Restaurant El Cabano - Lucio Blanco, Tamaulipas

Restaurant El Cabaño, located in the sleepy town, or more properly described as an ejido, of Lucio Blanco, speciliazes in taquitos. If you're in the mood for some of the best taquitos in town, and maybe in the state, it's time to pay a visit to this amazing restaurant, owned and operated by the Rincón family, in Lucio Blanco, Tamaulipas.

Photo: El Cabaño is located on Calle Benito Juarez, which is the main street in Lucio Blanco, and features outdoor dining. On this early Monday afternoon, September 25, 2006, we're preparing to enjoy a delicious lunch of taquitos, outside on the patio, in front of the restaurant.

Photo: Anna Rincón, at work in the kitchen, is getting the oil ready to deep fry the taquitos, along with the fries. There are no deep frying appliances in this kitchen, as it's done using cast iron frying pans to fry everything, including fries and tortillas.

El Cabaño is owned by María Rincón, who just happens to be the mother of Lucio Blanco entrepreneur Rodolfo Rincón, his brother Rogillio, and also the mother-in-law of Anna Rincón, Rogillio's charming wife. If this sounds complicated, please bear with me, as the story will come to fruition. El Cabaño is actually located in the kitchen and front room of the Rincón family residence, not to mention it also features outdoor dining on the patio facing Calle Juarez, which happens to be the main street in Lucio Blanco. Unless you're a local, you'll probably have a difficult time finding El Cabaño, as there is no sign to advertise the business; the sign fell down years ago and hasn't been replaced. However, all you have to do is ask anybody in town where to find a good taquito, and they'll immediately respond with "El Cabaño," and when you ask them where it is, they'll say "the yellow building across from the police station."

Photo: Anna is deep frying fries. Fries are a staple with nearly every meal in the State of Tamaulipas. Notice the grill is heated by propane. Beans are simmering in the covered pot, which add to the wonderful aroma in the kitchen.

I asked Anna why they didn't replace the fallen sign, and she said they didn't need to, as everybody in town knows where they are, and their business is based with locals, and that new sign just wasn't necessary. Well, from a business point of view, it makes good sense to me.

El Cabaño is actually owned by María, but its run by Anna and is located in the home of Rogillio and Anna Rincón. Rogillio's mother, María, is mostly retired, but she serves as "tech support" and lends a hand when things get busy. Anna's husband, Rogillio, also helps out in the business as needed, but his hours are limited, as he's a part-time teacher at the local high school. El Cabaño's hours are flexible, but they strive to be open from noon until midnight. After chatting to Anna about her business, she says that if a customer appears at just about any time, she'll be glad to fix them a taquito.

Photo: After deep frying the corn tortillas, Anna fills my taquitos with meat, salsa verde, tomato and shredded lettuce. The tortilla roller is attached to the work table, as in-house-made tortillas are a staple at El Cabaño.

Photo: Anna places deep fried fries on the plate, along with taquitos, as husband, Rogillio holds the plate.

Taquitos is the signature dish at El Cabaño . If you haven't heard of taquitos, you might ask what is a taquito, and what makes Anna's taquitos so special? A taquito is a deep-fried taco, and the filling is diced, seasoned beef, that has been cooked slowly over low heat, until its almost dry. The cooked beef is then placed into a fresh corn tortilla, that is made by hand in the restaurant, then the taquito is fried. The taquito is removed from the pan, and immediately garnished with shredded lettuce, and diced onion and tomatoes. After the garnishes have been added, the taquito is rolled up tightly, so all of the ingredients are compacted to about the size of a fat cigar. Red and green salsa is offered on the side, for dipping, as that's the way a taquito is eaten. Anna accompanies the taquitos with French fries, which is a very common side dish for tacos and other delights in eastern Mexico.

Photo: Two taquitos, along with fries, are ready for lunch. The fries are placed on top of the taquitos, and are eaten together with the taquito. I must admit, this was my first time enjoying this wonderful dish.

Photo: Family friend, Chico, shows us how to drink tequila. He later got rid of the glass and drank his tequila straight from the bottle. I admire him, as this guy knows how to drink!

