2010 The Learning Curve Continues…

It’s been a big year at Tacolicious. I’ve learned so much.

Until I moved to San Francisco, my understanding of tacos was limited. Growing up, my mom would make them for the family at least once a week on “taco night.” For these evenings, tacos translated to a hard shell, ground beef, Ol’ El Paso seasoning, iceberg lettuce, shredded yellow cheddar cheese and mealy tomatoes. (Maybe not authentic, but its own kind of delicious.)

When living in New York City, my understanding of “taco night” significantly changed. It became about late night drinking and burritos the size of my forearm. (Sorry, Mom … it’s true.)

I moved to San Francisco four years ago and was formally introduced to Mexican cuisine in my Latin American cuisine class at the CCA (California Culinary Academy.) Chef Patricio was my teacher: He was handsome, olive-skinned, white haired, white teeth—very George Clooney. But I digress. It was one of my favorite classes, and I couldn’t wait until the end of class to eat the feast we made. The flavors were bold, intense and spicy, and the meats were usually shredded and always juicy and tender. It was nothing like the burritos or tacos I had grown-up eating.

Although I’m a white gal from New England I quickly realized that Mexican cuisine makes for one of my comfort foods. Since starting with Tacolicious I’ve spent a lot more time in the Mission taking in the culture and the cuisine. While searching for agua fresca jars for our stand at theFerry Building, I stumbled into Casa Lucas Market on 24th St. between Alabama and Florida Street. The ceilings are hung with gigantic, colorful piñatas, and below, the produce is stacked high, beautifully presented and of great quality.

Today, I buy produce from Casa Lucas to make the salsas that I put on top of with my new favorite Mexican food item: huaraches from La Palma.These oblong shaped pockets of goodness are freakin’ awesome, especially when you can get them hot when the black beans are melting out from inside the dough. Yum.

I’m getting hungry. Unfortunately I am 3,000 miles away from the Mission, spending some time back east in Massachusetts with the fam. However, I am looking forward to checking out the local Mexican, (hole-in-the-wall,) restaurant–the one that my parents are too scared to enter because they don’t serve margaritas in gigantic glasses with cactus shaped stems. I’ll report back.

Happy Holidays

Kelly