Tako Ten – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Gustavo Arellano, author of Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America, wasn’t kidding when he quipped “The Taco Bell taco is dead. Long live the taco.” Boomers like me may not have grown up heading for the border, but we did grow up with the Taco Bell “taco template”–a crunchy hard-shell tortilla crammed with seasoned ground beef, chopped tomato, lettuce, a fistful of shredded yellow cheese and a large dollop of sour cream. We’ve long since joined enlightened millennials and generation Z diners in railing against what Chef Rick Bayless calls Taco Bell’s “near-laughable caricature” of authentic Mexican tacos. So just what are authentic Mexican tacos? Travel throughout the Land of Montezuma and whether you get your tacos from upscale restaurants, market stalls or street vendors, you’ll quickly discover their versatility, diversity and deliciousness. Adventurous diners can, for example, enjoy palm-sized tortillas filled with virtually every part of the pig, cow, or chicken. These proteins can be stewed (as in a guisado), barbecued (for barbacoa), roasted on a vertical spit (al pastor), cooked atop a griddle (a la plancha), or served campechano (a mélange of chopped meats). Tacos de mariscos (seafood), pescado (fish) and chapulines (grasshoppers) are also pretty popular…