Earlier this year, the Michelin guide released its first Mexican edition. Among the 18 major establishments awarded at least one star was a fee-paying taqueria located in Mexico City’s working-class San Rafael neighborhood called The Caliph of León. The only street food stand to make the list, it’s been open since 1968. And now, thanks to the Michelin star, it’s probably the only taco stand in Mexico where the wait time can be up to three hours.
On my recent visit to Mexico City, the line was a much more reasonable 25 minutes. The 10-by-10-foot taco stand is located in a series of similarly sized units on a busy sidewalk and the line snakes past the nearby men’s clothing store where an array of boxers, jockstraps and thongs are exposed to the outside. There are four tacos on the menu at El Califa – three beef (tenderloin, rib and “gaonera” or tenderloin) and one pork (chop). They cost between 53 and 82 Mexican pesos (around £2-3). Each comes with a lime wedge. You can add spicy green or red salsa. These are simple tacos (“elementary and pure”, as the Michelin guide describes them) which stand out for the quality of their freshly prepared tortillas and meat.
However, ask locals about El Califa and you might be surprised by the reactions. “Nothing special,” is what one person told me; an indication of the city’s wealth of exceptional taco shops and how loyal people are to their favorites. However, everyone agrees on the importance of having a taquería on the first edition of the Michelin. Tacos originate from Mexico. Tacos remain at the heart of Mexican culture. Eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner and at 3 a.m. by clubbers and barflies, tacos are a source of national pride.
Tacos have now taken over the world, giving rise to everything from Taco Tuesdays to the popular Netflix documentary series. Taco Chronicles. In London alone, a handful of taco shops have opened this year, including that of Lucy in Hackney Wick and the much publicized Tacos CDMX in Soho. One of the reasons for the taco’s popularity is the brand’s obvious advantage that “taco” is easy to pronounce. Tacos are also quick to eat (just two bites) and require few ingredients: a tortilla, meat (or similar), and salsa. But their greatest asset is surely their gluttony.
‘A taco is a complex flavor bomb,’ says London-based chef Santiago Lastrawho grew up in a small town south of Mexico and was my guide on my trip. “A taco has the umami of caramelized meat on the grill, the creaminess of the avocado, the sweetness and heat of the salsa, the texture of the crunchy onions, the herbaceous notes of the cilantro, the heat of the chili peppers, the kokumi (rich taste) of the calcium from the tortillas and the acidity of the lime.”
Upon returning to Mexico City, Lastra tends to enjoy his favorite tacos at a no-frills restaurant. Taqueria Los Cocuyos at the Historic Center. These are made from different parts of the animal’s head and include the “creamy” ojo (eye), the “gelatinous” trompa (snout), the “crispy” trunco de oreja (ears), and the lengua (language). But this time, Lastra takes us The dozena fresh oyster and seafood bar in the trendy Roma neighborhood, where the meal starts with their signature grilled octopus tostada topped with pineapple, raw onion, chili, guacamole and cilantro. This is followed by another local delicacy that Lastra wants us to taste, tacos de escamoles, whose key ingredient are rice-like grains that turn out to be ant larvae, also known as Mexican caviar . A trip to San Juan Market (a traditional food market in the Cuauhtémoc district) offers more difficult varieties in the form of lion, tiger, crocodile and tarantula meat tacos, all apparently reserved for tourists.
In other places like Seedling dining room and neighbors Taqueria plantation At Polanco, the emphasis is on the quality of the tortillas. Here, they use locally grown seasonal corn, which is believed to promote biodiversity, more sustainable farming practices, and better well-being of farming communities than the industrialized GMO crops that have become dominant in Mexico. In Siembra, this corn is made into masa (through a process known as nixtamalization) and then into tortillas. The approach is reflected in the rich flavor and color of their tortilla.
Leaving the city, we drive for two hours to TepoztlánLastra’s hometown, where we visit the liveliest local food and craft market on Saturday mornings. Here, women flip a tortilla on a giant comic (smooth and flat plates). Vendors sell all kinds of salsa, including those made from hibiscus, guava, tamarind, grasshopper and “Coca-Cola”. And patrons crowd the benches with fans waiting to receive breakfast tacos and quesadillas. I love a barbacoa taco made from mutton cooked slowly in a pit oven for several hours. It is accompanied by a restorative broth made from its cooking juices.
The taco I have at home is a close second. Princess Taqueriawhich is located opposite the old Lastra high school. This place was a regular childhood haunt. Outside, a taquero cuts reddish-marinated pork on a vertical roasting pan. Pineapple and salsa will be added to create Mexico’s most popular variety, the al pastor taco. At 18 Mexican pesos, it might be the best 70p I’ve ever spent.
Outside of Mexico, tacos have played a key role in the growing appreciation of regional cuisine and Mexican gastronomy. HAS Taqueria Sonora in London and Sonoratown in Los Angeles, for example, you get flour tortillas (instead of corn) which are a staple of the Sonora region of northern Mexico. At Lastra Kol In London’s Marylebone, the langoustine taco, made with Scottish langoustines, sea buckthorn and sourdough tortillas, embodies the marriage of Mexican cuisine and British ingredients.
HAS FondaLastra’s latest opening on London’s Regent Street, the menu includes a Baja taco made with beer-battered cod and a series of mains like slow-cooked short rib with mole poblano accompanied by corn tortillas. These dishes can be compiled into tacos or eaten as stews with tortilla like bread to scoop and pat dry. “If everything goes bad, I’ll move to Mexico and start a taco van,” Lastra says, before correcting himself: “No, if everything goes well!” Feeding people tacos is the dream.
Lastra insists that nothing beats the way tacos are prepared in their home country, where high standards are a given: “Everything has to be fresh, not pre-prepared and reheated.” And everything is done at the rate of two to three hundred tacos per hour. He adds: “A taquero has as much experience as a sushi master, so seeing a taquería be recognized by Michelin and hopefully more to come makes me proud, as a Mexican.” »
Ajesh Patalay traveled as a guest of Fonda
