48281 Wed Aug 22 17:37:14 -0700 2001 32 2 Los Angeles Area 0 240609 Could someone help this newcomer to LA with Taco definitions? I went to a Taco stand today and had a very good chicken taco. But what do these mean? Asada Carnitas Pastor Lengua Cabeza Thanks for the help! Wed Aug 22 17:37:14 -0700 2001 0 Joanne 1 240613 Asada - Steak Carnitas - Pork Pastor -??? Lengua- Tongue Cabeza - Head Wed Aug 22 18:43:41 -0700 2001 240609 0 jojo 1 240614 Here goes: Asada is grilled beef; Carnitas (sweet little meat) is pork; Pastor is beef, I believe slow cooked; Lengua is beef tongue; Cabeza is brains. Unless you're a vegetarian they are all good if they come from a good taco stand (or truck)! Wed Aug 22 18:46:00 -0700 2001 240609 0 lonesome hobo 1 240615 Asada Tacos are steak (in the loosest sense of the word); Carnitas are slow cooked pork; Pastor is marinated pork; lengua is tongue; and cabeza is head. Sounds like you found a fairly authentic taqueria if this was on the menu! A great place to try on the Westside that features all of these and more, each at only a dollar a pop, is Taqueria Sanchez on Centinela near Culver Blvd. Recently reviewed by Jonathan Gold in L.A. Weekly. Wed Aug 22 18:46:08 -0700 2001 240609 0 Bob Brooks 1 240616 Awesome question, and long overdue for discussion (hey, do you realize we have thousands of users? "Joanne" is a fatally undistinctive nametag...you may want to add a last name or a handle or just some way that we can all get to know you from posting to posting). The deal is that some of these have different meanings in different places. I'm not an LA guy, so this might be skewed....I base my answer on experience in NY and SF Mexican places and eating around Mexico (see my report on Mexico City at link below...it addresses some of these issues in greater detail). Asada--grilled beef. should be fairly close to what Tex-Mex cooks call "fajitas"...very beefy and primal. May be hot, may have condiments, but the meat flavor should sing through. Pastor--actually it's "al pastor". In Mexico (and some places in the states), this is a log of meat (like gyro/shwarma/doner), but fresh meat, not the compressed liverwursty stuff. It spins around, preferably in front of a live fire, with a pineapple atop (and bits of the pineapple are served with the meat). Mexican restaurants in this country rarely get it together to make a proper al pastor, so they fake it on the grill. And this fake al pastor is becoming (as bastardization often does) a "regional variation". Look for the real thing...it's worth seeking out. By the way, it was brought to Mexico via Lebanese immigrants. See my article, below, for info on regional al pastor styles in Mexico. Oh, and it can be any sort of meat, both on rotisserie and in the fake version. As with most food in Mexico, it tends toward bovine in the north, and porcine closer to the center and south. Lengua--tongue. Cabeza--not brain...face meat. Cheeks and such. this is the good stuff, and you'd never know it wasn't regular old meat if nobody told you. Carnitas--very very long story. Short version: in Mexico, this is an entire class of pork cuts. You don't order "carnitas", you go to a carnitas guy and order specific things, like uterus or ears. I've never seen that in the states. Here, carnitas seems to mean bits of sauteed pork, often heavily marinated. Cesina is minute steak (more interesting than it sounds). Chorizo is peppery sausage Choripapas is a mixture of chorizo and potatos Oreja is pig ear (give it a try....none of this stuff TASTES gross) ojo (cow eye....and I take back what I just said) what have I left out? I sure hope people aren't shy about posting questions like this. If there are any other mysterious taco terms, please fire 'em off! Link: http://www.chowhound.com/writing/mexico.html Wed Aug 22 19:08:08 -0700 2001 240609 0 Jim Leff 2 240623 Sesos are brain. I will hopefully be trying these for the first time in a few weeks at a place in Tijuana that a San Diego friend of mine has been raving about. May need a shot or two of tequila first... Youndo Wed Aug 22 22:54:46 -0700 2001 240616 0 Youndo 2 240637 My favorite soft taco spot, El Taurino at 1104 S.Hoover (a little south of Olympic) has a terrific version of al pastor. No pineapple but lots of onion stacked with the marinated pork spinning on a vertical spit. Timing is everything though. Perfection is when it is your turn and the guy has just taken a big knife and shaved off the just cooked layer of meat and onions onto a big shovel and tosses it into the heat tray in front of the person that makes your tacos. A bit more greasy after it has sat