Filed under: Photo | Tags: DF, food, Fulbrighters, other people's photos, Taco Week
A delicious reminder of Taco Week
Came across this drool-inducing photo of tacos al pastor from Taco Week’s opening meal in a post on my buddy mikenote’s website and had to share. Oh man, it’s making me hungry just looking at it… I think it’s lunch time.
Final Count: 100 tacos
I lost a day to stomach issues, an hour to the time change (this past weekend in Mexico), and 12 hours in various forms of transit, but at the end of the week, my quest was successful. As I consumed my 10th and final taco of the morning in Guadalajara’s marketplace–picture to come once the film is developed–I was satisfied, both with my breakfast and my journey. Not all the tacos were fantastic, not all the stands were hygienic, but when it comes down to it, I don’t regret a single bite… other than whichever one it was that gave me gastritis.
Carnes Asadas Bigo’s, Guadalajara – 7 tacos al pastor, 1 de chorizo, 1 de tripitas, and 1 final taco de barbacoa. Decent market taco stand. B
A big thanks to Juan, Maria, and Carlos, as I’m sure at least several of the taqueros who served me had one of these names.
Current Count: 90 tacos
I have until 3 PM to consume 10 tacos. The week has been more of a challenge than expected, but I’ve gotten to sample some fantastic tacos and only had one crippling bout off gastritis. I should be taking in my final tacos in the early afternoon in the town of Tequila. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll have a little toast once I finish.
El Senador, Jamay, Jalisco – 7 tacos de filete de mar a la diabla. Second visit to this fantastic restaurant on the shore of Lake Chapala. A
Tacos Mayte, Guadalajara – 3 tacos de lengua, 3 de suadero, 6 pesos each. Decent, large market stall tacos. B-
El Mexicano, Guadalajara – 11 tacos de pastor, 50 peso plate. Dry, but nothing a little guacamole couldn’t help with. C
Current count: 66 tacos
I’m back on pace to my goal of 100 tacos by the end of the week–34 tacos in the last two days leaves me two-thirds of the way to my goal despite losing a day to stomach issues. I’ve taken the challenge to the beautiful state of Jalisco, where I’m currently in Jamay, a small town on Lake Chapala with fellow Fulbrighter Mauricio (who happens to be related to half of Jamay’s population). In the next few days we’ll head to Guadalajara, Los Altos de Jalisco, and of course, the magical town of Tequila (you can guess why it’s famous).
In not particularly related, but none-the-less positive news, I bought a $5 camera (completely with film and batteries) and should eventually have some photos again. Hopefully I can get them developed and put on a CD as I have no idea what to do with actual prints anymore…
Villamelon – 4 tacos campechanos. Large, salty campechanos with chicharron thrown in as well. Busy pre-match taco shop gets a B+. 14 pesos per taco
Taco stand near Napoles Metrobus – 4 tacos campechanos. My local taco dealer, and one of the best I’ve found. 7 pesos per taco. A
Taco stand near Hospital San Vincente, Ocotlan, Jalisco – 5 tacos de birria for breakfast. a little sloppy, but delicious. 4.50 per taco. B
El Senador, Jamay, Jal. – 4 tacos de pescadilla, 3 de hueva. Fantastic view of Lake Chapala and good use of its fish. 8/7 pesos. B+
Taco stand, Jamay, Jal. – 8 tacos of some delicious marinated meat. Not completely sure what it was, other than fantastic. 6 pesos per taco. A
Taco stand, Jamay, Jalisco – 6 tacos al vapor; 3 picadillo, 2 papas, 1 chicharron. Chicharron was the best of the bunch, unforuntately at it last. 3.50 per taco. B-
Current count: 32 tacos
A day without tacos is a sad day, but yesterday, it was necessary to preserve my stomach for the rest of my quest. Following my medical team’s advice (ie myself and a few emails from friends), I spent the day doing shots of Pepto-Bismol and avoiding heartburn-provoking foods (caffeine, spicy foods, greasy foods, alcohol… ie pretty much my diet in Mexico). The day of eating nothing but rice and corn tortillas (and a couple beers that snuck in somehow) seems to have paid off, however, and I need to pick up the pace as I get back on the rails to taco town.
3:30 PM it’s off to Villamelon, a highly recommended taco shop near Estadio Azul, where I’ll be taking in a futbol match later in the evening. UUUU NI VERRR SI DAAAAD!
Taco-ing at Los Arbolitos, San Angel
Current count: 32 tacos
After six tacos de tripa and two campechanos last night–all excellent tacos–I found myself slightly ahead of the 100 taco pace and feeling pretty good about my prospects of completing taco week. At 5 AM this morning, I was no longer so confident.
I tend to have a stomach of steel–typical street taco worries like food poisoning, Montezuma’s revenge, etc. generally don’t have much effect on me. As I searched desperately and to no avail for some sort of antacid in the early morning, however, I began to weigh the glory of tacos against the excessive stomach acid which felt like it was burning through everything between my esophagus to my ileum.
