tacotopia

Restaurants are no different.  Some of them are great and die early, some of exist forever with a steady, plodding mediocrity, but a few continue to improve with each passing year.  Eddie’s is one of those places.  Recommended time and again, most recently by Solomon Ortiz, Jr. (who is in no way affiliated with this blog and likely has never read it), we threaded our way through the cluster of taquerias that is Kostoryz Road and met up at this venerable institution. Neither Kevin nor I had eaten here before and didn’t quite know what to expect.  Google maps choked on the directions, possibly thinking there couldn’t possibly be so many taco place in such a small space.  Then we saw the big red neon sign and there could be no mistaking it.

The place was big, fairly clean but crammed full of ‘flair.’  Halloween decorations were already up.  Eddie’s has been around since 1975, and it doesn’t look a day over 25.  A ‘distinguished’ and attractive waitress expeditiously took our order with wit and precision and before long we were feasting our eyes and soon our appetites on some of the best breakfast tacos Kostoryz has to offer.  The coffee was good, and served in a mug that could barely fit through the Panama Canal.  The tacos as well were abundant, but the quantity did not come at the expense of the quality.  The chorizo & egg was good, the hand-made flour tortillas were good as well.  The salsa is from pickled jalepeños and is very good.  The best thing I had was the Carne Guisada, which had a sharp flavor but a gravy that was more brown than red with a healthy dose of black pepper.  It was tender but substantial.  My coffee cup was kept full as was my sonic-ice filled water.

Any two of these things would make Eddie’s a good taco shop, but if you put it all together you have something really special, something more than the sum of its parts, a timeless beauty.  I only hope I can age as well as this place has.

From the Hat

It’s not telegraphed, but usually there’s an underlying theme to the weekly taco tome.  One or two words to inspire.  The goal is to ramble around for a couple of hundred words on something to do with the theme then talk about tacos.  Sounds simple.  Not always.  Today’s theme, “Better with age,” is perfect for a whimsical, rambling, nostalgic thought tour.  Plenty of opportunity to harken back to the old times or to make hackneyed references to wine, favorite boots, or an old chair.

I’m having none of it.  You have to really think about it to find examples of things that get better with age.  Tell it to my eyes, or my truck.  Tell it to the plumbing at my house.  Sure I understand the device.  A mental trick we play on ourselves to help us rationalize our own mortality; to avoid thinking of the unavoidable.

But then I think of my grandmother Caroline.   I’m sure she’d tell you of the wear of age.  But when I see her, I see youth and beauty.  She’s full of wonder for the world and new places.  Full of joy when around her (now-extensive) family.  Still learning – combating technology as a new user to FaceBook.  I hope to learn to live with her joy for life long before I’m her age.

Of course, I’d like to reach her age.  Not likely with a continued menu like this morning’s.  A once-a-week limit on taco-tourism is a good thing.  And so were the tacos…good things.

If Corpus Christi is the land of tacos, Kostoryz street could be its epicenter.  The street offered up another outstanding taqueria, Eddie’s.  Recommended by many, including one of our state reps, the place was really good.

For the SMEs out there, I had one each chicharron and molleja.   I had the mollejas fried crispy.  They were perfect – crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside.  Those who like mollejas will really like these.  The chicharrones were also very good.  Meaty, soft, covered with a chili powder-based sauce.  They were served in very good flour tortillas.  Serious fatties too.  I could not eat both of them.  The salsa was also good.  We will definitely return to this place.  I think I need to try the mollejas with some frijoles.

Salud