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How does a very busy taco stand, located on a very busy street corner in downtown Tijuana get a name like Tacos de Cerveza? Do they really serve beer with their tacos? Do they use beer to make batter? The name of the restaurant isn't painted on the taco stand; when I asked one of the patrons for the name of the restaurant the restaurant, and found out its quaint name, I just had to sample a couple of their tacos, and find out how they acquired their name. Photo: Tacos de Cerveza is located on a very busy street corner, in Tijuana's Zona Centro, and receives lots of business from locals. Despite the fact that AvRev is only a block to the east, you'll seldom see tourists on Av. Constitución. Like most cities, it's illegal to serve alcoholic beverages on the streets of Tijuana, unless the restaurant features special amenities, such as a sit-down dining area separated from the street by a fence, or another politically-correct barrier. Tacos de Cerveza doesn't feature sit-down dining, as it's simply a kitchen/restaurant combination, packed into a small trailer, and parked on the sidewalk, at the corner of Calle 4 and Av. Constitución, in the heart of downtown Tijuana. Photo: This beautiful lady poses with her lunch of two tacos, garnished with creamy guacamole. Note the nut vendor in the background of the photo. Two guys run the restaurant, and they keep very busy, as Tacos de Cerveza is one of the busiest taco stands that I've ever seen. One guy occupies himself with cooking and assembling the tacos, while the other guy takes orders, makes change, and cleans up. When there aren't any customers, which doesn't seem to happen very often, both guys engage in the art of chopping vegetables and making guacamole. There's no guesswork when you order your tacos, as the restaurant has a hand-printed sign that advertises the variety of tacos they sell, which include cabeza, tripa, asada and suadero. Each taco is priced at only MEX $10.00, which is a very reasonable price, but not a bargain. Sodas are also priced at 10 pesos each, and they're kept in an ice chest, located on the sidewalk next to the taco stand. There is no electricity, and the tacos are cooked by propane. Photo: This guy just couldn't seem to pile enough garnishes on his tacos, as he placed himself near the pans of radishes, limes and salsa. I ordered two tacos de tripa. After taking my order, the order taker shouted to the cook, "Dos tacos de tripas," and the cook then reached into a container, and pulled out a small handful of tripas. (If you're not familiar with tripas, they're small intestines... yum!) He placed the tripas on a grill, then placed corn tortillas on a griddle. It's interesting to watch the cook at work, as he has a variety of cooking methods at his disposal, including a conventional grill, a vertical grill (not used at the time of my visit,) a donut-shaped pan of hot oil with a raised "island" in the middle, and a couple of griddles. The grill seems to be used to cook meat, and the griddle is used to heat corn tortillas and to roast onions and peppers. I noticed meat cooking in the donut-shaped pan... but I wasn't sure what it was, and the guys really didn't have time to chit-chat, as they were very busy during the time of my visit. Photo: The cook and his helper in action, at Tacos de Cerveza. Photos shows the donut-like pan where meat is cooking in drippings, and other cuts of meat being cooked on the griddle. Note the pan of grilled peppers and onions to the right of the photo, to be used in salsa. When the tripas were cooked, the cook removed them from the grill, placed them on a cutting board, and with a few whacks with a sharp knife, had them cut up into little pieces. He then removed the tortillas from the griddle, and using the blade of the knife, scooped the bits of meat on to the tortilla, and then placed the tacos on a plate. He asked me what I wanted on my tacos, and I replied "con todo," so he applied chopped cilantro, diced white onions, and a couple of spoonfuls of creamy guacamole, and handed the plate of tacos to me. If I had desired additional garnishes on my tacos, Tacos de Cerveza offers radishes, key limes and in-house made salsa on the side; the garnishes that were provided on my tacos were fine with me. Photo: The cook has just scooped meat from the cutting board on to the tortillas for one of my tacos. One of my finished tacos is on the plate to the rear of the photo. Photo clearly illustrates the restaurant's "kitchen," on the street corner in downtown Tijuana. Great tacos! The tripas were grilled just the way that I like 'em, juicy and chewy, so when I bit into the taco, the juice ooooozed out of the meat, and basted the delicious garnishes. The guacamole was fresh, and so were the vegetables. Tacos de Cerveza makes excellent tacos, and I can recommend their tacos for anybody who craves a delicious taco. Photo: My tacos de tripas, garnished with diced white onions, cilantro and guacamole. Each taco uses two corn tortillas, which have been toasted on the griddle. Delicious tacos! Oh yes, the name... As I paid for my tacos, I asked the guy how the restaurant acquired its name, since they didn't sell beer. He told me that sometimes they sell fish tacos, and they use beer in the batter for flavor, and for promotional purposes, they decided to name their restaurant after the beer used in the fish taco batter. He was quick to point out that since it's illegal to serve, or to use beer on the street, the batter is made at home and brought to the restaurant. Since the beer is mixed with the batter, and the alcohol evaporates during cooking, it's perfectly legal to use on the street. Works for me! Tacos
de Cerveza Copyright(c) 2012 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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