awhile but still pretty fine. It is almost always busy here so turnover is rapid. Carnitas is also excellent. The chili verde sauce is the best, homemade, not the typical canned Herdez. Big place with lots of parking. It has grown over the years, swallowing next door storefronts and mowing down houses in the back for more parking. They sometimes park a catering truck in the parking lot to service the overflow. I stick with soda here. The dispensers for the local mixed drinks look dubious. Never been here in the evening, probably best to stick with a lunch or late lunch. Thu Aug 23 11:05:30 -0700 2001 240616 0 glenmore 2 240890 CECINA: is VERY thinly sliced (in one long ribbon), salted, and air-dried beef or pork (as someone said, tends to be beef in the north and pork in the south), essentially synonymous w/carne seca, from what I can tell. "Minute steak" in that it cooks right away since it's so thin. CARNITAS: are always pork bits browned & cooked in lard - though indeed they're sometimes deep-fried 'til crisp, sometimes one big hunk browned then chopped, etc. They're often tough &/or fatty &/or weird parts - not in a bad way if done right! - and for some reason i'm always with people who order carnitas and are often disappointed. CHORIPAPAS: are also often called papas con chorizo. BARBACOA: is almost always goat or lamb, barbecued or pit-cooked; if goat it's often 'barbacoa de chivo' or just 'chivo'. there are also fish tacos offered in coastal towns in Mexico; it's not an inauthetic concept. and by all means remember the difference between sesos and cabeza - VERY different (me, I LOVES the cabeza, not into sesos). Nils Thu Aug 30 01:06:22 -0700 2001 240616 0 Nils 3 240892 Nils--NEVER say "always" with tacos! there's so much variation. Carnitas are, in Mexico City, as I've described them. An entire class of...er...unusual pork cuts. In the States, carnitas can be almost anything, though generally in porcine (and small chunk) realm. In NYC, they're often as you describe. Cecina, at least in places I've had it, is rarely the cool air-dried stuff, but I'd really like to find it made that way...any tips? (if not in LA, please start a new thread on the regional board and I'll be watching!). come to think of it, I haven't even SEEN cecina as an option in quite some time. Not sure why. I'd really like to implore squeamish hounds to consider cabeza. It's meat...plain old muscle meat. Very very approachable. And so tender and flavorful. ciao Thu Aug 30 01:28:39 -0700 2001 240890 0 Jim Leff 4 240894 Every Oxacan place I have been to has Cecina on the menu. It can be ordered as a plate or on top of a Clayuda. Guelagetza, El Texate, and El Sason Oxaqueno (sp)have it. It tastes like carne adobada. Thu Aug 30 09:17:09 -0700 2001 240892 0 Larry 5 240909 In Oaxaca, what they call 'cecina' is pork, and what much of the rest of Mexico calls 'cecina' (beef) Oaxacans call 'tasajo.' Both are prepared similarly, the continous ribbon of very thin meat, usually salted & air-dried, often rubbed with seasoning or at least lime. YUmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Thu Aug 30 15:13:12 -0700 2001 240894 0 Nils 6 240927 Yum indeed. It's really confusing (and wonderful) that Oaxacans often use standard terms for very different (and differently-prepared) foods. That's what makes it difficult to spot Oaxacan restaurants (those that aren't flamingly Oaxacan), at least on the east coast. Menus can look totally generic and normal, yet everything tastes really different and surprising. Of course I just LOVE that, too! I'm a big fan of Brazilian air-dried beef. Come to think of it, I'm wondering if any/all of these latin/hispanic dried beef derive from Turkish basturma (Turks and Lebanese brought a lot of foods to that part of the world). But I'm digressing. Fri Aug 31 00:47:25 -0700 2001 240909 0 Jim Leff 7 241067 Great responses! OK, so I'll swallow the bait; we've got a few Oaxacan restaurants in LA, but where are your favorites and what are some dishes you wouldn't find elsewhere? I've been to some, but--to tell the truth--was a little intimidating (I know, it shouldn't happen, but it did). Tue Sep 04 18:36:51 -0700 2001 240927 0 Artsdoc 8 241068 The intimidation factor wears off quickly. Just go chow and have fun, and be GLAD nobody's coming up to you with, like, a ukelele and doing the "welcome to our cuisine" shtick! So long as you're not high-maintanence (expecting tons of hand-holding, shouting into your cellphone, and urging the waiter to HURRY IT UP), you'll be accepted over time. Keep showing up. It feels good. As for my tips...what is the "smiley" for extreme