Let's 'Taco'bout Taco
- Stef Rostoll
- Nov 20, 2015
- 3 min read
“A taco, at its simplest, is a tortilla, filling, and salsa—the other holy trinity in Mexico—yet when these three elements are prepared with the proper care and ingredients, tacos can be raised to the status of haute cuisine.”
—Alejandro Escalante
"TACOPEDIA" by Déborah Holtz and Juan Carlos Mena
First published in English in 2015
Phaidon Press Inc.
Cover design by Hand Strofgen
COOL WORD PLAY AND TYPEFACE
The cover title and font is a preview of things to come—a colorful treat beyond your typical encyclopedia.
1 taco, 2 taco, 3 taco, MORE!
Photography by Benjamin Alcantara
What was originally released in Spanish in 2013 by Trilce Ediciones, "La Tacopedia: Enciclopedia del Taco," now has its English version, "Tacopedia" by authors Déborah Holtz and Juan Carlos Mena, whose love for tacos transcends into this wonderful encyclopedic book that is a far cry from your usual boring school encyclopedia. (I should know, I'll be the first to doze off on pure listings and theories alone).
Chef René Redzepi of Noma, Copenhagen wrote the forward of the book recounting his first taco memory, when he traveled to Mexico to escape the harsh winter in Denmark and to recharge from work. His narrative itself is a tipoff that “Tacopedia” is worth keeping. He spent two years traveling to Mexico scouring recipes and inspiration with his former pastry Chef Rosio Sánchez, whom he helped open a taqueria in Copenhagen.
In this video from the New York Times you can see both chefs demonstrating how to make tortillas. (In "Tacopedia" you'll learn that fresh tortillas are used for tacos, quesadillas, and enchiladas, and when they are cut into triangles, it can serve as a spoon!)
You'll find a lot of illustrations in the book.
Leafing through the pages of “Tacopedia”, it gives you more than what you've asked for, shadowing the vibrant taco culture of Mexico and exploring everything about the taco universe, from the fillings, to the salsas, and the sauces— the whole shebang that makes no two taco alike!
It goes on expanding on the subject of sixteen different types of tacos and mapped out a colorful illustration on the surprsing varieties of tacos all over Mexico in it’s “Tacography.”
And it goes visual, whetting your appetite on “The Taco Menagerie” and goes in-depth on what’s the tastiest meat part of them all.
Additionaly, it tackles the taco’s cousins, Jorge F. Hernandez describes, “ The enchiladas (so elegant and pampered), quesadillas (so gossipy that they spill it all as soon as they get warmed up), and tlayudas (there to remind us the family has deep ancestral roots).”
You think you know about tacos? Think again.
You'll find this gastronomical map of Mexico tacos on p.268.
Infographics by Kitzia Sámano
In case you are lost on what part of the meat is what, this densely illustrates essential cuts. "The Taco Menagerie" on page 58.
Illustration by Kitzia Sámano
It doesn’t stop from there, the gem is in the compilation of the unique “tacqueros” or taco makers story, the heart of where it is prepared and how each flavors come to life. They are the perfect resource person for trade secrets and age-old (guarded) recipes. In here you’ll find hundred taco recipes. They are the most authentic of all Mexican taco recipe you can ever find, without traveling to Mexico. And Just incase you are mad enough to travel to Mexico, they've included the exact addresses of these taco stands to help you navigate.
The authors spent four years to investigate and record every culinary detail of tacos, and the people involved. “We allowed the book to shape itself organically, since through the process, we realized the need to include such things as the songs and the countless sayings relating to tacos,” they write.
The pictures—richly illustrated—just pops page after page. "Tacopedia" is such a pure joy to read, it also leaves you with pronounced hunger pangs. Yup, the struggle is real, folks, especially when you are in the confines of your home, x-miles away from a legit Mexican tacqueria.
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“
Reader of this book be warned: a napkin will be required to catch the drooling that will inevitably occur when leafing through these pages. Their evocation of both the tacos and taco eateries, which have left their imprint on the Mexican national consciousness, may well inspire you to embark on your own personal chronicle of memorable tacos.
"
—Jorge F. Hernandez
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Making navigation a breeze, exact taco store listings are here
and why they are the best of the best!
Photography by Marcel Rius
Want to know more about the orgin? Why and how? and more trivias are found in the book, which can easily catapult you to taco nerd status.
"Tacopedia: The Taco Encyclopedia" is avaialble at KISH loacated at N. Garcia St., Former Reposo St. Bel-Air 2, Makati City, Philippines, 1209; tel no. 896-8366.
Also avaialbe in Amazon.
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