So now we’re being threatened with taco trucks. “On every corner!” The response to this latest us-against-them lunacy has been deservedly hilarious. Talk show monologues, Facebook memes and T-shirts have all embraced the impending wealth of taco choices.
We have too. Our new old house is in Pilsen, a predominantly Mexican neighborhood in Chicago. So our taco choices are many and varied. Still, when I walked to the neighborhood hardware store this past weekend (I’m building yet another bookcase, this one just for cookbooks) and was handed a flyer for a new taqueria opening right up the street, I of course had to stop and read the menu in the window. And when I shared the menu with Marion, we of course had to order lunch there.
The photo above shows my lunch, a Yucatan-style Cochinita Pibil with pulled pork, pickled red onions and habanero salsa, and a Lomo with grilled ribeye, salsa ranchera and huge grilled green onions. Marion had a fish taco with beer-battered tilapia, smoked red cabbage, scallions and sriracha tartar sauce, and an Arabe, a Lebanese-influenced taco grilled Puebla-style, with marinated pork and chipotle salsa.
They were every bit as delicious as they sound. Fresh and complex and, even to our Pilsen-spoiled taste buds, stellar. This new place is El Taco Azteca Restaurant. The rustic wood benches and tables gleam with fresh polyurethane, and the whole place shows evidence more of hard work and love than of a big cash investment.
That said, it’s a safe bet that the owners have everything invested in this place—their own money and that of relatives, I would guess. The restaurant business is a hard one. I hope they make a go of it. As Marion said, they will certainly have our custom on a regular basis.
I’m sure it’s a coincidence that El Taco Azteca Restaurant opened on Labor Day weekend. The opening was undoubtedly driven by equipment being installed, permits finally being issued, flyers being printed. But it being Labor Day weekend made me think about the taco truck scare, the latest salvo in the “THEY’RE COMING TO TAKE YOUR JOBS” frightfest.
On that Saturday afternoon, we didn’t see anyone taking anyone’s jobs. Instead, we saw four people—none of them US born—making jobs. Four jobs for now, but with persistence and luck, probably more. This is the America I love. The one that recognizes that most of us are here because someone came from somewhere else before us. The one that welcomes hard work and new ideas, wherever they come from.
Wonderful post, Terry. We should all be so lucky to have neighbors who bring so much to the community.
I live about a 20 minute walk from the U City loop — loads of neat restaurants there. Including Mission Taco, a wonderful place. Love having all the choices of the different places to eat. Would like a taco truck at the end of my street, though. 🙂 Good read — thanks.
Tasty read in every way, Terry. In New York City, we have an online food truck finder, but, alas, no taco truck on my corner — yet. Would be proud to have one. As a daughter of people who came from elsewhere, I know how much we all can gain from working and living together.
Here’s what L.A Times columnist Steve Lopez has to say about taco trucks.
As you say, Terry, most of us are descendants of people who came here from somewhere else and that benefits us in so many ways. It definitely makes for a most extraordinary variety of cuisines available and aren’t we the fortunate ones for that?
Thanks, Lydia. I’m sure that in Boston you also have plenty of delicious contributions made by many waves of immigrants.
John, we love the U City Loop! What a rich mix of cultures there.
Thanks, Ronnie Ann. You may not have a taco truck yet, but I know from our conversations, you pretty much have the world within walking distance.
What a great article, Lou! And now I want to drive his route and eat all the tacos he mentioned.
You’re absolutely right, Dani!