What IS a taco?

RE: What IS a taco? (lone nut)

Thu, 13 Oct 2005 03:02:14 GMT

I'm happy for those who like an uncooked tortilla, tough chunks of unseasoned beef, and enough cilantro to overpower everything in its wake. I just don't appreciate the attack on the crisp taco at Ojeda's in Dallas. The one on Maple Ave. Someone mentioned another place with a secret ingredient: finely chopped potato in the beef, just like they make 'em at Ojeda's. Keeps the meat moist and savory, not dry and crumbly, and without a hint of grease. The shells and chips are made in house at Ojeda's, and they are so delicate, so light, they are a dream. You can't really pick up the taco, the shell just collapses. Try a fork. The lettuce has just a little wilt to it (like the salads at Campisi's), the tomatoes are superfluous, and there is no need for cheese even. If this is an abomination, please explain why the place has been packed, lunch and dinner, seven days, since they opened in 1969. Check the web and you'll hear folks like me who have moved away crying about Ojeda's. And it was just plain mean to post a picture of the Ojeda's product, when nobody can sample it online.

RE: What IS a taco? (Scorereader)

Fri, 09 Sep 2005 19:09:13 GMT

It's a type of bell.

Hand Bell, Bar Bell, School Bell, Liberty Bell, and Taco Bell. see?

RE: What IS a taco? (Sandy Eggo)

Fri, 09 Sep 2005 15:12:01 GMT

Bill, thanks for fixing the link! I was going to add that being here in SoCal I live in the womb of the fast food places. Jack In The Box stated here in San Diego and their food lab and corporate office is about 2 miles from my office in Kearny Mesa. Taco Bell was started by a guy named Bell in the LA area, and Rubio's Mexican Grill (Fish Taco fame) started here in Pacific Beach. Of course there's McDonalds, Fatburger, In N Out, Bob's Big Boy and Tommy's all began here in SoCal. This is a fast food place.

RE: What IS a taco? (Sandy Eggo)

Fri, 09 Sep 2005 15:07:45 GMT

Bill, yeah I figured it wouldn't take long for a reply about that! I called them an abomination of the Taco, I didn't say they weren't good! Actually I grew up on that food living here in San Diego. But as I get old(er) I eat that kind of food way less often. At 99 cents for two you can't beat it.

RE: What IS a taco? (1bbqboy)

Fri, 09 Sep 2005 14:21:36 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Sandy Eggo

The biggest abomination of the Taco is sold at Jack-In-The-Box. If there is a lowest of the low, the JBX Taco is it. But believe it or not, they are popular junk food. This is from their press release on their web site:

600 Jack in the Box tacos are eaten each minute, a total of 315,360,000 tacos each year.
• Placed end to end, the number of Jack in the Box tacos sold each year would reach a distance of approximately 28,500 miles, more than once around the earth.
Out West there are a couple of chains Del Taco and Rubio’s do a good fast food representation of the “street taco.”

Sandy, you won't win many friends around here by dissing our beloved Jack in the Box Tacos.
For what they are, they're a great deal.
I think this is a link that works:
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/recipes/puebla/kgtacos1.html

RE: What IS a taco? (Sandy Eggo)

Fri, 09 Sep 2005 12:46:31 GMT

Many taco stand offer several different meat preparations like tongue, tripe, goat, lobster and even veggie – avocado. One thing most taco stands have is many different salsa available; hot, mild, green, red, hot carrots and jalapeños.

This link tells the history to current day story of the taco…
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:y6H3i7id_LQJ:www.mexconnect.com/mex_/recipes/puebla/kgtacos1.html+street+taco&hl=en

I live in Southern California and it seems like we have taco stands or Mexican food joints every block. So I’m a Mexican food connoisseur.

The biggest abomination of the Taco is sold at Jack-In-The-Box. If there is a lowest of the low, the JBX Taco is it. But believe it or not, they are popular junk food. This is from their press release on their web site:

600 Jack in the Box tacos are eaten each minute, a total of 315,360,000 tacos each year.
• Placed end to end, the number of Jack in the Box tacos sold each year would reach a distance of approximately 28,500 miles, more than once around the earth.
Out West there are a couple of chains Del Taco and Rubio’s do a good fast food representation of the “street taco.”

