El Restaurante Mexicano
Winter 2002
Photo by Ellen Silverman
The Street Foods
of Mexico
Rooted in pre-Conquest history, dishes from Mexico's street carts and markets make great additions to restaurant menus.
By Kathleen Furore
Editor, El Restaurante Mexicano
©2002 Maiden Name Press LLC
For centuries, native Mexicans and visitors alike have traveled to taquerias, open air markets and fondas to taste the simple, homemade dishes referred to as "street foods" today.
"When I go to Mexico, street food is the first thing I go for," reports restaurant consultant Daniel Hoyer, a former chef at Santa Fe, New Mexico's acclaimed Coyote Cafe and now an instructor at the Santa Fe School of Cooking.
"There are incredible varieties of food – it's some of the freshest you can get," continues the co-author of "The Santa Fe School of Cooking: Tacos." "People set up little carts, or a permanent stall. They don't have a big walk-in cooler, so they buy fresh meats and produce each morning and turn it over very quickly. It's simple, inexpensive food that in my experience is some of the best in Mexico."
According to food consultant Ken Rubin, the co-founder of Austin, Texas-based FoodWorks International who conducts food and culture classes on such topics as Mexican cuisine, these street foods have "an incredible history dating to pre-Conquest times."
"As civilization grew, people began working, and food had to be available outside of the home," Rubin explains. "The foods that emerged were somewhat simple to cook, and were easy and fast to eat – something people could hold in their hands, drink out of a bowl, or roll into a tortilla. It was really fun, really good food."
Tlayudas being prepared high in Oaxaca's highlands
Ceviche and fish tacos are ideal examples of street foods that can be dressed up or down. Ceviche can be spooned atop or rolled into a tortilla or tostada, garnished with salsa and a lime wedge, and served rolled in paper or on a glass or paper plate (the way it's served in beach-front, walk-up eateries in Mexico). It also can be ladled into an exquisite, hand-blown margarita or martini glass for a stunning, high-priced appetizer. Fish tacos, too, can be hand-held snacks or plated for a more elegant offering.
From suburban Midwestern boulevards to the East Coast's toniest avenues, restaurateurs are putting their own twists on this pre-Conquest street cuisine.
At Tiawanna's in Aurora, Ill., chef Jose Luis Chávez, a native of Michoacán, prepares street food-influenced dishes like the hand-made corn tortilla boats called sopes that he fills with a three-chile salsa, sauteéd mushrooms and queso fresco. Another Tiawanna's favorite: the Molotes Tinga, corn dumplings made with fresh masa and filled with chicken, chorizo and pork, plus tomatoes, onions and spices.
In Milwaukee, Wis., taquerias serving street foods abound. They include Taqueria Azteca, which features a variety of tortas, tacos and tostadas served with a choice of steak, pork, chicken, tongue and chicharron; and Tacos la Esmerelda, where owner Polo Rivera and his staff serve up traditional tacos al pastor, barbacoa and birria (an authentic goat stew).
And in New York City, Zarela Martínez – owner of Zarela's, author of Zarela's "Veracruz," and co-owner with daughter Marissa Sanchez of the new Danzon restaurant (which serves the regional cuisine of Veracruz) – oversees the preparation of such street food-inspired offerings as Zarela's Flautas and Enchiladas, and Danzón's Picados and Platanos Rellenos. The Picados are made with crimped corn masa tortillas, one topped with avocado and tomatillo sauce, crumbled queso fresco and Mexican crema, the other with spicy tomato sauce, queso añejo and crema. The rellenos, which reflect the Afro-Cuban influence of Veracruz, are fried plantain fritters filled with cheese, black beans and crema.
Other street food-style dishes appropriate for stateside Mexican restaurants include Hoyer's Tacos of Calabacitas (also called entomates because the tortillas are dipped in simmered tomato and chile sauce before being cooked on a comal or griddle) and his Fire-roasted Corn and Poblano Tacos.
Rubin's Memelitas, masa snacks with black beans, caramelized onions and cotija, and the Pork and Green Chile Flautas from the El Paso Chile Company's book "Tortillas" pictured on our cover are other menu options.