embarrassment? Thing is: I don't know LA well at all. But I'd sure like to. Meanwhile, you've got zillions of major LA mavens (and Jonathan Gold's book...you DO own Gold's book, don't you?) to provide you with the advice you seek. Sorry I can't toss off an insider's tip at you.... ciao Tue Sep 04 18:58:29 -0700 2001 241067 0 Jim Leff 5 240928 Larry-- Yes, but you have the stunning good fortune of eating this stuff in Los Angeles! hey, we have many thousands of users, so if you identify yourself only as "Larry", we'll never get to know you (and your chow predilections)! You may want to pick a more distinctive nametag. Be as creative as you want! ciao Fri Aug 31 01:06:07 -0700 2001 240894 0 Jim Leff 4 240912 Very true. Though in Mexico at least, carnitas ARE always pork (in the US, carnitas have come to mean just about anything). If it's not, it's an _error_, like when a someone calls any old pasta "spaghetti" or when you get slices of processed meat in a diner called "leg of lamb." Someone from another country might think it's an acceptable "regional variation" but it ain't! Similarly, I have yet to see 'cecina' in Mexico be anything but thinly sliced meat, cured or dried (or seasoned in a way so as to fake the curing or drying) - though again, in the US, anything's possible with these Mex terms (kinda like how espresso shops are so liberal with their translations of basic coffee drinks - it sure doens't mean a cafe au lait has magically become espresso with half-milk half-foam just 'cause some teenager decided it is). Nils Thu Aug 30 15:56:05 -0700 2001 240892 0 Nils 5 240930 Nils--yes, you're right. As I've repeatedly said, carnitas are indeed pork. My point is that they are, in most parts of Mexico, a CLASS of many different pork cuts (from which one must choose when ordering), rather than a dish. North of the border, it's often considered a set dish (often "pork bits browned & cooked in lard" to quote your description). also, I thought I was clear (if not, sorry) that while cesina indeed should be dried--and usually is in Mexico--it often isn't in the States. Or, at least, in New York. Not sure if I've ever had cesina on the west coast, though I'd sure like to. ciao Fri Aug 31 01:17:16 -0700 2001 240912 0 Jim Leff 2 240901 Saw these in Chicago: "cesos y ojos con some". Is cesos the same as sesos? Brains? Not sure what "some" is. CECITA, related to cecina? SUADERO ? CACHETE? Thanks! Thu Aug 30 12:03:37 -0700 2001 240616 0 HLing 3 240907 "...con some" was probably supposed to read consome(Sp.), as in consomme(Eng.)...a clear soup. I don't know about "cecita." Suadero...a specific part of the beef rib. Cachete...cheek, I think. Cheers, Erik M. Thu Aug 30 14:21:33 -0700 2001 240901 0 Erik M. 4 240920 '"...con some" was probably supposed to read consome(Sp.), as in consomme(Eng.)...a clear soup...' Sounds logical to me. Next time in chicago I will have to try it. So, Cesos and sesos are the same, then? Thanks for the answers! Thu Aug 30 19:40:44 -0700 2001 240907 0 HLing 5 240943 hling, you should definitiely try it, if it was consomme - it was probably goat to go along with birria (goat) tacos and a number of chicago hounds have waxed eloquent regarding it. also, we see cecina (beef-though i can't vouch for air-dried) here fairly often Fri Aug 31 12:52:18 -0700 2001 240920 0 zim 6 240957 Zim, Actually I saw it in Chicago's maxell street market, and it was...not your favorite..."brain and eye"...Wish I could try it, but I'll have to wait until the next time I'm in chicago. I saw cecita there, too. Wondered if it's related to cecina. Sat Sep 01 01:36:55 -0700 2001 240943 0 HLing 1 240621 This link should be of some assistance. Cheers, Erik M. Link: http://www.hypermex.com/html/ck_trans.htm Wed Aug 22 21:42:35 -0700 2001 240609 0 Erik M. 2 240622 Addendum: Chicharrones...Pork Skins. Aguacate...Avacado. Sesos...Brains. Pechuga(Pollo)...Breast. Cheers, Erik M. Wed Aug 22 22:14:31 -0700 2001 240621 0 Erik M. 2 240858 VERY cool link. Thanks a lot. Wed Aug 29 11:03:43 -0700 2001 240621 0 Greg Spence 1 240624 Asada - beef strips chewy and full of flavor "fajitas" Carnitas - pork cooked in lard, tender and flavorful sometimes crunchy. Pastor - usually pork cooked in Mexican chili powder tangy and quite flavorful, my favorite Lengua - tongue, weird to eat something that can taste you back, how do you know when to stop chewing? Actually tender and tasty but no grain like beef or pork. Cabeza - It is the head of a pig usually (not always sometimes cow) boiled until tender and cut into pieces and fried or grilled. Really good flavor. Wed Aug 22 23:39:18 -0700 2001 240609 0 