tacotopia

As Tacotopia has grown out of its adolescence and developed into a hard working and respected blog (is there such a thing), if only in its tiny niche, it seems only fair that it should consider moving out of the smelly and violent streets of its youth into the fresh, clean and nondescript sprawl of Corpus Christi’s South Side.

Taqueria Almeida would fool you into thinking it would have food as non-descript as the ubiquitous plate glass windows of the shopping center in which it’s housed.  It is not, however, without some character and heart. The big digitally produced backlit sign you see when pulling into the lot sits alongside a few hand-painted beauties.  There is a drive through.  There is green carpet on the walls, and lots of old-time Mexican kitsch that make you forget that you’re eating across from the Corpus Christi Athletic Club. It’s not only ironic but if you consider the full bar and the generous portions it’s a finger in the eye to the gym, and a net loss in the ledger of health for the block.

I got the usual; Coffee, Carne Guisada, Chorizo & Egg.  I’m told I should get the C&E here with cheese but I opted to stick to my ‘scientific method’ (the quotes indicate more irony).  The tortillas were excellent and could be a meal in themselves, especially when combined with the salsas (green and red) which are the best I’ve had in ages, except for my mother-in-law’s.  They’re about the only taqueria salsa I can think of that is really hot, and good enough to make you burn your mouth using a lot of it.  The Chorizo & Egg is not bad, not exceptional.  The Carne Guisada is epic in it’s richness.  The reddest I’ve had, and saturated with spice.  And I will be wearing a path to the baño after the five cups of coffee I drank thanks to the quick action of the polite waitresses. Kevy the explorer handled the more challenging edibles on our excursion into Corpus Christi’s exterior (better than the posterior).

There’s something to be said for taking a foray from the familiar, into the foreign.  It was a pleasant surprise to travel traffic-free into the heart of the Dark Side…the South Side.  I usually try to stay out of the Southern part of town.  It’s like a poor copy of the ugliness that is Katy, or Sugarland.  Sprawling, congested, a collection of strip malls and cookie-cutter houses with no character.  Thankfully, there is taco…

On the plate today was the taco version of surf-n-turf.  I ordered up a mollejas on corn, and a fish taco on flour.  Fish tacos are one of my favorite breakfasts.  Today’s version of the dish didn’t stand up to my fish taco standards.  The “McFish” was a fried, food-service style filet that had more than a hint of fishiness to it.  Served with fresh cabbage and tomatoes, it was mostly good, but not great.  The mollejas were fried crisp — a first for me — fresh from the grill is how I usually get them.  Served ala Mexicana, they were well-seasoned but closer to chicharrones in texture than the soft deliciousness when hot off the grill.

The saving grace of the meal was the salsa!  Wow!  Both the green and the red were delicioso.  With heat enough to open your eyes wide and make you blush.  The green salsa was served in a squeeze bottle like some bizarro ketchup, making for easy application.  The tortillas were excellent, both flour and corn.  The coffee was cafe good, tasty and not too strong, served in a never-ending cup.  The wait staff was courteous and attentive — a positive, but not stellar experience.

If you find yourself in the suburban wasteland of South Corpus Christi and you’re looking for something unique, point your weary self toward this oasis of local flavor.

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.

Tacotopia this Friday takes us to the fabled San Luis Restaurant, nestled near the union of Laredo and Agnes.  Last week I told you that Garibaldi’s is the best and I don’t intend to contradict myself, but San Luis is beautiful thing.  If Garibaldi’s were a great wife – left behind in a 70’s western, San Luis is the hooker with the heart of gold.  Exotic and bold, independent and robust (at the risk of being repetitive and redundant).

The coffee arrived with an old-fashioned stainless steel creamer decanter, and it was sweating.  Not from the cream being ice cold, but from it being hot, scalded in fact, with a froth a barista could be proud of.  Every few minutes the juke box would start playing conjunto or norteño (like I could tell the difference).

Then the tacos arrived.  They barely fit on the plate.  And the tortillas (this is where it gets nsfw) were like a night with Salma Hayek, without performance anxiety (believe me – Salma demands high performance) with smooth, firm flesh stretching over a voluptuous form.  I’ve eaten tortillas out of the back of a tortilla factory in central Mexico and I’ve never had a tortilla this good.

The chorizo was very good, but not spectacular.  The carne guisada was quite tasty, with a noticeable taste of black pepper.  What they had going for them is how fresh they were.

I’m in a committed relationship with Garibaldi, but if my phone starts blowing up with the tune from “secret lovers” I’ll still be sneaking across the tracks (or crosstown freeway in this case) to get a little bit of that San Luis action.

This just in from our bizarro taco field reporter, Kevin N.

Due to a communication breakdown, I missed out on a threesome with Ian and San Luis Mexican Restaurant.  Missing the main event did not keep me from sampling the wares at San Luis.  I had been many times and felt a bit of anxiety at having suggested the restaurant with reports of high marks and some gentle elbowing about their supremacy over Garibaldi’s.  I was not disappointed.  From the moment the plate hit the table, I knew I was in for a treat.

I had a nopalitos and eggs taco and a chicharron al la Mexicana.  Wow!  Tbe nopalitos were fresh and delightful.  They could have been fresh-picked from the parking lot.  Cooked in a bright spicy orange sauce and mixed with a generous portion of eggs, it was enough before I got to the chicharrones – which by-the-way – were delicioso.  They were perfectly bite-sized and dense, cooked just enough to soften the outside.  Their luscious aroma reached my nose as the plate was placed before me.  This smell, mixed with that of the perfect corn tortillas barely containing the tacos’ ingredients was worth the wait.  Did I mention perfect corn tortillas.  If this place does not have the best tortillas in town, then I can’t wait to have those that best them.

The building was clean, but not sterile.  The wait staff was courteous and kept the hot coffee coming.  Two televisions had the noticias going and were interrupted briefly by the sound of conjunto.  My table boasted the only English in the place.

This was a great breakfast.  If I had to say anything remotely resembling negativity, I might wish for a bit more variety on the taco menu.  But Hey, nobody’s perfect.