food adventures: The quest for the best tacos al Pastor

A few weeks ago, possibly while I was enjoying a shawarma, I wondered what other types of grilled meat on a spit are available. A quick Wikipedia fugue led me to tacos al pastor (tacos "shepherd style"), an international fusion dish originally created by Lebanese immigrants in Mexico City. These tacos are made by stacking marinated pork on a vertical spit (such as are common with gyros in Greek restaurants), which is then roasted with pineapple chunks at the top, and sliced to order, placed in a tortilla with cilantro, onions and possibly roasted pineapple chunks.

my stomach is growling just thinking about it.

Let me tell you, it's a lot easier to find tacos al pastor in Austin than it was to find salt-rising bread in Knoxville.

First stop: Al Pastor restaurant on E. Riverside. Cheap, fast, good. Pick all 3. (Well, ok, it wasn't that fast to drive down to E. Riverside on a lunch break, but...) They were prepared quickly, and tasted splendid. Lightly fruity, barbecue (but not barbacoa) and not too sweet. Very good.

But of course, why stop with just one place? (Maybe because driving across town just to stuff my fat gourd with high-calorie gut bombs is hedonistic? /shrug) Anyway, the next place I tried (not on the same day, mind you) was Chango's on Guadalupe. I didn't see a spit there, so I'm not sure if it was authentic al pastor or not. But it was enjoyable, just like everything I've ever had at Chango's.

So far, that is all I've tried. The matter of "are they good" is closed, and the answer is Yes. It looks like Taco Xpress, Curra's and Evita's Botanitas should all be on the list before I cover "who is the best?"