Judy and I recently read Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America by Gustavo Arellano (Simon & Schuster, New York: 2012) and we have been manic for Mexican food as a result. About the same time, while teaching an English class at Crafton Hills College on a unit related to food, Judy asked her students what their favorite Mexican food restaurants were. One of them mentioned Los Altos Taqueria (referred to as Los Alto Meat Market on Yelp) located at 245 N. Waterman Ave, Ste. B, San Bernardino, CA 92408 (909-888-8487). We decided to give it a try. And liked it. And I've tried it again several times since then. And liked it. And I plan to go back again. And again.
My favorite local Mexican food restaurants have been La Costa Mariscos and Mitla Cafe. I have been thinking that they were pretty authentic. But Los Altos is causing me to reevaluate my Mexican food preferences and what authentic is and means. I'm coming to realize that I am truly a gabacho (as Arellano says, only a gringo calls a gringo a gringo, a Mexican calls a gringo a gabacho). When we walked into Los Altos, we were the only gabachos in there. When we looked at the menu we were overwhelmed with new terms. For example, under tacos, we found asada and pollo and chile verde and pescado, all items we felt pretty comfortable with. But we also found pastor and carnitas and birria and trompa and tripa and buche and cabeza and cueritos and chicharron and other terms that we struggled to get our heads around.
This called for some serious food research and I have been back sampling the various tacos and learning about them. And I still have more research to do, but I'll share with you what I've found.
The tacos that I thought were pretty authentic at La Costa and Mitla, a fried crisp shell tortilla filled with shredded beef or chicken, what I might now call gringo tacos, are a big step above the ground beef tacos at Taco Bell, what I might call gabacho tacos, but several notches below Los Altos tacos which are real Mexican tacos. Not New Mexican, Old Mexican. I know that because when I order and ask what the "cueritos" means, they struggle to tell me in English, "it is pork, but slimier." When they call out the order number in Spanish, when the order is complete, and I don't respond, they follow up by calling it out in English, at least I think that is the language they are trying to use, and I show my receipt to the man behind the counter and he confirms, by nod of the head, that my order is indeed coming up.
These tacos are $1.89 (with a few exceptions), come with two soft corn tortillas, one inside the other, diced onions, cilantro, green or red sauce (depending on the filling) and a lot of the specified filling. These put the tacos at La Costa and Mitla to shame. You won't find Los Altos on Trip Advisor, like you will La Costa and Mitla. That is because they are inhabited by gringos and gabachos. Los Altos is for Mexicans and I'm about ready to change citizenship.
Buche Taco - pork stomach. I've had buche before and really loved it. This is one of my favorite tacos, believe it or not. It is mostly gelatinous, with a little bit of crunch, some parts soft, like the cueritos, and the redder parts a little more chewy and flavorful. Packs a flavor wallop and no off-putting smell or taste. |
Trompa Taco - pork snout. A mix of different textures, some very stiff, not very gelatinous, spicier than lengua and not as spicy as buche. Quite good and much better than this guy's experience. |
Pescado or Fish Taco - breaded and fried fish in a coleslaw. Quite a bit different than the other tacos, texturally and taste-wise. I quite like it. |
Chile Verde - pork chunks in a green sauce. The pork is a bit chunky and hard. Okay, but many others I like more. |
I don't have a picture of the Carnitas Taco which is made of pork that has been slowly braised or roasted, or deep fried, then the heat is turned up and the outside is crisped, then the pork is shredded. A very good taco.
I have also tried a few non-taco items on the menu. For example a few tostadas. The bean tostada below has a thick layer of beans, some thick Mexican cream and a healthy sprinkling of white Mexican cheese. Very tasty.
I have also tried a few non-taco items on the menu. For example a few tostadas. The bean tostada below has a thick layer of beans, some thick Mexican cream and a healthy sprinkling of white Mexican cheese. Very tasty.
Bean Tostada |
Chili Relleno. The chili relleno is okay, but why eat okay when you can eat great tacos.
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Plenty more to explore and I plan to do so. After all, I have much to learn before I can be naturalized.