Taco Stands, Cheers, a Happy Heart and Stomach

One of the best things in the world is a good taco stand. Taco stands serve two purposes, sustenance and company. You go to a taco stand for great inexpensive food and the company of the other patrons who are probably your friends and neighbors. It’s like the theme song from the TV show Cheers. “You want to go where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.”

Good taco stands are never fancy but always clean. You can be assured that if a taco stand looks really nice the tacos will be lousy. And you can also be assured that if the taco stand isn’t clean you will suffer the consequences.

On a side note, here is my decision making method for choosing a taco stand. Take a good look at the food prep area and how they handle money. If the food prep area is kept very clean and everything is in order and if the person who handles money doesn’t handle food, I figure my odds are good that I’ll be fine. Another thing to look for is a lot of repeat customers. A taco stand won’t get any repeat business if it’s making people sick.

Happiness on a plate. Pictured are a carne asada taco and a quesadilla with carne asada with some nice grilled onions on the side. If you don’t have a craving for tacos just looking at the picture, you have never had a great taco.

Typical Mexican tacos are very different than the tacos you find north of the border. First, they are much smaller. Second, they aren’t loaded with extraneous toppings such as sour cream, cheddar cheese, diced tomato or lettuce.

The main ingredients of a good taco are: the tortilla, the meat filling, minced onion and cilantro, a squirt of lime juice, a the salsa of your choice. It’s just the right number of ingredients to provide the perfect blend of flavors. The taco pictured also has beans, which I’m not fond of on my tacos, but are popular on tacos in Puerto Vallarta where these tacos come from.

Notice that the plate is covered in a plastic bag. Why would that be? We’ll I’ll tell you. It’s rare that a taco stand has running water so there is no way to wash the plates used by customers. So what they do is slip a fresh plastic bag over the plate every time they serve a new customer. It’s a hygienic and practical solution.

A great salsa makes a great taco. It’s the complement to the meat and provides the heat. Mexican food just isn’t Mexican food without the salsa burn.

Every good taco stand has it’s own personality, style of food, and fanatical following. People will argue passionately as to why their favorite taco stand is the greatest. Once a person has chosen a favorite taco stand it is nearly impossible to change that person’s opinion. Arguing the merits of a taco stand is ultimately pointless, just as arguing religion and politics is pointless. You are not going to change anyone’s mind.

It’s impossible to leave your favorite taco stand in a bad mood. First, the people who work the stand will have made you feel like you were in your own home. Maybe, even better for that matter. Second, you will have filled yourself to the point of bursting with some amazing food. Third you will have enjoyed your meal with your best friends, even if those friends you just happened to meet when you arrived.

Provecho!

You can read about my favorite taco stand in Puerto Vallarta.