avocado. Generally for 4 avocados I’ll use five or six limes depending on how much juice they have, but this is completely up to you. Blend all of that together, and if the mixture isn’t pureeing well add the water to get it going. Season with salt, and serve. In my opinion, this superlative Guac Sauce only keeps for one day, but you can probably get two days out of it. Enjoy.

-Geraldito

Mi Tierra

This afternoon, we had the pleasure of fortuitously stumbling upon an outdoor festival as we searched for a local Mexican restaurant in Adams Morgan.

Feeling that Dios had a higher purpose for our afternoon, we decided to patronize the tent vendors.  The tents are set up at Unity Park in Adams Morgan, between Columbia Rd. and Champlain where they operate every weekend (Fri-Sun) until they run out of food or 7pm.  Various Latin American countries are represented at this festival including, Argentina, Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala. 

Taco Pato, Geraldito, and myself ventured to the Mexican booth, where we were served by two unassuming Señoras.  While other taco choices are offered, it was unanimously decided that the Tacos Al Pastor were straight up Boss.  The pork was generously doused in a red sauce and mixed with small pineapple chunks, adding an appropriate element of sweetness.  The meat was placed on two soft, although cold (due to the fact that all of the food is transported from the kitchen and served in trays) tortillas and topped with a mix of cilantro and diced onions.  To finish, the taco was topped with a combination of salsa verde and salsa roja (spicy!)  In a city where good Mexican food is synonymous with Chipotle or Taco Bell, it seems surprising that these two ladies delivered delicious tacos without the immediate use of an oven.

So, pull your head out of your ass, head on out to Adams Morgan to eat some good tacos, pupusas, tortas, and other Latin American dishes que estan preperado chingon.

-Chancho

Tacos con La Mara

Last weekend we were fortunate enough to come across a taco truck in Arlington, VA. It is located in the parking lot of the BP gas station on Columbia Pike in between S. Buchanan St and S. Wakefield St. Being a Salvadoran taco truck I was initially skeptical of the tacos, but found that the beef tacos were quite good. Topped with the classic chopped onion, and cilantro, and a slightly spicy salsa verde they were simple, and delicious. What really matters though at this establishment are the pupusas. Pupusas are essentially El Salvador’s version of the quesadilla. Generally filled with cheese, frijoles, chicharron or some combination of the three. They are always served with a cabbage slaw and some sort of salsa. If you have never had pupusas I strongly suggest that you leave your house immediately and find this truck. These were some of the best pupusas I have ever had. We stayed around the spot for about 30 minutes and noticed that the clientele was strictly Hispanic which is always a good sign.  Be warned though, this taco truck is frequented by members of La Mara Salvatrucha, an international Latino gang that we will discuss in more depth later on. Overall, this taco truck is worth a visit and can expect our business in the future.    

-Taco Pato

Bienvenidos Patos

This post marks the monumental opening of a blog that aims to improve the general public’s misguided perception of a good taco.  So, we begin our journey in the Washington DC Metropolitan area, providing reviews, recipes, and, most likely, brutal, relentless, and unadulterated criticism.  While the main focus of this blog is the determined pursuit of a delectable taco, we will also explore and discuss the richness and depth of Latin American culture and cuisine.     

Salud

-Chancho