Taco fanatics: As the journey wears on to review every taqueria in Long Beach, it dawned on me while looking up at a taco menu just how many taco fillings there are. Truly, Mexicans waste no part of their livestock.
Though sometimes taquerias provide crude translations for the uninitiated, they don’t always fully describe the extent of what’s going on between the tortillas. For that reason, this week’s installment of Tacography is dedicated to giving you the lowdown on taco filings so you don’t look like a gringo next time you approach a taco stand.
Common (and not so common) taco fillings:
Carne asada: Char, char, char: This is arguably the most crucial characteristic of asada—probably the best known of all taco fillings. Carne asada, which translates to grilled beef, is cooked on a very hot grill, resulting in that tender-on-the-inside-crispy-on the-outside texture. The marinade can include salt, chilies, lemon and even beer.
Barbacoa: Pronounced: Bar-bah-coh-ah, the word refers more to a style of cooking than anything else. The meat can vary—most commonly beef cheek or goat—and is marinated and slow-cooked in brine. As the name suggests, the recipe has roots in Barbados and is traditionally cooked by wrapping the meat in maguey leaves over a fire pit. However, in the U.S. it’s commonly cooked in a cauldron. The meat is very tender, moist and has a tangy flavor.
Al pastor: Meet the Mexican cousin of shawarma meat. Although al pastor is pork and not lamb, the cooking style was highly influenced by Lebanese immigrants in Mexico. Cooked on a vertical spit called a trompo, which is sometimes topped with a wedge of pineapple, thin slices are shaved off from the meat slab as it turns over a flame. The cuts are then thrown straight into the tortillas, no exceptions. Tart and sweet and salty, well-made al pastor is characterized by a bouquet of flavors that includes herbs, spices and dry chili.
Carnitas: Good carnitas are hard to find. Pork cuts done up in a confit style—slow-cooked in its own fat—and then deep fried on a dry skillet should be succulent with golden-brown crispy ends. Hints of orange, onion and various spices should be present. Recommendation: Dress up your carnitas tacos with lime and a fresh salsa verde.
Lengua: Ever wonder what it’s like to French a cow? Well a beef tongue taco might be as close as you can legally get. Lengua is very tender and very fatty, and usually reserved for the more experienced taco eater or the adventurous taco novice. Slow braised, lengua is a toothsome treat most often heavily seasoned with cumin and bay leaves.
Cabeza: Otherwise known as roasted beef head, it is an assortment of head parts, often steamed—what’s called al vapor. It’s extremely soft due to the cooking method and only seasoned with salt because of how much flavor the meat already has.
Birria: Hailing from the Mexican state of Jalisco, this is a goat stew with a strong adobo taste. Depending on whose cooking, birria can be spicy or mild. A painstaking recipe that takes hours of preparation, it results in extremely tender, fall-off-the-bone meat swimming in a red-brown broth.
Huitlacoche: For my vegetarian friends who want to keep it traditional, I’ve got two words for you: corn fungus. Weet-lah-KOH-tcheh—say that five times—comes from a growth that occurs on corn kernels as a result of a fungal infection. A delicacy in Mexico, huitlacoche is broiled until its black and has an earthy taste. Though you might be hard-pressed to find these at most taquerias, I’ve heard rumblings of a place in Long Beach that sells this fungal food… further information forthcoming.
Taqueria La Mexicana
1490 Santa Fe Ave.
Tacos: $1.50
A trucker hangout, this place is situated in a gritty industrial zone near the Port of Long Beach. The first things I noticed walking up to the door were the barred windows. Inside the bustling but tiny taqueria it smelled of hot simmering meat. It was instantly apparent that Spanish was the first language. Waiting in line before the stainless steel bar, I saw a man hauling in a hulking cow shoulder and another man carrying in a crate of fresh radishes. Good signs.
An acquired skill—and about the only one—from nearly two decades of taco eating, is knowing from the first bite whether a taco gets the gustatory equivalent to a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. Taqueria La Mexicana’s asada tacos decidedly get a thumbs-up.
The asada is rich in flavor and the salsa roja perks up the taste buds just enough to heighten and embellish the meat’s taste. Ever the asada snob, I can say with authority that the toasty, well-charred texture is a paragon of grill mastery.
The asada gobbled up, I tried the cabeza, which although it could have been more flavorsome, was so well cooked that it melted in my mouth like a snowflake on Satan’s tongue.
The tortillas were dry griddled, double-stacked and thick but not too thick.
The verdict: Taqueria La Mexicana is headed to the top of the Long Beach taqueria heap.
Taqueria La Fogata
1950 Santa Fe Ave.
Tacos: $1.75
A single lady works as the cashier, cook and waitress of this humble corner taqueria that also sells an assortment of Mexican sweets and plays Spanish television on blast. Beware: This place is cash only; although there’s an ATM outside the door with a hefty $2.50 withdrawl fee… more than a taco’s worth of mula.
La Fogata’s asada was a bit too dry and over-charred—to the point of gristle sometimes. Some bites of the asada taco were accompanied by a resounding crunch. That said the meat had quite the punch of flavor. Whatever’s in their marinade, I’m a fan.
The cabeza here was uninspiring. Though soft, it was overcooked and in need of salt.
The salsa roja served on the side was nothing special and tasted like something out of a bottle. However, my biggest gripe with the tacos was the tortillas. They were grease-soaked and tasted of canola oil. Definitely machine pressed and not handmade, either.
Stand alone, this place isn’t terrible, but it’s hard to recommend when for a quarter less, you can chow down on better-cooked asada down the street at Taqueria La Mexicana.