tacos... and more tacos

there are a lot of different types of tacos in mexico. i mean A LOT.

you can get any kind of meat you'd like, and depending on where you go, there is a combination of different types of salsa (hot sauce), fresh lime wedges for squeezing, pickled and fresh vegetables, cilantro, fresh lettuce, grilled peppers, and much more.

exhibit a: fish taco



i first saw this particular taco stand within my first week at guadalajara. there were over 20 people, either lining up to order or busy eating. sadly, i couldn't join them as i had to catch the bus. naturally, i returned in a few days to check it out.

it's one of the larger and more popular stands i've seen so far. first, you line up to order and pay for your taco (between 10-20 pesos depending on your order). you pick up your food on a plastic plate lined with plastic bag and proceed to the toppings cart. it's got at least 30 different types of hot sauces, fresh and grilled vegetables, chilies, and coleslaw. there's even an outdoor hand washing station for the patrons, and huge pots with plants to 'mark off' the 'restaurant' boundaries.

these guys only do seafood, and you can get fish, shrimp, fake crab, real crab (as in the entire body of the crab), and other seafoodie things i didn't understand - all of which are battered and fried up. for 12 pesos, i got one fish taco, which wasn't very big. but once i piled on the fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, coleslaw, roasted habernero (hot!) peppers, pickled peppers (sour and spicy - just right), and two different types of hot sauces, it piled up. my single fish taco with all the toppings was much higher than my friend's two fish tacos (which is what you see). yes, i got a little greedy.

exhibit b: ahogada and bean taco

ahogada means "drowned". i had a pork sandwich, literally drowned in a mixture of runny tomato sauce and equally runny and red hot sauce. the other plate has three bean tacos with the same treatment. the lovely hand you see there is about to squeeze some lime juice, which kicks it up to another notch as emeril would say. the bun is a little crusty so i had to wait a little while for the sauce to drown the sandwich. the result: a messy yet satisfying 15 minutes of chewing, savouring and licking fingers. There were also fresh radishes included, which i chewed on in between bites of the mexican (and the better) version of the sloppy joe sandwich.