We have a local restaurant this is all the rage for taco lovers. If you’re out this way and want to try some authentic tacos, this is a “road food” stop for sure…
Mama Testa Taqueria http://entertainment.signonsandiego.com/profile/273203

BT, thanks for the thread and the great pictures.

RE: What IS a taco? (AndreaB)

Fri, 09 Sep 2005 11:57:03 GMT

I like my tacos in a crunchy hard corn based shell with diced tomatoes, spicy ground beef, green onions, cilantro, avocado, sour cream and cheddar cheese. I never cared much for the "soft" tacos, though I do like enchiladas, fajitas, and burritos. If I'm having a taco, I want it to crunch.

Andrea

RE: What IS a taco? (ohman)

Fri, 26 Aug 2005 08:15:43 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Michael Hoffman

quote:
Originally posted by BT

At places like Taco Bell, a taco is ground meat slopped into a U-shaped, deep fried tortilla. That is an abomination. THIS is the kind of taco I like:

That's the kind of taco I remember from when I lived in Texas.

I have a guy bring me some of these from Dallas today, God what a great lunch I am having!

RE: What IS a taco? (BT)

Fri, 26 Aug 2005 02:48:33 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by UncleVic

around here, normally tacos are made out of corn tortilas (folded or fried in a folded position), and burritos are made out of flour tortilla shells..

Same here--I forgot about the flour vs corn.

RE: What IS a taco? (UncleVic)

Fri, 26 Aug 2005 01:34:24 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by angeltx

My husband ask me one day what's the differents between a taco and a burrito? here was my answer, doesn't matter whats inside.

if you fold in half it's a taco
if you can roll it it's a burrito
(well I thought it was a good answer)

I agree with BT in the post above.. But around here, normally tacos are made out of corn tortilas (folded or fried in a folded position), and burritos are made out of flour tortilla shells..
And BT, I envy you having 18" shells available... Ones around here are alot smaller and fairly thick for what they should be... (about 12 to 13" on the average)...

RE: What IS a taco? (BT)

Thu, 25 Aug 2005 14:28:23 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by angeltx

My husband ask me one day what's the differents between a taco and a burrito? here was my answer, doesn't matter whats inside.

if you fold in half it's a taco
if you can roll it it's a burrito
(well I thought it was a good answer)

It is a good answer and it's more or less true, but where I live they use HUGE tortillas (maybe 18" in diameter) for burritos and tend to stuff them pretty full with various things besides the meat (rice, beans, avocado, salsa, lettuce, tomato, chiles etc etc)--or even just leave out the meat which is a way I personally like them--whereas the tacos are made with 2 regular size tortillas, meat, a little salsa and/or cilantro and not a lot else.

RE: What IS a taco? (Michael Hoffman)

Thu, 25 Aug 2005 13:54:54 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by BT

At places like Taco Bell, a taco is ground meat slopped into a U-shaped, deep fried tortilla. That is an abomination. THIS is the kind of taco I like:

That's the kind of taco I remember from when I lived in Texas.

RE: What IS a taco? (angeltx)

Thu, 25 Aug 2005 13:39:33 GMT

My husband ask me one day what's the differents between a taco and a burrito? here was my answer, doesn't matter whats inside.

if you fold in half it's a taco
if you can roll it it's a burrito
(well I thought it was a good answer)

RE: What IS a taco? (BT)

Wed, 24 Aug 2005 19:47:09 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Williamsburger

This discussion and the yummy pics along with it give me hope that someday I'll find a place that I can eat Mexican/Tex-Mex/NM-Mex/California-Mex Etc. Etc. without fear of ending up in the loo for a good part of the evening. I'm alergic/sensative to peppers - not just hot peppers, *any* peppers. A lot of places seem to cook the peppers into the chicken or beef (ground or not) and I have a hard time explaining I can't eat that (how do you say "alergic" in Spainish?). I've found a place in Williamsburger that has a few dishes where the peppers can be left out (carnitas, quesidillas) but I'm always very leary about going to a new Mexican (not a *New* Mexican) place. Recently it took me 3 tries to get a fish taco withou the pico de gaillo (spelling?) on it.

sigh
Cathy

First of all, let me say I suffer from the some difficulty with peppers. I suppose your situation may be more severe than my own because I love the taste of 'em so I just suffer through with it.

