Tacos are magic!

Hello foodies!

Happy 2015!  I am declaring this the year of the taco!

My love of tacos is growing into an obsession.  Are they the world's most perfect food?  Let's discuss.

Just had to get a picture in there.  These are the tacos de lengua I made from scratch as part of my experiments with cooking tongue.

Some personal history...  My food background, as I have touched on before, is a very small town, WASP-y traditional background, so tacos were not a food I met early.  When they were introduced to my family's dinner rotation, probably in the late 1980s, it was Old El Paso taco kits.  Ground beef, cumin heavy spice mix, hard taco shells, ketchup-like salsa, iceberg lettuce, diced tomatoes, grated mild cheddar, and, if you wanted to be avant garde (and I did), a dollop of sour cream. Guacamole was still an alien concept to my clan back then.  I loved them.

For the next 20 years, in my world, tacos remained unchanged, though still beloved.  Then as food culture exploded, and the Food Network started to dominate, my eyes were opened to variations, a level of authenticity that Old El Paso just couldn't offer.  Flavourful grilled meats (al pastor, carne asada), fresh flour tortillas, soft corn tortillas, fresh cilantro, crema, lime juice, guacamole, or just plain sliced avocado.  Salsa verde.  Fish!!  There was a whole new taco world I was seeing on TV, and I wanted to taste them.  Taste them all.

In Ottawa, restaurant choices remained limited.  Mexicali Rosa's, for the most part.  Not much of a step above Old El Paso.  But then, about 3 years ago, Ottawa's taco world started to bloom.  Now decent tacos are available in pubs and chain restaurants like Lone Star and Moxie's.  But there are brighter lights.

Tacos are a staple at Side Door, in the Byward Market (click here for my review), and that was probably where I first tasted the true magic that is a taco.  Here are their fish tacos, and I also LOVE their spicy beef tacos.  They have 5 standard offerings (including a vegetarian taco), as well as a chef's feature, which changes often.

What makes tacos so perfect is that, when done right, they offer a little bit of everything in every bite, and there are SO MANY OPTIONS.  A good taco has contrasts in texture - crisp veg like radish and cabbage, crispy elements like char on meat or batter on fish vs soft, things like a soft, fresh tortilla, the yielding meat or fish, creamy sour cream, or guac, or simple sliced avocado.  Temperature contrasts - hot tortilla and meat or fish, and cool veg and other toppings.  Richness (meat) vs freshness (veg, cilantro, salsas, acid elements like lime juice).  Spiciness (salsas, peppers, spicy braised meats) vs cooling elements (sour cream, crema). Sweetness (mango, pineapple and other fruits can play a role in salsas and sauces) vs savouriness.  Every bite is different.  Every bite is perfect in and of itself.

The beauty of tacos is that they are street food.  Accessible.  Generally inexpensive.  I want a taco truck in Ottawa.  I need a taco truck in Ottawa.  But I digress...  Because of this some places more akin to fast food joints have cropped up.  Burrito Gringo - not my favourite, but decent enough, and if it is nearby when a taco craving hits, they'll definitely do.  Burrito Borracho.  I like this place.  Small seating area that works as a traditional restaurant, and a takeout counter above it.  Several options for meats and salsas, so you can tailor your taco to your tastes.  And very affordable, with tacos ranging in price from $3.50 to $4.25 (for the very delightful Baja style fish taco).  From left to right, we have pulled pork, Baja style fish, and al pastor.

For a long time, fish tacos were my taco holy grail.  And they are awesome.  But then I discovered tacos de lengua.  Tongue tacos.  And they are awesome.  They are also a little harder to find.  El Camino, on Elgin Street, in Ottawa, serves, in my opinion, the best tacos in Ottawa.  And the jewel in their crown is their ox tongue taco.

El Camino is a very popular restaurant.  They are open for dinner, but they do not take reservations.  I have never been there to eat in, though I hear it is great - excellent tequila selection, food gets good marks.  They also have a window.  A taco window.  Cash only, open for lunch Tuesday to Friday, and evenings and late nights (very popular with after bar crowd).  Their tacos are pretty big.  So while slightly more expensive than Burrito Borracho, you need fewer to satisfy.  Pictured is a fish taco (left), and the ox tongue taco.  Flour tortillas are made in house.  The ox tongue taco, to me, is beefiness at its best.  Grilled, a little charred, intense beef flavour, lovely texture, and all the elements of a great taco discussed above.  I pick up my tacos and walk to a nearby park to enjoy a truly satisfying meal (although, I admit the park think is less pleasant in the depths of an Ottawa winter).

Trying El Camino's tongue taco inspired me to make my own (the first picture, above).  The idea of tongue grosses many out.  But really, it is muscle tissue, just like most of the other beef we eat.  It is a more flavourful cut because the tongue is a working muscle.  Braise with onions, carrots and spices, peel (this is the part that may freak people out), then dice.  Crisp up in a hot pan, and you have taco glory. The glory of cooking tongue may form part of another post.

Also...  Why do people ever buy flour tortillas from a grocery store?  They are like eating construction paper.  Tortillas are SO EASY to make at home.  Better texture.  Better taste.

I think I have made my case for tacos.  They are magic - go forth and enjoy!

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