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Jerry, Rodolfo and I had already eaten breakfast, but its easy to build up an appetite when you're exploring the fascinating central market of Cd. Mante, so after going around the block a few times, it was time for another round of breakfast. In this part of the country, barbacoa is a breakfast favorite, so we decided to pay a visit to Comedor Chely, which we'd noticed earlier in the day, while we were enjoying breakfast at a nearby competitor's operation.
Photo: Comedor Chely has their menu posted above the order counter, and offers limited seating at the counter. Note the bathroom sink, with the creative plumbing, to the extreme left of the photo. It's mid morning, Saturday, September 30, 2006. Like the other two restaurants we visited, Comedor Chely is located at the north west corner of the central market, in the "food court" area, in fact, it's nearly adjacent to the other two restaurants we visited. Like the other restaurants, the menu posted above the order counter reflects the tastes of the locals, and staples include menudo, picadillo, carne asada, bistec, enchiladas, barbacoa, mol้ and caldo de pollo. I asked one of the ladies working at the restaurant if they served tacos as well (what Mexican restaurant doesn't serve tacos?) and she enthusiastically replied that they do... but why would I want to order tacos when I could have barbecoa?
Photo: the dining arrangements at the "food court" in the central market at Cd. Mante. Comedor Chely is to the left of the photo. Comedor Chely is a large, very busy operation - it occupies three stalls, and its staffed by two men, and two women, all of whom seemed to be very busy during the time of our visit, and at one time, they seemed to have more waiting customers than they seemed to be able to handle. I'm not one for crowds, but since so many locals seemed to favor this restaurant, I just had to give it a try. Despite the fact that we'd been wandering around the central market for a good part of the morning, I wasn't particularly hungry, as I'd just eaten a filling bowl of menudo an hour or so earlier, but Chely was tugging at my heart strings, or should I way my stomach? so I made my way over to the counter, and ordered a couple of tacos de barbacoa.
Photo: This gal is picking specific cuts off the meat, and placing it onto a plate, to be chopped up inside the restaurant. Everything is done by hand, and sanitation is quite lax. There must be an unwritten agreement among the restaurants in the central market to have less-than-sanitary, dingy, crowded kitchens, as like the other restaurants we visited, Comedor Chely's kitchen leaves a lot to be desired, and would make a deceased O.S.H.A. inspector turn over in his grave. The walls were a bit cleaner than other restaurants, but there still were ample grease splashes in the vicinity of the ranges, dirty dishes were piled everywhere, and no personal sanitation was used. Of course Chely doesn't have a refrigerator, as the cold stuff is kept in ice chests, and ice is delivered from a truck, and placed immediately in an ice chest. The kitchen is lit by bare, fluorescent lights, which constantly flickered, which seemed a little weird. The most interesting aspect about the kitchen is there were two auxiliary sinks, which appeared to be used for hand washing and ancillary use, mounted outside the restaurant, the sinks were ordinary bathroom sinks, plumbed in a manner that could best be described as a plumber's nightmare.
Photo: Meat is kept on an island, in front of the restaurant, and cut as you watch. I suppose they keep the meat in front, to advertise the banana leaves, and the decorative arrangement. Barbacoa is a very popular weekend breakfast dish in the state of Tamaulipas, and on weekends, it's sold everywhere, and every restaurant, including Chely's in the central market, seems to specialize in barbacoa. As fascinating as Chely's twin sinks were, what really sets them apart from the crowd is the barbacoa that they serve, as its wrapped in banana tree leaves, in the style of southern Mexico, and there is a huge island of barbacoa, complete with leaves and bones, placed on an island in the center aisle of the market, and a girl attending the barbacoa! Oh yes!! I had to order barbacoa! So I walked up to the counter, and ordered barbacoa. They asked me how I wanted it, and I replied "mixta," which is a combination of everything, and then I added that I wanted it served on corn tortillas, taco style, and garnished in salsa, and guacamole, if they had any. They didn't have guacamole, as guacamole isn't as common a garnish on the east coast of Mexico, as it is in Baja California, and points west.
Photo: Preferred cuts of meat are selected from the cabeza by hand. Behind the gal, can be seen one of the bathroom sinks that feature "nightmare" plumbing. The sink appears to drain into a bucket, sitting on the floor beneath the sink. To get your barbacoa, it works this way: You place your order with the girl at the counter. She yells over to the girl at the barbacoa island, who grabs a chunk of meat, by hand, and places it in a small bowl, and walks it over to the counter. The counter girl then hands it over to a guy at a chopping block, and he chops the meat into small pieces, suitable for a taco. He then places the meat on to a couple of warmed, toasted corn tortillas, and hands it to another girl, who garnishes it with salsa, diced onions, and cilantro. Then, you take it over to a table, sit down, squeeze a little lime juice on it, and enjoy. It's the custom in Mexico not to pay for food ordered at a counter, or a small restaurant until you're completely finished, as most restaurants don't have cash registers, or any automated method of tracking inventory, so the responsibility rests with the customer to keep track of how much, and what they order. Yes, it's the honor system at its finest, but it works, and is employed by practically every small restaurant, taco stand, street cart, or roadside vendor.
Photo: How many football fans would dare to wear an Oakland Raiders shirt on the east coast? This gentleman, who's job it is to chop the cabeza, must be Cd. Mante's official mascot for the Raiders, and a die-hard fan of them. What is "mixta" barbacoa? First, barbacoa is cow's head, slow roasted over an indirect fire for around 16 hours. Mixta is a mixture of cheek meat, brains and eyes; the tongue meat is always cooked, and sold separately. The taste of barbacoa is somewhat unremarkable, as it would be best be described as tasting similar to pot roast, but in this part of the country, barbacoa is one of the more popular entr้es enjoyed at breakfast. It's eaten either as a stand-alone, with salsa and a stack of tortillas on the side, or in the style of a taco, which I elected. I love barbacoa, and I eat it whenever I get the chance. In case you're interested, barbecoa can easily be cooked at home, if you have an outdoor smoker, like I do. I've cooked it in my back yard, so if you'd like to see how I do it, go over to our sister web site, www.erench.com, and enjoy the recipe that I've posted about barbacoa, that I've made at home.
Photo: My delicious tacos, garnished with chopped cilantro, sliced cabbage, and pico de gallo. My tacos de barbacoa the I enjoyed at Comedor Chely were juicy, tasty, and delicious. I'm not sure if the banana leaves added any exotic flavor, but the barbacoa was delicious, and if I hadn't already eaten, I would have ordered a second round of tacos. At MEX $15.00, the tacos are a bargain, as they're delicious. Comedor Chely Copyright(c) 2006 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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