Now that that's out of the way, let me say that around here, there are plenty of places such as Taqueria La Cumbre that, when they make a beef taco, do it by throwing a piece of skirt steak on the grill (over flames), cooking it, tossing it onto a chopping block, chopping it up with a cleaver and putting the bits onto your taco, then adding whatver else you want. There are no peppers essentially involved, though there are plenty of them available to be added if you want. Carnitas, my favorite is similar--the basic meat is just roasted pork. The chicken does tend to be stewed in a sauce that probably contains some peppers so you could avoid that. But what I'm saying is that, at the taquerias around here, the peppers are most often put on as a condiment and can be avoided easily so there is plenty of hope for you. At sit-down places it's different. There, with tacos or enchilladas, it's usually "chicken or beef?" and the meat is stewed in a sauce that might well involved peppers in either case. So I'd stick to eating these foods at a taqueria where you can watch the guy make it and tell him exactly what you want on it.

RE: What IS a taco? (Williamsburger)

Wed, 24 Aug 2005 16:36:34 GMT

This discussion and the yummy pics along with it give me hope that someday I'll find a place that I can eat Mexican/Tex-Mex/NM-Mex/California-Mex Etc. Etc. without fear of ending up in the loo for a good part of the evening. I'm alergic/sensative to peppers - not just hot peppers, *any* peppers. A lot of places seem to cook the peppers into the chicken or beef (ground or not) and I have a hard time explaining I can't eat that (how do you say "alergic" in Spainish?). I've found a place in Williamsburger that has a few dishes where the peppers can be left out (carnitas, quesidillas) but I'm always very leary about going to a new Mexican (not a *New* Mexican) place. Recently it took me 3 tries to get a fish taco withou the pico de gaillo (spelling?) on it.

sigh
Cathy

RE: What IS a taco? (Gizmolito)

Mon, 22 Aug 2005 21:26:18 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Theedge

Well had you been in Austin, MN this last weekend you could have had Spam fajitas at the annual Hormel Spam Jam celebration. Jim Belushi came with his band; I guess the guy’s a real prick. Don’t bother trying to make them if you’re not in Austin, wouldn’t taste the same. Something about topography, altitude, longitude & latitude, transit times and the equinox. I laugh at the Iowans across the border when they tell me they make a good Spam fajita. Hell, I’ll never try one. You’re supposed to eat pork chops in Iowa! You just can’t get good quality Spam outside of Austin.

Just having some fun, I know what you’re saying. They all look delicious. I was thinking about smoking a pork butt and then stewing it in some seasonings, I can imagine some good results. Maybe I’ll take some pics!

"I laugh at the Iowans across the border..." It doesn't get much funnier than that! Thank for that!

RE: What IS a taco? (ohman)

Mon, 22 Aug 2005 20:32:37 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by BT

At places like Taco Bell, a taco is ground meat slopped into a U-shaped, deep fried tortilla. That is an abomination. THIS is the kind of taco I like:

THIS is the kind of meat that should go on it (it is NOT ground):

The tortillas are corn but unfried. Two of them are layed flat and the meat (such as carnitas, my favorite, but also possibly chili verde, chicken or whatever), salsa, a few jalapenos if desired and some cilatro are ladeled onto them. You pick the thing up and fold it into the U-shape in your hand to eat.

If you go into almost any non-chain taqueria in San Francisco and order a taco, this is what you get and they are both cheap and good.

Other opinions?

One of my customers brought me some tacos that looked just like this last Friday. He got them somewhere in Dallas...God were they awesome!They sent some green hot sauce too, it was VERY hot but so good. I am ready for more.

RE: What IS a taco? (1bbqboy)

Sun, 21 Aug 2005 23:42:03 GMT

Some of my favorite tacos have ground beef. The late, lamented La Cocina in KCK-Deep fried tacos held shut with clothes pins so the inside ingredients steamed. I long for an order of 6. The much discussed Jack-in-the-Box> 2/$.99 bellybusters. A worthy successor.

Any taco-a folded corn tortilla/with fillings-is good; some are just better.....

RE: What IS a taco? (carlton pierre)

Sun, 21 Aug 2005 22:35:54 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by bill voss

Guanajuato is Ashland's sister city too. Our creekside dining and artshow area also carrys that name. Lots of ceremonial stuff
between the 2 burgs.
On tacos, we just had a new place open called Agave.
http://www.dailytidings.com/2005/0531/053105back.shtml
The owner previously
owned the fish & chips place in town. It's 2nd generation new-taco, rather than authentic, I guess, with lobster & duck tacos among the offerings. I haven't
been there yet.
In this thread,
http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6347
Lavanda gives pretty accurate definitions of "antojitos', all related
and becoming americanized, tacos included.

