The Best Tacos In Town

How do tacos pastor with pineapple
Or gringas de pastor sound?
Here’s a little jaunt to our favorite taco stand

There are four fast moving guys in chefs hats
And a couple of helpers
They have been on Calle Insurgente
Since I started coming here 13 years ago.

We walked out our door in Santa Julia
Headed down into town on Quebrada
Descending the stairway on to Canal
Which is downright spooky at night

Then  headed up into town
We wanted a view of the Parroquia at night.

 For all the complaining
That I heard the gringos in town do
As they repainted and repaired the facade –
I have to say, that I think they did a fabulous job
Of making it magically beautiful at night
when it’s all lit up, I enjoy it every time I see it

After a long sit on the wall, enjoying the view
We decided not to put ourselves in the photo
And wandered down to Ten Ten Pie
For a Margarita
With sugar on the rim
My favorite.

It was a crystal clear warm night
Lots of people were about
We took our time walking and enjoying
That you can be outside, in February without a jacket on.
Eventually we made it to Insurgentes
Where we could sit on the street
With the cars, buses, musicians and all
To eat these fabulous tasty tacos.

Last year, this taco stand got a new roof cover
Then a new stand, with a double shelf
That holds the salsas, onions and hot peppers
On one side they cook the pork pastor
Then there’s a row of grills filled with
Roasting onions, beef, chorizo, longanisa
Tortillas softening on top of it all
The sound of chopping
Against the music in the background
As the night goes on, people are three deep waiting
And the helpers become waiters.

Zoe ordered tacos pastor with pineapple
Two small double tortillas stacked with pork
Salsa, chiles, onions, cilantro and greens
Juicy and the tortillas steamed over the meat as they cooked

John’s boys always rave about the gringas pastor
So I decided to try those for a change
As the young folks say ‘OMG’ are these fantastic
A flour tortilla is grilled with the juices of the meat
The filling is grilled apart on the grill
Pork pastor, fired on the fire then sliced and grilled
Queso panela – a stringy but soft cheese is grilled alongside it
Then combined with grilled onions, salsa and lime on the side
Served on a plastic plate covered with a plastic bag
It doesn’t get any better than this.
It’s crispy, chewy, stringy and wants to drip down your arms
And you’ll want to eat more than one.
To top it off, all four tacos only cost about 40 pesos