Friday, August 22, 2008

Fiesta

Ron and I stopped by the church picnic at La Iglesia del Santo Espiritu last Sunday and found a friendly scene of music, games, cultural exhibitions, and homemade food.

The guisado and tamales de puerco were both good, and the mild agua de tamarindo was especially nice on a hot afternoon in the countryside, but the highlight for me was the savory and tender tacos de birria:

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Pickens, SC

In the heart of the tomato-based barbecue region of South Carolina:



Saturday, July 12, 2008

Friday

Torta de pastor and an agua de jamaica at El Progresso yesterday:

Monday, June 30, 2008

And a new coat of paint

I had a very nice lunch at El Jaliciense today with my friend Bob and his son. It had been almost a year since the last time I'd visited my old favorite , and I was a little surprised to find the truck parked in the old spot.

They also look to be about to get a new paint job for their mobile kitchen:



I was in the mood for tacos for sure, but I couldn't pass up their delicious quezadillas. So, I ordered one of each - both al pastor - and picked up a coke from the cooler.



The pastor was better than I remembered, and cooked with perhaps a little more pineapple than usual - somehow especially nice on a warm day like this one. The new picnic table in the shade a few less of those pestering chickens make the whole experience at El Jaliciense ever more pleasant.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

In the news

Taco Truck Battle Heats Up in Los Angeles

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90149577

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Sweet Corn

Oh, and the tamales rajas. Aye!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Huitlacoche

This spring, I discovered a seemingly obscure delicacy of Mexican cuisine. I had decided to take a break from eating meat for the season of Lent, which was easy until I found myself at "La Fortuna de Hanahan," an exceptionally friendly family-run grocery store/butchershop/restaurant/video-rental just off of Remount Rd.



Tempted as I was by their delicious tacos al pastor, I decided to stick to my guns and ordered two quesadillas: one mushroom and one huitlacoche. I wasn't sure what it was; it looked a little like spinach, tasted a little like mushroom, and the waitress and the butcher tried to think of an English word for it, but all I understood was that it had something to do corn. Whatever it was, I had a new favorite.



When I ordered another the next week, and tried again to find out more about the nature of this delicacy, the waitress showed me an illustration on the label of a tin can. I was baffled. This is what was represented on the label:



Considered a blight by most North American and European farmers, corn smut has been cultivated by the people of Mexico for centuries. The Aztecs purposefully exposed young corn plants to the spores of the fungus in order to promote the growth of the truffle-like galls. Those who have had the fortune to enjoy the sweet and earthy taste of this unfortunately rare delicacy know why.