TACOS ALAMBRE +

the last great dish we discovered at taco mesa was the taco alambre. it's simple really... carne asada, bacon, grilled onions, and ranchero cheese atop a white corn tortilla. in our last days at taco mesa, the taco alambre became one of the most ordered items in our group of friends. good eats, indeed.

then we moved out here to sf and became accustomed to frequenting the mission's own la taqueria on mission between 24th and 25th. their claim to fame is not only their savory meat, but also the inclusion of a fried tortilla topped with melted cheese into a taco. this crispy tortilla sits atop a standard warmed soft corn tortilla and the texture is wonderful.

my aunt tina was in town on business and amber was visiting for the evening, so carlos and i decided to make them dinner rather than try to find parking at a downtown restaurant on a friday evening. because we had bested taco mesa in the past, we thought we'd try our hand again. and -- as you'd probably imagine -- the target of the evening's cooking was the infamous taco alambre that carlos and i had held in such esteem over the past year. the plan was fairly straightforward; we intended to cook our carne asada with bacon to give the meat a succulent and salty flavor. and in addition to the grilled onions, we incorporated grilled yellow peppers into the tacos as well. we mimicked la taqueria's fried tortilla technique with ranchero cheese -- after it melted, it served to hold the two tortillas together, whille also tasting delicious. than to finish, i made fresh roasted tomato/roasted tomatillo/chipotle salsa and fresh guacamole which we smothered atop the tacos with a little bit of crema mexicana.

the results: well, i did refer to them as the best tacos i'd ever tasted... and i do hate to gloat. but they were damn good, and i was quite impressed with our work. if you're a carnivore and you'd like dinner, just let me know and carlos and i will be glad to make another batch... 'cause it would give us a reason to enjoy them for ourselves again! anyways, we'll likely be working on some more concoctions of our own in the near future. i look forward to sharing!

here are some photos of the us and the tacos. unfortunately, not many of my photos from that evening came out -- and none of them containing tina were salvagable. blast! have a look!

Posted by ryan at July 11, 2004 06:16 PM