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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 29, 2011 19:51:19 GMT
For years there was a Friday market in tiny Conzatti Park. One of the highlights was the opportunity to eat fabulous tacos in the few taco stands there. The first time my sister & brother-in-law visited me in Oaxaca, it was our first stop on the way back from the airport. They deemed it the perfect introduction to the city. I used to live and work near Conzatti, so went weekly to that market. Later, I retired and moved out of the city. Then time, renovation, and crowding forced the Friday market to move to nearby, much larger El Llano park. All of that meant that I hadn't penetrated further than the outside edges of the market's new venue for ages. So when I kept hearing about people going to El Llano to eat tacos, I was puzzled. That's because the few taco stands in the previous location were also to be found on other days in other weekly markets, so no reason to make a special trip. I was in for a surprise. Let's go see ~~ These were taken yesterday, the Friday before the days of the dead, which explains the interesting clothing of the little girl we're following. Okay, we're at the northeast corner of the park. Beyond the stands you can glimpse Guadalupe church. Yes, yes -- the church is pretty, but we're on a misson. Let's keep moving! Our noses have told us we're approaching food, but oh my stars! It seems like acres of awnings, tables, people, and smoking griddles and grills stretching off into infinity. On the side closest to the park, regular market stands are set up as well. They're also selling seasonal items such a sweet potatoes cooked in syrup or whole sugar-crystallized hubbard squashes. The sugar cane stalks are for forming arches over the day of the dead altars. The man eating one of those icky red sausage tostadas is in front of a table where tejate is sold. Big signs announce the specialties. Arrachera (steak) tacos are a big feature here, but goat, sheep, and chicken are also represented.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 29, 2011 20:01:53 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 29, 2011 20:11:15 GMT
Have you had your Vitamin T this week? Beverages abound ~ ... and there's ice cream from this gleaming wagon ~ You all won't believe this, but I have not found what I want in this section. No, I have my appetite set for something else. So, let's leave this paradise and turn back into the regular part of the market. I admit that's lovely and smells fabulous, but it's not for me right now. My nose tells me we've arrived. This stand with the flying hands sells tacos de tripa -- chittlings. It has other things, too, such as this goat barbecue being prepared for folding into tortillas. They try to keep these bins replenished, but it's hard to keep up with so many hungry diners. That griddle where some of the tripas are preheating is also where the tortillas heat & soak up essential yummy grease. And there it is, behind the spattered glass, the only tripas to be had in this vast market. Thanks for coming with me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta eat!
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Post by auntieannie on Oct 30, 2011 11:16:32 GMT
booking my flight as I type!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2011 21:33:29 GMT
Oh, great! It looks like the food centers in Singapore or Saigon (among other places). The more these vendors group together, the better the food gets!
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Post by Don Cuevas on Nov 1, 2011 14:08:27 GMT
Wonderful! We have been there, about 3 years ago. We ate barbacoa and I had an agua fresca de guanábana. We are droolingly anticipating our next visit, in about 2 months. But first, OMG, we have to lose weight. We probably won't want any carnitas estilo Michoacán while there.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 1, 2011 14:39:50 GMT
You'd better train for the event, because I think the food court is much bigger than when you were here last.
Great pics & this thread lacked specific food photos, so thanks. The guanábana water would be the one with the eyeballs floating in it, right?
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Post by Don Cuevas on Nov 1, 2011 15:58:10 GMT
Yes; the Giant Frog's Eggs, or, you prefer, slithery eyeballs.
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Post by auntieannie on Nov 1, 2011 21:58:15 GMT
perfectly seasonal... what are guanabana, btw? they do look like giant frog spawn.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Nov 2, 2011 8:39:13 GMT
Guanábana= Soursop.
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Post by hwinpp on Nov 6, 2011 4:21:10 GMT
Oh, lovely! More taco discussion please.
Hard shell, soft shell, masa?
And more taco pics!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2011 18:05:52 GMT
Oh, the Cambodian taco freak is at it again....
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 7, 2011 19:26:24 GMT
That's my boy! HW, I don't know of any hard shell tacos in Mexico, which is not to say positively that they don't exist. There are tostadas, which are open crisp tortillas piled with a variety of stuff. ^^^ those are the kind made with the fairly tasteless Oaxacan red sausage -- like a summer sausage item, but boring. I did something appalling & just plain dumb yesterday, although it may work out in the end. It was late afternoon and there was nothing much to eat in the house. Accordingly, I went a few blocks away to the highway where there are several permanent taco places for beef, pork, or chicken, with one having goat goodies on Sundays. I wound up in a pork joint I'd been wanting to try & asked for a quarter kilo to take away. (I always get surtido -- regular meat & all the mystery piggy parts mixed together.) This comes with tortillas & a variety of things to customize your taco. Now, I was really hungry at that time & fairly stupid all the time. I start thinking that a quarter wasn't enough (for one person!) and sort of slid into thinking in pounds rather than metric. So I told the guy to let me have three-quarters instead. As he chopped & weighed, I saw the other workers opening my bags of relish and salsa & adding a great deal more. "That's overkill", I thought. It wasn't until I was handed the very heavy bag & paid that I realized what I'd done. It's really, really, really good, though! I got a bunch of tortillas with it, plus a fabulous version of guacamole salsa, also red salsa and a habanero/red onion relish, plus chopped onion, cilantro, and tomatoes. I have some leftover white rice & it occurs to me that some of the taco meat would make a yummy fried rice dish.
