Real Tacos are Found in Mexico y New York City

By Evan Rubin
Examiner News

Various guisados (taco filling) in cazuelas (ceramic bowl)I often find the traditions related to gastronomy in Oaxaca to be rigid and incredibly diverse. Each pueblo or even family throughout Oaxaca can have their own salsa verde recipes, mole negro rules, and comida traditions. Tacos, though, are an exception to all the rigid rules.

What is a taco?

Tacos, found in Oaxaca, to be almost any filling (guisado or grilled meat) folded or rolled in a tortilla. With the only rule being a tortilla some sort of filling, tacos are actually most foods in Oaxaca.

For example, if you have a plate of mole colorado (red), you will definitely be served tortillas. If you take the meat from the chicken and roll it in the tortilla you have a taco of chicken with mole colorado. There are tacos de huevo (egg), de frijole (beans), de pescado (fish), de nopales (cactus salad), de queso, de chili relleno, chorizo, potatoes, and the list goes on and on. Toppings, including salsas, fresh onions, marinated onions, cilantro, chilies, and guacamole are optional, not obligatory. Most importantly, a taco is about quality ingredients and because there are so few ingredients in a taco, the tortilla, vegetables, and guisado (stewed taco filling) or meats is extremely important.

Extra Info

•Tacos make up one of the foods of “T.” The list of “Vitamin T” includes tacos, tortas, tostadas, tamales, and tlayudas. Each can provide your necessary daily dose of “Vitamin T” while in Oaxaca.
•Tacos can also be rolled and fried to make Tacos Dorados.
•Tacos dorados dipped in mole are wet tacos, or tacos mojados.
When can you eat a taco?

Tacos can be consumed at any time; day or night. Unlike mole, which is primarily eaten for comida around 4pm, the rules for tacos eating, like the ingredients, are flexible. For me, tacos for breakfast are a newfound joy of eating in Oaxaca.

Next to the Hotel Casa Conzatti, in Parque Conzatti, is a breakfast taco shop named Tacos de la Abuela (Grandma's Tacos). As opposed to the grilled arrachera tacos in Parque Llano on Fridays, these tacos are tacos de cazuela, which is a guisado (stewed taco filling) served from cazuelas, or ceramic pots.

On a long table in the restaurant there are about 15 cazuelas filled with 15 different guisados. The price is 8 pesos a taco for any of the guisados. Tortillas are made to order just outside the kitchen and are passed through the window to a woman who puts about 2 scoops of the chosen guisado in the tortilla. The tacos are served with a red salsa and marinated red onions with habañero peppers. These tacos can be washed down with a cup of café de olla, hot chocolate, atole (hot corn meal drink), or fresh squeezed juice. The tacos from Tacos de la Abuela are simple, delicious, fresh, and amazing for breakfast.

The toughest part about eating there is choosing between the 15 different guisado options.

Food traditions are very important in the Oaxacan culture. There are rules and honor related to recipes, flavors, foods, quality, and eating hours for most foods…except the taco. Tacos are free of rules, open to interpretation, and are still well respected in the Oaxacan culture. Oaxacan traditions are a few Suizas in the evening. A Suiza is a taco with steak and melted Oaxacan cheese.