Cooky Cat

Tacos from Heaven

(Fry Bread Tacos)

There is a little town named Guadalupe just at the southern border of Phoenix. Every Sunday after the church service the Yaqui Indian Center there has a fellowship and serves some wonderful home-made foods.

Our go-to favorite is the Menudo Blanco. A slow cooked soup with honeycomb beef tripe and hominy. Accompanied with warm tortillas and spruced up with chopped white onion, cilantro, hot pepper flakes, and dried Mexican oregano. It feeds the soul. (Also, reputedly, great as a hangover cure.)

They also serve tacos. You know, if you live in the Phoenix area or other southwestern towns close to Mexico, taquerias are as numerous there as pizza joints in New Jersey. But the tacos at the Indian center are particularly special.

The Indian Center folks serve tacos made with fry bread. Not fried some time ago, but on the spot, just before you place your order.

What is fry bread? It is a leavened round lunch plate-sized thin bread patty that is fried in oil. Very soft texture, plain except for satisfying flavor of the fried crust.

Fillings typically were a choice of refried beans garnished with onions, cilantro, and shaved lettuce. Or, you could choose to have your taco with red chili or green chili.

In the South West when you ask for chili you get a saucy stew of finely chopped meat in a sauce based on chilies (peppers). Red chili is made with beef; green chili, with chicken. That is not a fast rule, but close. No beans in the chili, please. If you want beans, you get them on the side.

[Somewhat related: If you are in the Phoenix area, our favorite burrito can be found at the Chevron station on the edge of Scottsdale on the Pima Indian Reservation at Pima Road and Chaparral. You won’t be disappointed. A large soft warm flour tortilla loaded with a thick beef (red) chili. Hot sauce on every table; as much salsa as you ask for.]

Now watch grandmother demonstrate . . .