Chapa - Ciudad Miguel Alemán

Tacos Chapa operates out of a 1980 's vintage Chevy van, which fulfills the role as the supply and logistics wagon, but all of the cooking is done in a trailer, which is pulled behind the van. The trailer, which fulfills the role of the kitchen, is covered in a blue, plastic tarp, to protect the cook, and her assistants from the sometimes scorching sun, and the ample rain that falls in the area. The restaurant, if you want to call it that, doesn 't have a name; I had to ask one of the staff members what they call the business, and the menu consists of a hand-printed sign posted on one of the rear windows of the van. The menu offers such local favorites as machacado, chicharrón, barbacoa, desebrada and picadillo fillings, available in corn tortillas, and made as tacos. Barbacoa sounded good to me (it always does... Tacos Chapa is operated by a husband and wife team, and the lady was very friendly, and she seemed happy to chit-chat with me while she went about her business. The man was a bit more reserved, and mostly busied himself retrieving supplies from the van, and keeping the place clean. I learned that they have been located at the same location, which is on 6th Street, between Av. Hidalgo and Zapata for the last seven years, and they 're open seven days a week. Barbacoa is breakfast food in Mexico, so they set up shop in the morning, and stay open for lunch, and remain at their location until they run out of food. Most of the meat is prepared at home, before opening the store, and its kept warm in stainless steel pots, which are built into the kitchen range, next to the griddle. Since the meat is already made, the griddle seems to be used mostly to toast tortillas, although I suppose that it could be used to make beans, or another meat entree. The warming pots and the griddle are heated by propane, and I noticed several propane lanterns in the unlikely event they are still serving tacos after dark. Several bar stools and a bench are furnished near the kitchen for customers to sit on, while enjoying the fine cuisine, so Tacos Chapa can be considered a sit-down restaurant. After placing our orders, we watched as the husband began to rummage in the back of the van, searching for tortillas. I didn 't see a tortilla press, so I asked the lady where they got their tortillas, and she told me that they purchase them from a nearby tortillería. It seems they were out of tortillas, and the lady apologized for the delay, as the husband left to make a tortilla run. He returned in a few minutes, with a couple of large packages of corn tortillas, and within a few seconds, he had a six of them cooking on the griddle. When the tortillas began to bubble, and become slightly brown on the high spots, he removed them from the griddle and placed them on a cutting board, that was situated between the griddle and the pots of meat. He then placed six more tortillas on the griddle... While the other tortillas were cooking, the lady dipped a spoon into one of the pots, and spooned barbacoa on each tortilla, followed by diced white onions and cilantro, and folded them over to make a taco. When all six tacos were completed, she placed them on a styrafoam plate, and handed the plate to Dick. (Since I was taking photos, I requested that Dick be served first... About the time that she finished with Dick 's order, the tortillas for mine were ready, so the process was repeated. It 's obvious that the husband and wife have been doing this for quite some time, as they operate as a well-synchronized machine. The tacos were delicious, as the barbacoa was moist and juicy, and the fresh onions and cilantro complimented the meat. I asked the gentleman which variety of barbacoa I was eating, and he replied mixta, which is a mixture of all the cuts of meat, with the exception of the tongue, from the cabeza. The tortillas were perfectly cooked, the cilantro and onion was fresh, and the barbacoa was tender, juicy and deliicous! This amazing little restaurant nets five stars from me!