I had my appendix taken out in Guanajuato so I know the hospital there. I love tacos just like the ones in BT's photo and just made a couple using chorizo with a little garlic, fresh cilantro, some marinated carrots and jalapeno, a little cheese and some sauce.

RE: What IS a taco? (BT)

Tue, 21 Jun 2005 22:29:30 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by fpczyz

I suspect that the 6 million illegal Mexican in this country really didn't come here for the work they came here for our TACOS.... and profess "con el taco en la mano todos somos hermanos"

A fair number of them find work supplying the rest (of them and us) with tacos. Down in Tucson, folks selling tacos off a truck pulled up on the side of the road are very common and I suspect many of them aren't well-documented (although the owners of the trucks may well be long-time citizens). I've seen a similar phenomenon mainly in SoCal.

RE: What IS a taco? (1bbqboy)

Tue, 21 Jun 2005 10:27:15 GMT

Guanajuato is Ashland's sister city too. Our creekside dining and artshow area also carries that name. Lots of ceremonial stuff
between the 2 burgs.
On tacos, we just had a new place open called Agave.
http://www.dailytidings.com/2005/0531/053105back.shtml
The owner previously
owned the fish & chips place in town. It's 2nd generation new-taco, rather than authentic, I guess, with lobster & duck tacos among the offerings. I haven't
been there yet.
In this thread,
http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6347
Lavanda gives pretty accurate definitions of "antojitos', all related
and becoming americanized, tacos included.

RE: What IS a taco? (tiki)

Tue, 21 Jun 2005 10:23:21 GMT

Great thread all in all!!! and wonderful pics!!!---got to get down to Texas and try those "Puffy" totilla tacos----and the lamb!!!

RE: What IS a taco? (carlton pierre)

Tue, 21 Jun 2005 09:56:12 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by fpczyz

Great Pics ...Doc & Scott
a taco is a taco is a taco............... call it what you want as long as your camarero serves it up the way you like it... It's all gringo food anyway served here in the USofA or the border towns of Mexico. Forty miles south of the border one would be hard pressed to find a taco that looked like the one BT is showing......... I went to art school at the University of Guanajuato and for the three years I lived in the heart of Mexico I cant remember ever eating a taco. A taco then was a very very peasant food prepared and sold on the streets in neighborhoods you have no business being in. The tacos were usually made of goat meat and fried in some God awful grease on top of a 55 gallon steel drum cutoff. It was also the primary source of "the curse of Montezuma"
We here in the USofA celebrate the TACO and present it as beautifully as BT just did in his photo here. It's wonderful and the Mexican American community gave it a new life as only we folks here can do. I suspect that the 6 million illegal Mexican in this country really didn't come here for the work they came here for our TACOS.... and profess "con el taco en la mano todos somos hermanos"

I had my appendix removed in the hospital at Guanajuato. A most lovely city.

RE: What IS a taco? (Theedge)

Tue, 21 Jun 2005 08:31:23 GMT

Well had you been in Austin, MN this last weekend you could have had Spam fajitas at the annual Hormel Spam Jam celebration. Jim Belushi came with his band; I guess the guy’s a real prick. Don’t bother trying to make them if you’re not in Austin, wouldn’t taste the same. Something about topography, altitude, longitude & latitude, transit times and the equinox. I laugh at the Iowans across the border when they tell me they make a good Spam fajita. Hell, I’ll never try one. You’re supposed to eat pork chops in Iowa! You just can’t get good quality Spam outside of Austin.

Just having some fun, I know what you’re saying. They all look delicious. I was thinking about smoking a pork butt and then stewing it in some seasonings, I can imagine some good results. Maybe I’ll take some pics!

RE: What IS a taco? (Jennifer_4)

Tue, 21 Jun 2005 03:43:44 GMT

Oh heck whatever tastes good... I'm sure many of you would shudder if you saw what goes into some of my homemade "tacos".. or enchiladas, or tamales...