Larry 1 240626 What about "Machaca" (sp?) -- shredded beef? One of my favorites. More texture, and cheaper!, than carne asada... There's also "carne seca," dried beef, which I recently tried for the first time in Tuscon... Of course, when it comes to tacos (as all these posts attest) it's all good! Some random taco thoughts... Soft tacos are generally the rule at most of your better taco stands but lately I've enjoyed a few homemade fried tacos, causing me to rethink my position on the hard vs soft question. Greasy, true, but hard fried tacos have a heft and a crunch that makes the taco eating experience more, I don't know, distinctive? Anyone want to weigh in on this? I'll bet there are even a few who enjoy the occasional pre-made taco shell...you know you're out there! My own guilty taco pleasure: bbq beef tacos at Lucy's El Adobe. Not very "authentic" (whatever that means) but mighty tasty! Best thing on the menu at this old Hollywood joint, methinks. Anyone else love them -- or hate them? Chow. Rafi Thu Aug 23 00:02:50 -0700 2001 240609 0 Rafi 2 240642 Since NoCal childhood, hard taco shells. Never knew there was anything else before arriving in Los Angeles. I continue to fry flour and corn tortillas before filling them with fried diced potato, scallions, cheddar cheese, radishes, cilantro, lettuce, cherry tomatoes and taco sauce. The question for me is not so much whether hard or soft as where to find tortillas made without cellulose gum and other nasty ingredients. I live just west of the 405, just north of the 10, and Grand Central Market is a long haul for staples. Ralphs and the other big chains only seem to carry the nasty tortillas. Shame on them. Thu Aug 23 14:40:13 -0700 2001 240626 0 Samo 3 240651 Samo, you certainly led a protected childhood! I was just over the hill in the Salinas Valley eating off taco trucks with the field labor. Thu Aug 23 18:02:05 -0700 2001 240642 0 Melanie Wong 3 243626 Corm tortillas are surprisingly easy to make, and incredibly delicious if you can get good fresh masa. But frying them (oh how I love those!) doesn't make them as crisp as the storebought, because of the moisture content. Although I haven't yet tried drying them before filling with (horrors!) ground tofu, onions and Gruyere. Yum. . . . Mon Nov 19 14:39:58 -0800 2001 240642 0 Robin 2 240644 Hello. The confusion in the "soft shell" versus "hard shell" and "authentic" versus "inauthentic" issues stems from failing to consider how large and diverse Mexico really is. Regional differences abound, just as they do in the US. What passes for a hot dog in Chicago is just not the same as the chili dog much beloved by Angelenos. The same is true with the taco. A taco from the coast of Mexico (the Pacific or the gulf) does not taste the same as one from the Sonora desert or from the large cities in the south. My grandmother came from Mexico City and she would shudder if presented with the authentic soft-shelled taco currently in vogue in LA. To her, it would seem uncooked, not finished. The amount of cilantro in that taco alone would make her think that something was up -- that she was being fed medicine, or something. On that same note, the tamales from Central America used to terrify her -- she couldn't imagine a tamale not made with pork, much less a sweet one tasting like a bread pudding wrapped in a banana leaf. Be glad this world is so large, this city so diverse, and our access to these different tastes so convenient. Thu Aug 23 15:31:18 -0700 2001 240626 0 marty 2 240655 In all my experiences machaca is shredded beef WITH egg. Usually you'll get some roasted peppers mixed in. It's absolutely the ultimate, particularly for breakfast; the "authentic" original on which many lesser "breakfast burritos" are based. I grew up in San Diego and machaca burritos were our ubiquitous morning - and morning after - meal. (Big up to ubiquitous San Diego taco stand chain Robertos!) Nothing on earth kills a hangover faster than a greasy, fast n loose machaca burrito devoured on the spot...except maybe southern headache powders. Machaca is a SoCal/Baja regional treasure. I've asked for yet never found it AZ, NM, TX, LA or AL, essentially arguing my way across the American south with Mexican chefs in lux restaurants and roadside stands alike. It hasn't been spotted in any of my limited travels of non-Baja peninsula Mexico. I did find it twice in SF's Mission. Machaca lovers unite! Thu Aug 23 18:49:28 -0700 2001 240626 0 Lisa Bee 2 243696 Yes, carne seca is great. Do you (or anyone else) know where I can find carne seca in LA? Sat Nov 09 23:46:09 -0800 2002 240626 0 Ian Barnard