“These are braised veal sweetbreads, sautéed with corn. They come with a chile pasilla salsa, which has a distinctive earthiness. Corn adds an extra layer of flavor and crunchiness. And of course there’s fresh lime. In Mexico, it’s not a taco if there’s no lime.”
“The veal-cheek tacos are really popular. We slow-roast fresh veal heads for seven hours, and then sauté the cheek meat to order in olive oil, garnishing it with onion, cilantro, chile de árbol, and salsa. That’s how you eat it in Mexico, so that’s how you eat it in Toloache.”
“Another really traditional taco we serve is made with beef tongue, which we braise Veracruz style, with roasted tomatoes, capers, olives, chiles, garlic, and onion. ”
“In Oaxaca, grasshoppers are a snack like popcorn. They have factories where they sun-dry them and dust them with salt and dehydrated pepper and lime. Grasshoppers taste like nothing else. We sauté them with onions and pickled jalapeños, and serve them over a little guacamole.”
“This is one of the only tacos I do that’s not really traditional, but it’s not that different — in Mexico, we have a lot of beef-liver tacos. Here I sear the foie gras, and add some refried black beans, and a salsa of dried mango with red onion and a little bit of habanero. The salsa brings all the flavors together.”