RE: What IS a taco? (sizz)

Tue, 21 Jun 2005 01:28:40 GMT

Great Pics ...Doc & Scott
a taco is a taco is a taco............... call it what you want as long as your camarero serves it up the way you like it... It's all gringo food anyway served here in the USofA or the border towns of Mexico. Forty miles south of the border one would be hard pressed to find a taco that looked like the one BT is showing......... I went to art school at the University of Guanajuato and for the three years I lived in the heart of Mexico I cant remember ever eating a taco. A taco then was a very very peasant food prepared and sold on the streets in neighborhoods you have no business being in. The tacos were usually made of goat meat and fried in some God awful grease on top of a 55 gallon steel drum cutoff. It was also the primary source of "the curse of Montezuma"
We here in the USofA celebrate the TACO and present it as beautifully as BT just did in his photo here. It's wonderful and the Mexican American community gave it a new life as only we folks here can do. I suspect that the 6 million illegal Mexican in this country really didn't come here for the work they came here for our TACOS.... and profess "con el taco en la mano todos somos hermanos"

RE: What IS a taco? (UncleVic)

Mon, 20 Jun 2005 23:24:48 GMT

BT and Scott, you both did justice to this thread! The first time (back in '85) I had a real taco as pictured above I couldnt figure out what the "secret ingredient" was.. ha ha... It was served lightly oiled soft corn shell, with something that tasted like hash browns. I for years thought it was the oil they used to slightly fry the shells in... Turns out it was the potatoes they added to the meat mixture. Who would have figured... After ya have one you're hooked for life!

RE: What IS a taco? (BT)

Mon, 20 Jun 2005 20:30:14 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Lucky Bishop

Well put, Scott. Falling into the authenticity trap is for fools and poseurs. I'm reminded about Calvin Trillin's comment about the gazpacho served at a party once. He waxed medium eloquent on how it was different from a "true" gazpacho that you would be served on the Iberian peninsula, until he realized that the main way it differed was that it simply tasted better.

If only the inauthentic were most always "better". But, that's not the case--it is most often a pale imitation of the authentic which is why there is a tendency to trash it. As I suggested just above in my comment about the burrito, I am NOT a "real Mexican" purist, but Scott is completely correct that the pre-fried/ground meat taco is not only inauthentic, it is almost always nasty for the reasons he gave. A little confession: I started this thread because I thought the sight and description of an unfried tortilla/chopped meat taco might be a revelation for the folks here who don't live in an area with a substantial Mexican-American population (where you can get "Mexican" food that is fairly "authentic") and many of them might think they don't really like tacos just because they've never had a good one. By the time this thread runs its course, they'll at least see what makes other people like tacos a lot (I had two for lunch that look very much like the picture I posted at the beginning).

RE: What IS a taco? (BT)

Mon, 20 Jun 2005 20:12:25 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by cedwin

I won't eat burritos at the real Mexican places any longer, because burritos are a Southwestern variant of the filled tortilla concept and not really Mexican (especially the rice-filled stuff you see at the suburban American places like Chipotle).

Well, a discussion of burritos is just a bit OT here, but wortha few bits (or is it bytes) anyway. I have never eaten at Chipotle and haven't any desire to, but what they have immitated and franchised is a staple of every taqueria in NoCal and I want to put in another (I've done it numerous times before) good word for the original. True, it CAN be "rice-filled" but it doesn't have to be. At an independently owned taqueria (i.e. "Roadfood" place) they will make yours however you wish. As a matter of fact, Taqueria La Cumbre, one of the most popular spots here in SF, specializes in the max meat/minimal filling variety. Personally, I like lots of rice and beans and often order a vegetarian burrito full of them (plus avocado, salsa, jalapenos and other good stuff), but if you want yours with nothing but meat any taqueria in town (except maybe Chipotle and the other chains) will happily make it that way. You can, if you wish, be a "real Mexican" purist, but I wouldn't stay away from burritos just because you don't like them stuffed with rice.

RE: What IS a taco? (Lucky Bishop)

Mon, 20 Jun 2005 18:48:47 GMT

Well put, Scott. Falling into the authenticity trap is for fools and poseurs. I'm reminded about Calvin Trillin's comment about the gazpacho served at a party once. He waxed medium eloquent on how it was different from a "true" gazpacho that you would be served on the Iberian peninsula, until he realized that the main way it differed was that it simply tasted better.