302070 Tue May 23 13:03:00 -0700 2006 29 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1688774 i am interested in authentic regional mexican taco fillings that one only rarely comes across in this country. (ie everything beyond c. asada, adobada, pollo asada, carnitas) along the lines of tacos de quelites (fried greens tacos). Tue May 23 13:03:00 -0700 2006 0 alex 1 1688776 Rajas con crema, apazote, y hongos. Yum! Tue May 23 13:11:49 -0700 2006 1688774 0 Pablo 1 1688811 Tacos de Sesos (brains) Tue May 23 16:52:43 -0700 2006 1688774 0 Gayla 1 1688817 At the Maxwell Street Market, here in Chicago, the taco fillings on offer include ojo (goat eyeballs), huanzontle (Chenopodium berlandieri ssp. nuttaliae, a relation of quinoa), hongos (mushrooms), and birria de chivo (stewed goat). E.M. Link: http://www.sptsb.com/MaxwellStreet.htm Tue May 23 17:16:35 -0700 2006 1688774 0 Erik M. 2 1688853 i am leaving in june to spend a month with relatives in dc...this market is # 1 on my list....thanks for the link] can you describe tacos de ojos...birria de chivo is my favorite Tue May 23 23:25:40 -0700 2006 1688817 0 alex 3 1688859 You are asking the wrong guy. After a friend mimiced the crunching sound which resulted from him having chewed a cornea, well, I lost interest. Get your hands on the video. E.M. Link: http://dchammond.com/gorilla/ Tue May 23 23:40:47 -0700 2006 1688853 0 Erik M. 3 1688876 Just wanted to point out Maxwell St. Market is in Chicago not DC. Wed May 24 11:42:39 -0700 2006 1688853 0 LisaLou 3 1688958 sorry meant chicago...no idea why wrote 'dc' Thu May 25 12:13:57 -0700 2006 1688853 0 alex 1 1688818 Off the top of my head, besides the ones already mentioned, here are some I've seen around my local Mexican neighborhood: Lengua (tongue) Tripas (tripe) Chicharrones (pork rinds) Cabeza (head, but usually meaning beef cheeks -- you can also sometimes find individual parts of the head: eyes, lips, etc.) Huitlacoche (corn fungus) Flor de calabaza (squash blossom) Tinga (meat stewed with chipotle peppers) Nopales (cactus) Pickled pig's feet (forget what it is in Spanish -- something with "pata") Tue May 23 17:16:53 -0700 2006 1688774 0 Ruth Lafler 2 1688845 Tripitas - little tripe, i.e. intestine (cut in small rounds). Got that from a taco truck. paulj Tue May 23 21:07:42 -0700 2006 1688818 0 paulj 2 1688869 Wow. Ruth, have you tried the eyes-and-lips-included cabeza taco? How was it? Wed May 24 08:55:33 -0700 2006 1688818 0 Spoony Bard 3 1688882 Nope -- tripas is about as far as I go on the "ick" scale. If you want to try them yourself, check out La Gran Chiquita on International in Oakland. Wed May 24 12:54:47 -0700 2006 1688869 0 Ruth Lafler 2 1688898 I love cabeza tacos, i have never encountered an eye in one before. It is usually all cheek meat. Cheek meat is really good btw Wed May 24 14:48:00 -0700 2006 1688818 0 MV 3 1688922 Oops, sloppy phrasing on my part. What I meant was that although "cabeza" refers to beef cheeks, other parts of the head are also sometimes used in tacos. Unless you're at a place that specializes in preparing different parts of the head, I don't think you'll find any part other than the cheeks in a cabeza taco. Wed May 24 17:12:13 -0700 2006 1688898 0 Ruth Lafler 4 1688943 So would it be safe to assume that if I see cabeza offered as a meat at a local taqueria it's going to be just the cheek meat? I love beef/veal/fish cheeks, but I'm not too keen on eating any other part of an animal's head (except tongue) and "cabeza" is Spanish for "head". Thu May 25 02:36:47 -0700 2006 1688922 0 Humbucker 5 1688967 Yeah, I think you're safe. Thu May 25 14:12:15 -0700 2006 1688943 0 Ruth Lafler 6 1688987 Someone should tell those taco trucks to start translating it as beef cheeks tacos. It would atract a whole new demographic. And if they could translate whatever they call it in Spanish to pork belly, the truck could park at Ferry Plaza on Saturday. There would be a yuppie stampede to snap up them gourmet tacos. Another meat I forgot to mention was suardo – rose meat. There's a link to it in this link about taco fillings. I can't let go of someone describing eyes as crunchy. Yikes. Now I think I have to buy one just to look at it. I hope it is chopped up and not looking back. Was it a cow with contact lenses? Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/300684#1672497 Thu May 25 16:35:01 -0700 2006 1688967 0 rworange 2 1689196 In addition to these my local shops also carry buche - which is ears snouts, tails etc. Sun May 28 02:03:26 -0700 2006 1688818 0 quazi 3 1689209 I though buche was stomach (pig stomach). Sun May 28 16:53:50 -0700 2006 1689196 0 Ruth Lafler 1 1688822 higado (liver) and cueritos (“pickled pork skin, which has a firmish jelly-like texture.” Tue May 23 17:40:07 -0700 2006 1688774 0 rworange 1 1688834 Tongue has been mentioned, that's fairly common. Napoles (cactus) isn't that unusual. Goat is also not that unusual. Tue May 23 19:35:37 -0700 2006 1688774 0 Monty 1 1688840 chapulines (Oaxacan chile-fried grasshoppers) Tue May 23 20:05:00 -0700 2006 1688774 0 PolarBear 2 1688846 I think fried grubs are popular too (though perhaps les so in the US). Tue May 23 21:23:47 -0700 2006 1688840 0 Limster 1 1688860 oreja - stewed pork ears higadito - lobster liver Tue May 23 23:46:27 -0700 2006 1688774 0 Das Ubergeek 2 1688862 where did you find/hear of lobster liver...yucatan? interesting Tue May 23 23:56:31 -0700 2006 1688860 0 alex 3 1688881 Baja. Wed May 24 12:43:47 -0700 2006 1688862 0 Das Ubergeek 1 1688884 It's already been mentioned, but cabeza, if done right, is extremely good. The beef cheeks are cut into chunks and then stewed until very soft. The flavor is rich and beefy. Wed May 24 13:21:24 -0700 2006 1688774 0 e.d. 1 1688889 When we were in Toluca, Mexico, we were served a big platter of fillings to make our own individual tacos. I can't remember everything on the platter but I do remember these small dried fish and some dried blood as a couple of the offerings. Actually, the tacos were delicious. Wed May 24 13:36:07 -0700 2006 1688774 0 Neta 1 1688926 chicken livers (called azadura where I had them). Tasty. Wed May 24 18:04:54 -0700 2006 1688774 0 adamclyde 1 1688955 for a veggie taco, my favorite is a mashed potato and chipotle taco...yummy (served at Loteria Grill at Los Angeles' Farmer's Market) Thu May 25 10:57:43 -0700 2006 1688774 0 glazebrookgirl