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Post by komsomol on Nov 7, 2011 19:43:33 GMT
Can you freeze any of it? That's what I do.
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Post by hwinpp on Nov 8, 2011 8:18:30 GMT
Thanks for the 'tostada' info. Now I'll be able to speak with authority when the discussions move in the taco direction. There's a new Mexican restaurant here that everybody is raving about...
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Post by Don Cuevas on Nov 8, 2011 9:49:26 GMT
"Tacos dorados" are crisp shelled. There are rolled, cigar shape tacos dorados, also known as "flautas", usually filled with shredded chicken. They don't much resemble tacos as we think of them. But here in Pátzcuaro, at least, there are at least two vendors selling from rolling carts crisp shelled tacos filled with beans, cheese, and I don't know all what else, although it appears that meat does not enter into them. Good thing, too, as these tacos dorados, with very brown fried bent shells, have ingredients prepared in advance and filled and served on the spot at ambient temperatures. I have been very tempted to try these inexpensive snacks, but prudence has restrained me.
But I have seen customers, lined up 4 or 5 deep, buying these tacos in 4's and 5's.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 9, 2011 2:17:44 GMT
Those fried flautas are good if you're teething. That's interesting about the tacos dorados, Don Cuevas. Do you think the idea was imported from el otro lado, or that it's a local aberration? I don't worry about ambient temperatures anymore. That's how people ate for ages before there was refrigeration. Also, you know all those people at the bent shells place are probably repeat customers. I ate something today that would horrify you -- pre-fried red snapper, which had been setting greasily in plastic bags in the sun. It was hot today, too. I know it must have been made yesterday, besides, because the vendor makes a six hour trip from the coast to set up at Tuesday's market. Honestly, it was delicious & I'll have it again. I ate it @ four hours ago, so I'd be dead by now if there were something wrong with it. HW, forgot to address the masa question. Here where I live, the tortillas are almost always of corn. However, there's a popular variation called a gringa -- al pastor meat (pork) on a wheat tortilla with oaxacan string cheese. It's actually a quesadilla, technically. Recycling this youtube video I made. It's my favorite pork taco stand in Zaachila. Sorry, Komsomol -- I didn't thank you for your suggestion, which is a good one. I did use a great deal of meat in fried rice, which I must say was an excellent idea.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Nov 9, 2011 11:10:19 GMT
Bixa, I don't know if they are imported from el otro lado or not, but whether local in origin or not, why refer to them as an aberration? They are just another type of antojito. Yes, seeing locals line up and get 3, 4, 5 tacos dorados at a go is confidence building. (I'm know that you are subtly urging me to go try some. Maybe I will. We have plenty of antibiotics and Lactobacillus capsules on hand at home.)
And, in the interests of hygiene, the taco vendor does use tongs to spread the shells open before filling them with a spoon.
The wife of the main tacos dorados guy also delivers them to local businesses, so how can they be bad? Yeah! ¡Ándale, pues!
EDIT: The tacos in your video appear to be of carnitas, although not cooked in the copper kettle which is required here by Michoacán law. ;D
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 9, 2011 19:03:27 GMT
I have my prejudices, yes I do. Deep-fried tortillas is one of them. I never order tostadas because I don't see the point of trying to get at possibly tasty foodstuffs balanced on something unnecessarily greasy that will break as soon as I bite it, scattering the part I really want here & there. I realize I'm in a micro-miniscule minority here. I will eat tortilla chips, even though I disapprove of myself with every bite.
Yes, carnitas in the video. I didn't know that about the copper kettles in Michoacán! Are carnitas outside of Michoacán law ever as good? I'll just have to keep trying them everywhere I can until able to pronounce on that issue.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Nov 10, 2011 9:10:21 GMT
Some carnitas in Michoacán are good, others less so. Some are downright bad. The best carnitas we ever had were in Bernal, Querétaro, at Carnitas La Peña. They were the best because the cooking kettle was right there where the carnitas were being served, not off in some remote kitchen. Some of the best carnitas we've had in Michoacán have been at La Mesa de Blanca in Ziracuaretiro. But they have become pricey, at $30 pesos per taco.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Nov 10, 2011 9:38:30 GMT
I did look yesterday for the tacos dorados cart, but I think I was too early, as they weren't present at their usual street corner. So I sufficed with a gordita de frijol and one of nopales, large patties of maíz, at #10 pesos each, sold by the señora under the portales. I was able to eat about half of each as they were under seasoned and dull; and the gordita de frijol was pretty stodgy. I just reheated them in a skillet, added some sliced mozz cheese and made a quick salsa fresca cruda.
