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Tacos al pastor is a dish dear to many Mexican hearts. Consisting of slabs of marinated pork held
together by a skewer, slow-roasted over charcoal and served with pineapple, cilantro,
onions and hot sauce on a small corn tortilla, this is Mexican City street food
at its best. You can find the giant
spinning kebab-like skewer of pork and pineapple in just about every taqueria in Mexico City.
 According to Arturo Reyes Fragoso, a Mexican journalist,
tacos al pastor only dates back to the 1960s, when Gerardo Alvarez, owner of El
Tizoncito taqueria invented it. Success soon followed, and before long restaurants all over the city were serving
their own version of the dish. Today,
Mexicans eat so much al pastor (especially after going out on Friday
and Saturday nights), that popular taquerias go through 100 kilos
(220 pounds) on a weekend night. “If the
meat is not consumed it will dry so you can’t save it for the next day,”
explains Nemecio Reyes (aka "El Abulón") of Fonda Los Arcos, so cooks must be careful of their meat
orders, especially given the long marinade time.
Alejandro Gómez (aka "El Guero") of Los Latosos taqueria has been making tacos
al pastor for over 15. years. Gómez explains, “the secret of success lies
in el adobo [the marinade].” For Los Latosos, and other taquerias, the
marinade is a closely guarded secret. We're willing to go public with our recipe , for the moment.
Where to get tacos al pastor, if you don’t feel like making
them yourself…
El Fogoncito , several locations in Mexico
City and abroad, including Beijing.
 El Tizoncito
122 Tamaulipas,
Col Condesa
(55) 5286 2117
El Charco de las
Ranas
43 Ave. Uruguay,
Col. Centro
(55) 1054 4567
637 Ave.
Montevideo, Col. San Bartolo Atepehuacan
(55) 8589 1027
El Farolito , several locations in Mexico City
Fonda Los Arcos
17 Ave. Lomas
Verdes
Lomas Verdes,
Estado de Mexico
(55) 5562 5616
Including research and photos by Ricardo Avila.
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