If you're not in the mood for taquitos, El Cabaño will be happy to serve you many other common foods, including grilled chicken and beef tacos. They always have a big pot of beans simmering on the back burner of the stove, and if you come to breakfast on weekends, you'll be treated to a delicious bowl of menudo, which María has been making for many years. Don't even think finding a printed menu at El Cabaño, as it doesn't exist. But if you want to know what they have, or the price, just ask. Good food, good people, and nice prices! y

Photo: At El Cabaño, tortillas are a HUGE part of the menu, and they're made by hand, the "old school" was, as everything about this fine restaurant is "old school." This ball of freshly-made masa is resting and is nearly ready to be make corn tortillas.

Photo: María, the matriarch of the family, and the actual owner of the restaurant, operates the tortilla machine.

Everything in the restaurant is made in-house, by hand. I found it very interesting the way they make corn tortillas, as María makes the dough by hand, and allows it to rise in a cast-iron pot. When the dough is ready, she separates it into little golf ball-sized balls, and then flattens them out by running them through a hand-cranked tortilla press, that reminded me of a non-motorized wringer washer that my mom had when I was a little boy. The tortillas are about the size of a DVD after they come out of the wringer. María hands the tortillas to Anna, and she cooks them on the propane-fired griddle. All the while, there is a pot of beans and a pot of taquito filling simmering on the back burner of the stove, which fills the place with an intoxicating odor.

Photo: As María removes the tortilla from the machine, she places them on the table. Next stop is the griddle, or the frying pan, depending on what plans are in store for the tortillas.

Photo: Anna relieves María in tortilla making, and shows us how to make tortillas. Like her mother-in-law, she places dough in the tortilla roller, rolls out a tortilla, and places it on the table.

Photo: Rogillio is toasting tortillas, freshly made by María and Anna, on the griddle, as tonight's batch of tortillas will be toasted and not deep fried. It's early Sunday evening, November 20, 2005, and the family is having a get-together at their restaurant, which is co-located in their house.

Naturally, since I was visiting Anna and Rogillio's place with my buddy Jerry, I just had to eat a taquito, and Anna was happy to fix me one. Oh boy was it good, and the fries served on the side really made the dish something to remember. Because of the fact that the dish is deep-fried probably won't win any honors with the health food police, but my taste buds just screamed at me that taquitos taste good! What more could you want?

Photo: María is beginning to make salsa, in preparation for tonight's dinner. The restaurant occupies the kitchen of the family residence, and the living room serves as the dining room of the restaurant. There is a shaded patio in back of the house, where a grill is set up, and where the grilled portion of tonight's dinner will be prepared.

Photo: Anna continues making salsa in the kitchen of the restaurant, after the vegetables have been grilled in the back yard.

Photo: Meat for taquitos, along with a batch of fries are cooking on the stove. The griddle, to the right of the taquito pot, is mostly used to toast corn tortillas, but the Rincon family is know to make delightful bacon, fried potatoes and eggs.

It's early Sunday evening, November 20, 2005, and the restaurant is normally closed on Sunday, so the family can attend church, and enjoy a day of rest. Tonight's dinner is for friends and family to enjoy, but if a customer wandered in, they would be welcome, and invited to dinner. Of course they would be expected to pay for their dinner.

Photo: Rodolfo and family friend Chico lower the cabrito into the pit. The cabrito will be grilled over mesquite and will be the centerpiece of tonight's feast.

Photo: Meanwhile, tomatoes, peppers and onion cook on the mesquite-fired grill. In this part of the country, mesquite grows wild everywhere, and is widely used for grilling practically everything.

Photo: The cabrito has been butterflied, seasoned, and is roasted on the grill. The grill is "custom made" from a discarded metal box, allows wood and charcoal to be placed under the meat, along with a pan to catch the drippings, and features a lid, so the meat can be roasted for hours.

Photo: Edna cuts a slice from a cabrito leg.

Photo: Edna sports a plate of taquitos, which was part of the meal, as Rodolfo looks on, approvingly.

I highly recommend El Cabaño, as they serve quality food at very reasonable prices. You won't find a nicer family than the Rincóns, and it's a pleasure to do business with people who care about the products they sell, and you, as a person and a customer. When you're visiting Lucio Blanco, a visit to El Cabaño is highly recommended by me, a Mexican food junkie.

El Cabaño
Calle Benito Juarez
Ejido Lucio Blanco, Tamaulipas
Mexico