[DFW] Latino Market -- A gringo in taqueria land

[Richard Kilgore]

It was the second taqueria I had been in...ever. Through the door and to the left were three small tables in front of the taqueria counter occupied by several workers on their lunch break. An adjacent meat counter extended down the length of the store. From my visit to the larger chain taqueria down the street I knew that the routine was to pay for your food before ordering it and that it was likely no one would be speaking English. No menu posted in any language. And my Spanish is muy mal, so this was going to be a challenge. In the last place I was saved by a 10 year old boy who spoke English and helped me order.

I strolled over to the counter to see what they had. The young cook did know a little English, so I was able to confirm that I needed to go pay first. But he asked what I wanted to eat. I tried to explain that I wanted to sample a little bit of everything, just a taste. He looked puzzled. I went back to the woman at the cash register by the door. She smiled and asked in Spanish and English what I wanted to order. I tried to explain my idea of doing a little taqueria tasting in my fractured Spanish. She too looked puzzled, but smiled pleasantly. "You go now. Eat. Then we figure out. Okay?"

Okay. So the cook scooped up a little dab of this and that and the other, along with rice and beans, which I immediately recoginzed. The tables had cleared and refilled, leaving one for me and my taqueria tasting. There now was an attractive Hispanic woman at one table, and a couple at the other. Spanish buzzed all around me, and I was lucky to catch every fifth word.

A radio behind the meat counter played norteno music, sad and plaintive, while I savoured the meats on my plate. Suddenly the butcher broke out in heart-rending song. The woman at the next table looked up and smiled. "Well, you're not going to get that at McDonald's," I said.

"No, you're not. Do you know who that is singing?" she asked.

"You mean on the radio, not the butcher?"

"Right."

"No, I really don't."

"He is Vincente Fernandez. He is very popular in Mexico. Like Elvis."

"So he is very popular in Mexico, but not here?"

"Oh no, he is very popular here in the US, too."

Oops! My ethno-egocentricity at work.

"I see, very popular here, but not among Anglos?"

"Yes".

I was interested to know if the food in this taqueria was characteristic of any region of Mexico, so I tried the cook who spoke a little English.

"Where does the food come from?"

Puzzled look from all in the room. I ask again.

"Mexico," they say in unison.

What are you going to do with a gringo who does not know that Mexican food comes from Mexico.

"Yes, but what part? Where are you from?"

"Mexico City."

I asked the cook to prepare another plate for me.

"No beans (very good though) and rice. Five samples of meat, please. And explain to me what it is I am eating, por favor."

The couple at the next table now engage in the conversation. They see my impaired Spanish and try to be helpful in educating this gringo. They are pronouncing their words very carefully, but somehow the world has turned upside down and they are pronouncing their English very carefully, as if it is the English that I am having so much trouible with.

"We-are-from-New-Mex-ico. Not-old-Mexico. New-Mex-ico. The-food-is similar-there, but-diff-er-ent. It-is-more-Span-ish."

I smiled. They told me about other taquerias I must try. And they told me the food was usually good here, but that I must come back on the weekend for the hand-made tamales.

"A woman makes tamales here, but only on the weekend. You must try them. They are wonderful."

(More in the next installment.)

[Kerr.]

Sounds like you had fun! Here's some tips to make your next visit go a little smoother. I live in Houston and I assume they're similar in DFW (where you posted from).

Tell the cashier you want a "Plate Lunch" or "Plato" (pronounced plah-toh, not like the philosopher). Either expression usually works. This will give you 2 meats, rice & beans & tortillas with salsa & a lime wedge. When you walk to the cook, they will ask one question: tortillas de harina (flour) o de maiz (corn)? Then the cook will start putting together the tortillas and your rice & beans. This gives you time to look at the meats and you can point to two. Cost is usually <$5.

It's not all meat behind the counter. I sometimes get the poblano with cheese or poblano with tomato & onion. Yesterday I had a carrot & potato stir-fry mixed with some mild chiles. There's usually some egg with potato. They almost all have a choice of fajitas, a chicken dish, pork, chicharones, barbacoa. Sometimes they'll have something like pork chops or chile relleno. There's always a variety.

Another option to try different meats is just to get them in a taco. Order 3-4 tacos and you can try 3-4 meats. The tacos are cheap; usually $1.25 each. They'll be served with just the meats inside a tortilla and salsa. This should be easier for the cashier than your method!

Most days they will have a beef stew (caldo de res). This is a big bowl of soup with a large chunk of low-grade beef and lots of vegetables (carrot, potato, yuca, chayote squash, onion, etc.). These are terrific on a cold day. Menudo and pozole usually only on weekends (though I know of one place in Houston that serves pozole on Wednesdays).

Before you leave, walk the aisles of the store. They will usually have a display of dessert breads (use the tongs) that you can chomp on in the parking lot. Don't eat them in your car as they leave a lot of crumbs.

Enjoy!

Kerr.

[Richard Kilgore]

Thanks for the post, Kerr. I should have indicated that the above took place many months ago. In coming installments I will cover my evolving relationship with the Latino Market, its people and its food. With photos.

More to come.

[theabroma]

Vicente Fernandez is bigger than Elvis. He's somewhere between Elvis and the Pope, but closer to the Pope.

Corageous of you to venture into a taqueria = most folks won't.

Theabroma

[Richard Kilgore]

More on the Latino Market, with photos, yet to come. Here's a link to the DFW Taqueria Survey, for your notes on any and all taquerias in the area.

[Richard Kilgore]

I have gotten to know the food and the people at Latino Market much better over the past year. I have eaten many tacos and many bowls of caldo (soup). It is also an inexpensive source for produce, and I often get my tomatoes, limes, cilanto, avocados and other fruits and vegetables there.

They also have a large selection of dried herbs and chile peppers.

[Richard Kilgore]

Juan the Singing Butcher

As you may recall, I mentioned above the plaintive song of the butcher. Juan has a very fine voice and customers enjoy his singing and banter.

[Richard Kilgore]

Here is a small section of a long meat counter full of beef, pork and chicken.

[Richard Kilgore]

The cheese case packed with Mexican cheeses.

[Richard Kilgore]

Here's a delicious order of tacos: pork, beef and potato, and lengua.

As I got to know the people at Latino Market, some of the ethnic complexities began to emerge.

More to come.

[Richard Kilgore]

I found trying to get fresh pork belly for curing bacon (see the Cooking (or curing) from "Charcuterie" topic) at the chain grocery stores to be a major challenge, so I dropped by Latino Market. A 60 second conversation in English and Spanish between the two butchers and me, a steeling of the butcher's knife, a trip into the walk in, and wola! - a 3.3 pound pork belly.

While I was there I had a couple of tacos, al pastor and lengua, with a Mexican (cane sugar) coke.

There has been disruptive street construction in front of Latino Market for months, but it's supposed to be finished next Wednesday. The best way to shop here for a while has been by helicopter, so the owners are looking forward to it being easy to drive in and park again. And the widened street will bring more people their way.

But the competition is moving closer, with a new site for the neighborhood store of the Michoacan chain sitting ready to occupy since earlier this year. Presumably waiting for the road construction to finish before making their move.