Picture may follow. I want to eat these while they're hot.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 10, 2011 17:01:15 GMT
Thirty pesos for a taco?! "Pricey" doesn't quite cover that! The tacos in the video were 6 pesos at that time. You all have seen this stand before, as it's my preferred stop in the Abastos market. The tacos and the beverages there are 8 pesos. I used to get three tacos in Zaachila & was always quite full after eating them. At this place, I only get two, & still have plenty to eat. The meat on Don Cuevas's blue tortillas looks nicer because it's chopped less and because I request less maciza meat -- pure meat, such as loin -- on mine. The tortillas in his picture were probably made on site, whereas most taco stands here use commercial tortillas. One thing I loved about Jalapa (capital of Veracruz) was that all stands made their tortillas right there on the spot.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 10, 2011 17:30:51 GMT
Oh yeah ~~ someone needs to expound on gorditas. I can't just nip out & get a picture as easily as I could when I lived on the border. They have them here -- a Doña Tota at one of the malls, & I've seen a cart at Abastos -- but they're exotica. I was told that gorditas in Ciudad Juarez are huge things, hamburger sized.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Nov 10, 2011 18:43:24 GMT
Oh yeah ~~ someone needs to expound on gorditas. I can't just nip out & get a picture as easily as I could when I lived on the border. They have them here -- a Doña Tota at one of the malls, & I've seen a cart at Abastos -- but they're exotica. I was told that gorditas in Ciudad Juarez are huge things, hamburger sized. I didn't have anything but a wretched phone camera when I bought the gorditas yesterday. I have some old photos of the vendors seated under the portales. I'll see if I can locate them but can't post until later. Here's one, reposted: This was at La Reina de La Roma, Colonia Roma Sur, México, DF. I did get a shot or two of the reheated gorditas I had for breakfast. But they are, truly, aberrant.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 10, 2011 19:12:52 GMT
Oh, that's very big -- thick, too. I only know the Doña Totas, which may be the "sliders", i.e. Krystal-type representatives of the gordita genre.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Nov 11, 2011 8:45:41 GMT
Continuing with a few, non-taco antojitos. A "huarache" at La Reina de La Roma, Colonia Roma Sur, México, DF. This is more serious, plate, knife and fork eating. These are some simple sopes, sold out of a home in Morelia. I've since learned to remove crumbled napkins and other basura from my food scene before snapping the pic. An artsy PhotoShop rendering of assorted antojitos in a sárten (frying pan), near the Quiroga, Michoacán mercado. These are all older photos, taken with my now defunct Fuji FinePix camera. More recent tacorama follows. (A couple of pix don't show up because of weird Pbase protocols. I can't be bothered to repost them. You ain't missing much. You should be able to see them here: www.pbase.com/panos/street_food&page=all)
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Post by Don Cuevas on Nov 11, 2011 9:20:01 GMT
Más tacomanía, of more recent vintage. Lenten fish and potato tacos, Pátzcuaro. These are among my favorites. Next, at Tacos "Nachos", with a prime location at the front of the Pátzcuaro Mercado, no nachos are offered, but a nice basic variety of typical tacos: bistek, chorizo, tripas, and cabeza. There's a little condiment and salad bar off to one side, but we've never been able to reach it due to the crowds. Maybe just as well. The tacos are fine with a splash of salsa roja or verde, and a scattering of chopped onions and cilantro. The workers are our neighbors from our pueblito. The owner is nicknamed "Nacho". There's a YouTube video on this taquería. This is not it, but probably more colorful. This IS it, with our neighbors busily at work, plus the addition of the chava buenota (buxom lass) interviewing them. They are so intent on work, they barely notice the interviewer's, err, charms.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Nov 11, 2011 9:42:17 GMT
The most beautiful antojitos I have ever seen were in Guanajuato Capital, at the overlook near the El Pípila monument. But they weren't the best, as it was a slow day for sales, and the antojitos had sat on the comal, drying out. Still, not bad. More, continuing here: tinyurl.com/Gtofoods
More recently (early September, 2011), I took photos and a short video of a woman making quesadillas and tlacoyos of blue corn masa, on a street corner in Colonia Roma Norte, México, DF. They are delicious. In our next seminar meeting, we can discuss tlacoyos.
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Post by mickthecactus on Nov 11, 2011 13:39:38 GMT
This IS it, with our neighbors busily at work, plus the addition of the chava buenota (buxom lass) interviewing them. They are so intent on work, they barely notice the interviewer's, err, charms. I didn't even notice them working.............. ;D
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Post by mickthecactus on Nov 11, 2011 13:42:15 GMT
How does that woman balance that little sheep on her head?
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