Cabeza Dissertation

Living in Southern California has to be one of the greatest feelings in the world. Traffic is atrocious (especially on the 405), but the beautiful weather, the outdoor activities, the gorgeous bleached blonde plastic babes, the snow, the beach, Las Vegas, and many other attributes significantly dwarf the bad. Wouldn't you agree? SYKE. Ladies and Gentlemen, it is the Mexican Food that makes Southern California the greatest place on Earth, not Disneyland. Most of you take for granted that Los Angeles has the most diverse ethnic food selections in this country, probably the world. Many would say that Mexican food tops the list as their favorite meal.

I don't care if Mexicans can pack 35 people in a truck. They probably laugh at us Asians for being bad drivers. I love them for one reason; and a reason which overshadows all negative connotation and stereotypes: they make some killing Tacos!

Your typical taco at Taco Bell or Del Taco is no taco. For the same reason that Panda Express is no Chinese Food, Fast-food taco just doesn't do any justice. Would I eat it? Of course I would. But then again, what don't I eat?

A home-grown authentic taco consists of the following: double layer of corn tortilla that is roughly two inches in diameter; meat; onions; cilantro; and hot-sauce. Although there are various types of taco, meat is the only dissimilar constituent. The most common types of meat in a taco are:

1) Carne Asada - Skirt Steak - Delicious
2) Carnitas - Roasted Pork - Delicious
3) Al Pastor - BBQ Pork - Delicious
4) Buche - Pork Belly - Amazing
5) Lengua - Pork Tongue - Excellent!
6) Pollo (pollo asada) - Chicken - Its okay.
7) Sesos - Brain - Not So Delicious At All!
8) Chicharron - Pork Rind - Delicious
9) Cabeza - Head - Incredible
10) I'm sure there's a lot more but #1-9 are your basic meat needs.

I would like to explain Meat #9, perhaps the best taco meat anyone can have. The word "Cabeza" literally means "Head" in Spanish. However, common sense tells us that the only meaty part of any animal's head is around the cheek, so its really "cheek" meat, not "head". Take a look in the mirror, if you have meat elsewhere on your head, call 911 or enroll in weight-watchers. We, or I, people: have been consuming cheek tacos this whole time, yes yes yes. I understand the definition is quite frank but it is worth the try, trust me.

There is only one way to cook cabeza meat: steam. Cabeza is usually steamed for several hours until the bones/grizzles completely separate and fall apart from the meat. It is then seasoned and made ready to go. Because of its cooking process, not only is the meat soft, it is the most tender and the juiciest meat on a cow.

After slapping on a pinch of onions, a pinch of cilantro, and a spoonful of hot sauce, there isn't much you can ask for. I promise to, in the near future, share my top 10 taco spots/joints/trucks of Los Angeles with you. However, I will tell you that if you step foot in a Mexican restaurant and you don't see cabeza on the menu, I would question their authenticity immediately. As I surf around the web, I found this person who had an earlier start. I envy him.

*This blog is dedicated to my roommate.