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During my travels to Mexico, I’ve seen some unusual combinations of businesses, as the zoning laws, regulations and local customs differ somewhat from those found north of the border. However, one of the more unusual combinations that I’ve ever seen is a business that combines a tire store and a taqueria under the same roof! So what is the result when you cross-pollinate a tire repair and a taqueria? Tacos El Joven, of course!
Photo: Looking from across the street, this photo clearly shows that Tacos El Joven is co-located with the tire business. Located near the busy corner of Calle Carranza and Av. Miguel Hidalgo, in the Col. Centro district of beautiful Tecate, Tacos El Joven is co-located with Llantera Servicio Lugo, with both business owned and operated by the Lugo family. It’s an odd combination, but it seems to work for the family, as they’re doing very well in both endeavors. When you pull up to Calle Carranza #10 during the morning or early afternoon, you can purchase tires, or get a tire repaired, but don’t even think of ordering a delicious carne asada taco, as the taco shop doesn’t open until late afternoon. However while you’re getting your tire repaired, you’ll notice activity in what used to be the tire store’s office, but now serves as the kitchen and indoor dining room of the restaurant, as Mom and Daughter are busily cooking beans and cutting vegetables in preparation for the late afternoon opening of Tacos El Joven. Quite an interesting operation!
Photo: Carne asada smoking on the grill. Note the work table, and the cutting board full of chopped lemons. In the late afternoon, Calle Carranza #10 becomes a beehive of activity, as the door to the kitchen opens, the grills are fired-up, and the restaurant opens for business. If you time it right, there is a window of an hour or so in the late afternoon where you can enjoy a delicious taco while you’re getting your tire repaired, but the tire shop closes soon after the restaurant opens, as Dad and Brother put down their tire irons and don their cook’s aprons, and grill delicious tacos al pastor, tripa, cabeza or carne asada for the evening taco crowd. Since everybody in the family seems to wear two hats, I wonder if the ladies know how to fix tires? What used to be the office of the tire shop is now the kitchen and indoor dining room, and its very well equipped with a stove, two refrigerators, a large cooler containing soft drinks, work area, and a counter open to the street. The counter seems to be mostly used for storage, but it also holds a small television, that faces outside, tuned to Mexican soap operas. The dining room has several tables and chairs, but is also used for storage, as there are cases of bottled Coca Cola and boxes of supplies stacked against the wall. I get the impression that most customers prefer to dine outside, as during my visit, that was where all of the action was. During my visit, Mom was in the kitchen, tending to a couple of large pots simmering on the stove, that I assume contain the ever-present beans, which is a quasi-standard side dish in Baja California.
Photo: Dad grills carne asada. Note the huge slab of pork grilling on the vertical grill, and the 20-gallon propane tank in the background. The plastic barrel in the forground contains marinade, but I didn't get the recipe. Outside is where the action is, as that is where the grills are located and where the meat is cooked, the condiments are made, and on a balmy evening in early October, its where the customers prefer to dine. Tacos El Joven uses a small taco cart, that doubles as a kitchen and work area, a separate, detached mesquite-fired grill, several tables used for storage and work areas, two aluminum picnic tables with attached benches, and a pickup truck with a camper shell that’s used to deliver supplies when they run low. This whole operation is set in front of the enclosed kitchen/dining room, on the wide sidewalk in front of the business.
Photo: Brother chops grilled steak for carne asada tacos, in back a beautiful foreground of perfectly stacked radishes. The taco trailer is the heart of the operation, as it is where the vegetables are cut up and the al pastor is grilled. The trailer is quite colorful, as the counter of it is decorated with a huge mound of radishes, and large bunches of cilantro are piled high on a shelf, above the radishes. The trailer serves as storage and work space, and its where condiments are made and displayed. What really gets your attention is the propane-fired vertical grill at the end of the trailer, with a large slab of pork, turning on a vertical rotisserie, and a pineapple placed on top of the meat for added flavor. In Mexico, this is the method used to roast the pork used to make tacos al pastor, as the pineapple adds the flavor as the meat cooks, and small slices of it are included in the taco. A flat plan is placed under the meat to catch the drippings, and its also used to warm onions and small pieces of pastor that have been sliced from the roast. Next to the vertical grill is a small, conventional grill, that is used to roast peppers and onions.
Photo: Meat for tacos al pastor, trompo style, grilled in front of a vertical grill; not the pineapple placed on top of the meat for flavor and the small grill to the right, where white onions and red peppers are grilling. Next to the trailer is a stand-alone, propane-fired grill, with mesquite chunks added for flavor, where tripa, cabeza and carne asada are grilled. Sweet, fragrant, mesquite smoke just billows from the grill, and when you combine the smells of mesquite smoke and cooking meat, the aroma is heavenly. The grill also has a griddle attached to it, which comes in very handy for warming corn tortillas. There are a couple of work tables placed near the grill, and a few storage boxes, and interestingly, there’s a wooden pallet placed on the ground, between the trailer and the grill, which serves as a platform to stand on, as the operator works the grills. The stand-alone grill is strategically placed next to the trailer, so the cook has easy access to all three grills, and a cutting board, while he's standing on the pallet. In keeping with many small restaurants in Mexico, Tacos El Joven does not have a printed menu, as they tend to serve what ever they have on hand, and today, Saturday, October 6, 2007, they had tripa, cabeza, al pastor, and carne asada. I have a tendency to order tripa, as there is nothing that I love more than a grilled, tripe taco, but the cooking carne asada smelled so good, that I decided to enjoy carne asada tonight. So I walked up to Brother, who was grilling carne asada, and ordered two tacos de carne asada, with all the condiments.
Photo: Staff and customers relax and enjoy the fine athosphere and cuisine offerd at Tacos El Joven. After placing my order, Brother grabbed four cd-size corn tortillas and placed them on the griddle to warm. Then he removed a sizzling hot piece of seasoned steak from the grill, placed it on a cutting board, and deftly chopped it into small pieces with a heavy cleaver. He then flipped the tortillas over, and grabbed a paper plate and a couple of pre-cut pieces of butcher paper, removed the tortillas from the griddle, and placed them on the plate, on top of the paper. Next, he put the meat on the tortillas, and added grilled white onion and pepper slices, cilantro and creamy guacamole, and sort of rolled the tacos so they, well, looked like a taco. Then he placed a couple of slices of key lime and two radishes on my plate for accent. From the start of order until my delicious tacos were given to me took only a couple of minutes. Talk about fast food, Mexican style! There is nothing better tasting in this world than a carne asada taco, cooked over mesquite, loaded with all of the condiments, hot off the grill, and the tacos that I enjoyed at Tacos El Joven were juicy, smoky, delicious, and grilled perfectly. I didn’t dine alone, as I had plenty of company from local residents, and I noticed that this restaurant is popular with families, as there were several families in attendance. At the price of MEX $8.00 per taco, practically anybody can dine in style.
Photo: My delicious dinner of two tacos de carne asada, with all of the condiments, served with sliced limes and radishes on the side. Delicious? Yes! Tacos El Joven is an absolutely wonderful place to enjoy outstanding tacos, but you not only get to enjoy delicious food at very inexpensive prices, but you actually get to talk to the people who prepare your food, own and operate the restaurant; plus you get to a chance to meet the friendly, local residents, and to share a meal with them at the same table. Tacos El Joven is a great cultural experience, and a great place to eat. Tacos El Joven Copyright(c) 2008 eRench Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. This site has been on the web since January 19, 2005. Web page design has been created by eRench Productions, Inc., custom photography for any occasion...
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