tacotopia

My elite Tacotopia strike force of three had intended to review the To-Ce-Chi this morning but some advance recon determined we’d be waiting until 11:00, when it opens, unless we fell back and found another target.  This is Corpus Christi so we only had to hump it a half block before we saw signs of more taco activity at La Silberia Dos Gallos.

Shelly immediately confronted the Eggs a la Mexicana.  I stuck to my specialty, as you’ll see later.  Kevin, however, squared off against two of the meaner tacos we’ve come up against in the the wilds of the South Texas desert.

The Rivera-esque Calla Lilies (I think, I’m not botanist) adorning the walls barely concealed the savagery with which we would devour our enemy.  When they set my plate down I almost felt sorry for it, sitting and looking up at me innocently.  But eating is my business, and this morning business was good.

The Chorizo & Egg was excellent.  More than anywhere I’ve been this place was able to keep the egg and chorizo separate while allowing them to mingle.  The result was distinct tastes as you ate of tortilla, chorizo, & egg.  Like a hot fudge sundae with the hot and cold in different parts of your mouth, or the fabled everlasting gobstopper that feeds you a 3 course meal from one jawbreaker.

Then there was the Carne Guisada – not even offered on the breakfast menu but still served – that was amazing.  It had a hearty sauce, viscous and nearly opaque but a deep reddish brown.  The beef was perfectly tender and marbled.  The tortillas themselves we excellent. I’ll now hand the walkie-talkie over to Kevin for his report.

Today’s foray into tacotopia was a journey from one end of the animal to the other – from tounge to tookus.  On the plate this morning were two tacos notoriously avoided by most gringos:  tripas, and lengua.  For the uninitiated, that’s intestines and tongue.

I’m not a stranger to tripas, but long I’ve been told that they should be eaten fried crispy.  And I’ve always followed that advice.  Today, given a choice, I decided to have a more adventurous go at some served soft.  Admittedly, they weren’t my favorite.  Being the first time I’ve had them served this way, it is hard to tell whether it was the chef, or the subject.  Served scalding hot, they were soft, under-spiced, and had a chewy texture that probably takes some getting used to.  The unique tripas taste was present, but magnified 10-times over the hard-fried version. The flour tortilla was good – fresh and hot.

The lengua was really good.  Done a la barbacoa and served in big chunks, it was tender and savory, with just about the right amount of greasiness.  The texture was of a perfectly-cooked roast beef.  It was lonely on the excellent corn tortilla, missing the cilantro and onions that I ordered.  However, the lengua stood alone, defiant in its loneliness…almost as if it had kicked the interloper vegetables off the plate on the way to the table.  No “Where’s the beef?” here.

The coffee was good, Condiments, were so-so.  An order of chopped jalepeños on the side showed signs of a night in the refrigerator.  And the salsa was nondescript.  Not a lot of heat.  Still, a positive taco experience.  I’m sure I’ll visit the place again, if only to try the tripas fried to a crisp.

Shelly had notes to offer as well:

Eggs A La Mexicana Taco

-Met my need for quantity — LOTS of egg with a hearty, handmade corn tortilla (as evidenced by the irregularities in shape and thickness)

-Eggs had that grilled, folded over and bit browned on the outside quality that adds a bit of flavor and holds it all together

-the “a la mexicana” part was colorful but the side of chopped peppers was needed to get to the proper heat level

– The tortilla was delicious — better built for scooping than folding

At the end of the fight we walked out scarred but victorious. We’d had death served up to us by exotic waitresses in matching heliconia skin tight polos with golden butterflies sitting like medals on their chests.  We’d eaten all they had to dish out and asked for more (bread pudding to go).  We’d taken our licks too (we did kill a roach crawling on our table).  It’s all done out of love for our home, Corpus Christi, the greatest place on earth for tacos.