B'TOWN'S TACOS AL VAPOR, VERA'S BBQ, SYLVIA'S MAKE TM

By Jose R. Ralat

Texas Monthly

Back in April, as we were grappling with the early stages of the pandemic, I wrote an optimistic ode to what I called "the enduring taco."  

Not only did my favorite food offer tortilla-wrapped comfort when we needed it most, but its versatility, economy, and portability made it almost pandemic-proof. “There’s never been a better time to sell tacos,” Andrew Savoie, the chef and co-owner of Dallas’s Resident Taqueria, told me at the time.

What I’ve witnessed this year backs up Savoie’s assertion. Comedor and Suerte, two high-end Austin restaurants, pivoted to selling taco kits after dining rooms were closed across the state. Torchy’s Tacos went ahead with pre-pandemic expansion plans and, since March, has opened nine new restaurants in Texas and three other states. Nationally, food delivery service company DoorDash reported in July that its customers said they missed dining on Mexican food more than any other cuisine during quarantine. With more people making tacos at home, tortilla sales across the country rose a reported 10 percent.

As we’ve all had to do this year, taquerias have adapted and evolved. While the basic framework of tortilla-plus-filling-plus-salsa remains, the taco continues to change in new and exciting ways. 

Just look at the many types now available across Texas, where the twin forces of tradition and modernization keep things interesting. Tradition is sustained in the rural areas of the state, with their decades-old homey Mexican diners and cafes. 

In our cities, chef-driven restaurants and freewheeling pop-ups are experimenting, sometimes subtly and other times with abandon. Several of the styles growing in popularity include costras, with tortillas covered in griddled cheese; birria de res tacos, filled with slow-cooked beef and served with a side of consommé; and Japanese tacos, combining ingredients and methods you might find in Tokyo and Tijuana.

BROWNSVILLE TAQUERIAS

Although tacos al vapor are found in taquerias from Brownsville to Dallas, they came to wider attention last year with the help of Netflix’s Taco Chronicles, the James Beard Award–winning docuseries. One installment put the spotlight on tacos de canasta, which are steamed in woven baskets (canastas) and sold on the streets in Mexico City. 

In Texas, tacos al vapor are typically prepared in steamer trays or pots to achieve the desired moistness and flavor. Brownsville’s Tacos Al Vapor Monterrey (74 S. Price Rd, 956-542-1111) uses a metal steamer pot typical of those in its namesake city. 

The restaurant offers platters of its eponymous tacos on small corn tortillas, which shimmer reddish-orange and contain fillings such as refried beans, shredded beef, mashed potatoes, chicharrón (fried pork skin), and picadillo, with garnishes of shredded cabbage, sliced onions, and chopped tomatoes. Their compact size and pleasant greasiness make them ideal for voracious late-morning munching, especially after late-night imbibing.

The sole licensed practitioner in Texas of pit-cooked cow head barbacoa (see “Barbacoa/Barbecue” in the Tacopedia) operates out of a small, freestanding business with a separate pit house. It’s been doing so for 65 years. 

For most of that time, it’s been overseen by Armando Vera, a tall, mustachioed Valley native whose dry sense of humor conceals a soft side. He’s a master of the all-but-dead craft of smoking cow heads over mesquite coals, sometimes for as long as twelve hours. What’s pulled from the brick-lined pit is available in several cuts. 

Perhaps the most common for newcomers to the destination eatery is mixta (mixed leftovers), followed by the surtida (a little bit of everything). There is also lengua (cow tongue), the paladar (palate), standard cachete (beef cheek), and the highly prized “Mexican caviar,” as Vera calls it, of ojo (cow’s eye).

It’s a delicacy that is seldom available. When it is, ojo is the first to sell out. Whatever you order—and it won’t likely be the ojo—will be subtly smoky, fatty, and worth the helluva drive it might take to the far southeastern edge of the state. 2404 Southmost Blvd., Brownsville. (956)-546-4159.

Other Brownsville taquerias which also made the TM grade: 
Sylvia's Restaurant, 1843 Southmost Blvd.

Tacos de Marcelo, 3305 E. 26th St.

Tacos Pkchü, 5727 Southmost Blvd.

El Ultimo Taco, 938 N. Frontage Road

El Fogon Tacos and Beer, 3341 Pablo Kisel

El Santuario Tacos and Cocktails, 7077 N. Frontage, Olmito

Las Siete Salsas Restaurant, 3424 Southmost Blvd. 

https://www.texasmonthly.com/food/rio-grande-valley-taco-trail/#rgv-1

 

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