I’ll be heading directly to Farmacia San Borja once I leave the house this morning for a PPI, some pepto-bismol, and possibly some Tums (yes, it was so bad last night that I feel the need to self-medicate 3 times over…). After that, if my stomach is willing, I’ll consider crossing the street for a breakfast… of tacos.
Taco stand, Insurgentes Sur near the Jose Velasco Metrobus – 6 pesos/taco; solid tacos, generous with the meat, was ready to give them a full A until my heartburn/ulcer/autodigestion debacle. Instead, they get an incomplete until I figure out if they are directly to blame for the pain.
Current Count: 24 tacos
Taco week got off to a fast start at lunch yesterday with taco conniseur Mike and torta-phile Zach joining me for a kick-off feast of tacos pastor. While the two went at it in a no holds barred taco eating contest, I stopped at 20 of the small tacos to avoid an early case of taco-overload (something Zach the Champion suffered badly from post-contest).
This morning I was dismayed to learn that Tacos Tio May, a stand near my Metrobus stop, has just become a torta stand this morning. Feeling defeated, I returned home, where Vicky came to the rescue by offering me bean tacos for breakfast the moment I walked in the door. Four more down, 76 to go…
Los Arbolitos – 3 peso al pastor. Great price, a little salty, salsa so/so. Overall, a B/B-.
Home – free tacos de frijoles. Can’t beat free, even when Vickey accidentally oversalts the beans. No grade.
It’s all been building up to this point, and it hasn’t been easy. Months spent acclimating to the city, making contacts, identifying locations, and becoming familiar with the necessary materials is all about to come together into the ultimate accomplishment of my time in Mexico. No, I’m not talking about my Fulbright project. I’m talking about “Taco Week”.
Yes, the humble taco, a tiny pair of tortillas, some meat, and a little chopped onion and cilantro, will be the focus of my attention for an entire week as I search high and low for the Perfect Taco. Will it be suadero in Del Valle? Pastor in Condesa? Tripa in Xochimilco? Carnitas in el Centro? There is only one way for me to truly find out.
My friends, I plan to eat a full 100 tacos in 7 days… and enjoy every last one. That’s more than 14 a day—easily two meals; a taco practically every hour and a half; enough corn flour, animal parts, and salsa to kill a weaker man. Stay tuned: I’ll post my notes and totals online from this epic challenge against fullness, intestinal parasites, and future coronary artery disease.
Ambitious? Yes. Delicious? Clearly. Completely and utterly disgusting? Absolutely.
“Taco Week” is simply a working title, by the way, so please, send some creative suggestions as to what I should call this timeless pursuit of glory…
I know it’s been a long time since I actually updated you all on what I’ve been doing, so here’s the last month and a half in abridged form: I finally made it to Michoacan for my project, and had a very productive interview with the director of Seguro Popular (the program I’m studying). After that, I took a couple days after that to travel around the state, enjoying both the historic, Spanish-influenced capital and the heavily indigenous island-village of Janitzio in mystical Lake Patzcuaro. Our midterm Fulbright reunion was towards the end of February, complete with each of us giving a presentation on our research (and other experiences). I spent about a week earlier this month back in Chicago, partly to take care of taxes/financial aid/a haircut, but mostly just as a birthday visit. The past few weeks have involved a few short trips, one hell of a soccer game, the same contacting-of-interviewees-problems on my project as before, many coffee shop hours spent relearning medicine, and, of course, many, many delicious tacos.
Fun Mexican Word: Porra – The serious fans at soccer games, as well as the cheers they do. A-mer-i-ca! AGUILAS! A-mer-i-ca! RAH RAH RAH! (not that I’d ever cheer for the NY Yankees of Mexican Soccer…)
Picture: Unfortunately, some fool left his camera in a cab at O’Hare when flying back to Mexico City. Lucky, that fool’s sister and girlfriend rescued the camera, though it remains in Chicago.
Statue on Janitzio, from the last Mexico set I have
Something I miss (aside from all of you, of course): Vegetarian food. I enjoy meat, and I love Mexican food (after all, why else would I do “Taco Week”?), but various vegetarian meals while home a few weeks ago reminded me how much I love those, too. While it’s not impossible to find the sort of vegetarian foods I like here, it’s definitely not particularly easy, either.
Something I like about DF: Art Deco buildings. They aren’t skyscrapers like most of the cool art deco in Chicago, NYC, Detroit, and other American cities, but smaller residential and commercial buildings stretching from el Centro through Roma, Condesa, and up and down much of central Insurgentes. Less cluttered than the heavily decorated colonial facades, with more character than the sleek modernism of newer buildings, and often painted bright colors, they make for very attractive streetscapes.
Saludos, wish me luck,
k
