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Do your dining tastes gravitate toward push-cart vendors when you're visiting Tijuana? Do you DARE to try something different? Do you desire to go to a place where no other Americans dare to dine? If that's the case, and you want to enjoy a taco that's both delicious and exotic, as you're walking on Calle Articulo 123 towards Tijuana's fabled shopping zone, when you come to Av. Revolución, instead of turning south toward the shopping zone, cross the street, under the arch, and make a right turn north, and walk a half block down the hill. You'll see the spacious parking garage of the Hotel Campaniento, and in the front of the parking garage, next to the sidewalk, you'll find Tacos Barios, which serves tacos that are so good, they're almost worth dying for, and you just might almost commit suicide as you enjoy their tacos. Read on...
Photo: Shy Marcia attempted to duck as I snapped the photo, but I accomplished my mission! Note the fact that all of the food is pro-cooked. Sparce condiments are offered on the shelf, located in the foreground of the photo. Tacos Barios is a small, push-cart vendor taco operation, owned and operated by a woman named Marica, who lives in the Hotel Campaniento, and makes her living selling tacos from her taco cart. She has "cut" a deal with the owners of the hotel, and they allow her to set up her taco cart in the parking garage of the hotel, during weekday afternoons and early evenings, to sell her delicious tacos. Tacos Barios is a very low-key, small operation, which seems to be in keeping with the personality of Marica, as she is a very shy woman, and it took a lot of "schmoozing" and coaxing from me to get the information from her to write this article. It was a challenge to get a fleeting photograph of her, but I arose to the challenge and managed to snap a photo! Marica spends her mornings in her hotel room preparing Tijuana-style rice, refried beans, birria, lengua, carne asada, condiments, and tortillas. By late morning, when its time to open the business, she places all of the ingredients into stainless steel containers, and carries them from her room to the taco cart, which is strategically located just inside the parking garage, at the sidewalk. The containers of food fit perfectly into round slots on the top of the taco cart, and the food stays warm, as the taco cart is heated by propane. Marcia told me that she always cooks extra food, and she keeps the extras in the refrigerator in her room, in case she runs low on something. If she runs low, all she has to do is to go back to her room, and grab what she needs. A refrigerator in a hotel room? She must rent an apartment!
Photo; Taco de birria. Note that it contains two corn tortillas, rice, beans and the birria stew. Don't those pepper slices look like sliced tomatoes? I certainly though so until I bit into my delicious taco! As mentioned previously, Tacos Barios, is a small, low-budget operation, as it's owned and operated by Marcia, and dining accommodations are spartan, e.g. two stools! The menu is also spartan, as she only offers tacos de birria, lengua, or carne asada. Condiments are on the small-side as well, and consist only of diced purple onions, and what I thought to be diced tomatoes; more on that later. Her operation is open in time for lunch, and she closes it in the early evening, or when she runs out of food. I asked Marcia where she purchases her supplies, and she told me from local vendors, and they come to call at all hours, even when her business isn't open, but all of them know where she lives and how to find her. To me, it sounds like this woman leads a very busy life! I sat down at one of the stools and ordered a taco de birria, for the small price of only MEX $10.00 each. In Spanish, the word "birria" loosely translates to something like "mess," but in Tijuana, birria is a sort of stew, made from chopped goat meat, marinated in a mix of chili peppers, cumin, oregano, and other fine ingredients. How does Marcia make tacos? First and foremost, your taco includes two CD-sized, steamed corn tortillas, that are kept warm and moist, thanks to the propane heater. She sets the tortillas on a plate, and then reaches into one of the stainless steel containers, and grabs a large spoonful of runny refried beans over the tortillas. Next, reaches into another container, and spoons a layer of brown, Tijuana-style rice over the beans. Then, it's time for the birria, as she spoons birria from another container over the tortilla/beans/rice, and places the taco on a little styrafoam plate, and hands the taco to you. The condiments are on the small counter of the taco cart, and you have the choice of purple onions, or tomatoes (really?) which are co-located in the same plastic container. Being the condiment-sort-of guy that I am, I loaded up my taco with onion slices, and diced tomatoes, or so I thought... and took a bite into birria heaven.
Photo: Taco de lengua, complete with two corn tortillas, rice and refiried beans. I elected to pass on any condiments, as my mouth was still on fire! Oh boy, was the taco ever good, as the juice just oozed from the meat, and the beans and rice made it taste sort of like a burrito, yet it tasted all taco, the onions were fresh and sweet, but the tomato slices... Time to take another bite of taco joy. Marcia's tacos are big, very big, and each taco could almost be a full meal. But after munching on the second bite, I noticed that the diced tomatoes weren't really tomatoes at all, actually they were slices of habanero peppers, which are about has hot as it gets. My tongue, eyes, mouth and nose immediately let me know that I wasn't eating tomatoes, as my nose and eyes started running, and my mouth felt like it was on fire. But, like any good trooper who has a mission to accomplish, I simply picked out the remaining 'tomato" slices, dumped them into the nearby trash can, and finished my delicious taco. The taco was delicious, and I devoured it, despite the fact that my face felt like it was on fire. I'm glad that she keeps plenty of napkins available! I soon recovered from the heat, and I knew that I just had to order another taco, so I asked for a taco de lengua. As before, Marcia repeated the same process, with the exception that she reached into another pot, and spooned juicy lengua onto my taco, and placed in onto a little styrafoam plate. This time around, I opted to enjoy my taco sans condiments, as I had enough heat, and I didn't even feel like eating mild, purple onion slices. The lengua was moist, juicy and delicious, not at all spicy, and the rice and beans on the corn tortillas really brought out the flavor.
Photo: Two other diners showed up, just after I left, and I managed to take their photo, at the taco cart. Photography is frowned upon in the Zona Norte, and since Tacos Barios is technically located in "The Zone," I was very careful and candid during my photo shoots. Note the way the folks are dressed, as today was a cold day, as far at the residents of Tijuana were considered. Tacos are the de facto standard street food in Tijuana, and Tacos Barios delivers moist, juicy, delicious, and very innovative tacos, at a price that you can't afford to pass on. During my visit to the Zona Norte, I noted that Marcia enjoyed a constant stream of local customers, and one of my main taco rules is to dine where the locals dine, as they know what is the best. My only suggestion to Marcia would be to add more condiments, such as chopped tomatoes, cilantro and lettuce, and some of that creamy, runny guacamole that is commonly found at many street food vendor carts in Tijuana. I made the suggestion her, she giggled and her mouth broke into a shallow, shy grin, but her only reply was, "Pus, quizás maña..." (Well, maybe tomorrow...) Tacos
Barios Copyright(c) 2012 eRench Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. This site has been on the web since December 22, 2002. Web page design has been created by eRench Productions, Inc., custon photography for any occasion...
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