food adventures: The quest for the best tacos al Pastor

nospam@example.com (Nathan Dial) — Wed, 13 May 2009 18:56:00 +0000

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?"

Hunting the elusive Salt-Rising Bread

nospam@example.com (Nathan Dial) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:28:00 +0000

Now for story time: This week, I went on a quest to find the elusive salt-rising bread. My first stop was to look on the internet for a re ci pe so Sarah and/or her mom (who is still around) could possibly cook it. Well ... according to the recipe, "THIS IS NOT AN EASY BREAD TO MAKE!" Having never tasted it, and not having anybody else around who had tasted it it, how was I to know if a homemade batch actually came out right? Self-production would not be an option.

So I checked around for bakeries who carried it. A friend directed me to a place called Hogan's, which claimed on their website to carry salt-rising bread, but as we know not everything you read on the internet is true, and when I went to the bakery store I found that they didn't have any and hadn't in weeks.

Next place I tried was the Old Mill Bread Company off Cedar Bluff Road. I didn't have any internet-based indication that they carried salt-rising bread, but they are just across the street from Dunkin' Donuts where I happened to be already. And they are a bakery. A place where bread is produced. Unfortunately they did not carry salt-rising bread -- although many people ask for it, they haven't been able to get the recipe just right.

Unremitting, I did another internet search and found The Bakery Lady. She's based in Seymour, TN, which is a long drive for a loaf of bread. She only makes salt-rising bread once a month. But fortune was on my side! She delivers to stores in Knoxville, and she happened to be baking salt-rising bread on Tuesday and delivering to stores yesterday! I pursued the nearest of those stores molto con brio and got the very last available loaf of elusive salt-rising bread. My prize! My victory! My fresh-baked trophy, the reward for days of irrepresible valor and resolve was finally in my hands, wrapped in plastic, with a twist tie on the end.

After such buildup, I wanted to tuck in right on the spot, but with patience (born partly out of having a filling lunch and partly out of fear of a disappointing letdown) I waited until the evening after the kids in bread--er, bed--to indulge in my new sample of salt-rising deliciousness. As Sarah was getting Phoebe ready for bed, I popped 4 or 5 slices into the toaster and softened some butter in the microwave for a delicious (?) toasty bedtime snack.

How did it taste?

It was good. It had a distinctive smell to it, coming out of the toaster -- sort of like cheese? But the taste was not too strong, and not a lot different than other bread that I've had. Sarah also had some toast and agreed that it was pretty tasty. I had learned from my internet explorations that "salt-rising" refers more to the method of getting it to rise than the flavoring, but I was kind of expecting it to be saltier tasting.

So would I get it again? Definitely. Would I drive all up and down the East Tennessee countryside to acquire it? Mmm ... maybe. It was worth it for the sport of finding it, for asking so many people who said, "A lot of people ask about that, but we don't have it." And knowing that I had asked and ultimately received. Also all this typing about it has made me want another piece of toast. A craving? Say it ain't so!

Next stop on the quest for elusive breads: Melonpan!

Nathan Dial's adventures in Interweb Land - food

food adventures: The quest for the best tacos al Pastor

Hunting the elusive Salt-Rising Bread