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They mean going out with friends until late at night, and standing at a bar while eating. “For me,” says Ian Corona, a musician who has lived in Mexico City all his life, “tacos mean nighttime. In any case, Chilangos admit that the al pastor experience is about more than the food. The real secret, they say, is in the freshness, the complexity of f lavor, and the variety of the accompanying salsas. Even the most passionate al pastor fans admit there’s only so much you can do with sliced pork, tortillas, and garnishes. My own experience is that whenever you come across a cone of pork, crowned with a chunk of pineapple, slow cooking near a doorway or a window, and the meat’s edges are caramelized and crispy from the dripping fat, the tacos probably are excellent. Tacos al pastor! #tacos #alpastor #mexicocity #cdmxĪ post shared by James Bowden on at 12:29pm PST Hence the designation al pastor-which, roughly translated, means “shepherd’s style.” The enormous cone of spiced and marinated meat (known as a trompo, or child’s top, which it resembles) is the pork version of lamb shawarma. Tacos al pastor are believed to have evolved from culinary traditions that came to Mexico along with the wave of Lebanese immigration that began in the late 19th century and continued into the 1930s. What’s interesting about the local pride felt by Chilangos and Defeños (as Mexico City residents are known) is that the tacos they celebrate are a relatively recent import-relative, that is, to Mexico’s long history. My Mexican friends and relatives insist that the tacos al pastor you get elsewhere in the country are never as good as the ones served in the capital city. Tacos al pastor-thin slices of pork shaved from a giant tower of layered meat rotating on a spit beside an open grill, piled onto one or two soft tortillas and topped with onions, chopped cilantro, a spear or chunks of pineapple, and a dollop of salsa-are to Mexico City what chili is to Cincinnati. It’s the gastronomic equivalent of the returning exile kneeling and kissing the tarmac. As soon as their plane lands in Mexico City, they head straight for a stand called El Farolito in the airport food court and order a plate of tacos al pastor. Whenever my daughter-in-law flies home to see her family, she and my son have a ritual.