Stepping into a Mexican taqueria
Before I met my husband (founder and cook at the little taquero), I hadn’t tasted proper authentic Mexican food. I blindly believed that the sour cream, melted cheese and soggy vegetable fajitas I had tried at my local pub was what it was all about. Oh how wrong I was! My first introduction was of course his cooking; taco after taco packed with fresh flavours and delicious ingredients – I could hardly believe the difference! So when he suggested that we visit Mexico City on our way back to the UK (we had been living in Australia), all I could think about was the taquerias I was going to visit!
On our first night in Mexico City we started wandering the streets in search of food and down a little side street we came across a packed taqueria. It was a simple café set up with throngs of customers and busy looking staff. We took a seat and I had my first experience of a real taqueria. I can’t remember how many tacos I devoured that night but lets just say ‘plenty’ were washed down with cold Mexican beer. We tried a number of other taquerias over the next couple of days, each great in their own way but I have to admit that the one near our accommodation from our first night was definitely the best and as a result we ended up visiting it daily (and taking along fellow travelers that we met!).
Stepping into a taqueria was an assault on the senses. On the eyes, it was brightly lit with soft drink advert covered walls and colourful tablecloths adorned with hot sauces and fresh lime slices. On the ears, there was the constant chatter of a busy café interrupted with shrieks of laughter and the shouts of waiting staff and cooks communicating orders and then in the background the sizzling of meat on the griddles. On the nose, there was the inevitable delicious aromas of fresh cooking and lastly, on the taste buds – marinated meats, fresh pineapple, chunky guacamole and tangy salsas. Oh I could of stayed in that taqueria morning, noon and night!
We took a lot of inspiration from that particular taqueria and our Al Pastor recipe was refined to emulate what we discovered there. It was my first real taqueria experience and it would be a hard one to beat. All I hope now is that the little taquero has managed to recreate some of those wonderful tastes and smells so that you are inspired to visit the fantastic country of Mexico.
