Tacos La Bala
It’s Sunday, and it’s so bleeding hot! Like it’s so hot that I feel a little hungover, you know? The sun is bright and beating down making me a little clammy. Well. There happens to be a classic remedy for a hangover, in any form, that’s tried and true among the legendary drinkers in my family: menudo! And I happen to have heard of a little place not too far from our church that boasts some of the best around. I’m starting to sweat, so it’s time to get this in me. We shake the required hands, beam the required smiles, mount up and make a beeline for Tacos La Bala
Dusty But Secure
Fifteen minutes and a couple of Michigan lefts later –that’s when you pass the destination, U-turn left and make a right to get there– and we pull into the parking lot of a little free-standing building with bars on all the windows. There are some visible signs of construction. Not sure about this yet… We walked so see no host and received no greeting from the young lady behind the counter. There a few silent eaters dotted across the place, but the signs of construction continue. It looks like the entire restaurant was remodeled and, save for the left-over equipment and cordoned off spaces, it looks fantastic! It’s clean and sparkling.
We walk up and rattle off our order and pay the apathetic-looking young lady who turns out being very friendly. Wife orders a breakfast favorite, Huevos con Chorizo, a mix of scrambled eggs and spicy Mexican chorizo served with home fries and refried beans. I ordered a small bowl of menudo, leaving room for three street tacos: Fajita, grilled skirt steak; Trompo, marinated and spit-roasted pork; and Chicharon, stewed pork rind. I couldn’t help myself. We’re given a table number and find a seat where we’re met with a molcajete shaped bowl of super fresh salsa made of raw onion, cilantro, peppers, and lime. It’s HOT!
I’ll Take One of Everything, Please
We sit with our drinks near the stacks of tile and grout to chat a bit before our food shows. The topic: oppressive Texas heat. It was a good talk. Within a few minutes, our food shows and I’m damn impressed. Wife’s eggs are well cooked as are the potatoes. It’s a relatively modest seasoning job, but the preparation was done with care. The beans were a bit watery for my taste but were super flavorful and worked well with the dish.
My tacos followed suit. The Fajita was chard and tasty, and the Chicharron
was incredibly flavorful, stewed slowly in a rich, spicy tomato-based sauce. They were just slightly overdone, but the flavor more than made up for it. The Trompo was mildly under seasoned. I was hoping for a deeper taste achieved by a longer marinade time, but it was still well balanced. All of them were heightened by some sharp aromatics, fresh onion, and cilantro, as well as a splash of the spicy, buttery, avocado-based salsa that was on the table.
Heal Me!
My menudo was exactly what I wanted and, thus far, the best I’ve had! The entire bowl had a depth of flavor and a thick heartiness that can only be achieved by hours and hours of slow, careful cooking. The thick, collagen-rich broth was cut well by a splash of lime and a handful of chopped onion and cilantro. It was spicy and salty and matched perfectly with the stack of naturally sweet, steaming handmade corn tortillas. They were chewy and just lovely. The only thing it was missing from mama’s is a handful of hominy and pig feet, but I didn’t care. I was in heaven and, by the end of the meal, my heat-based hangover was long gone.
Now that I have A Clearer Head…
I sat back in my chair and chewed on a last piece of tortilla soaked in spicy broth, content, and headache-free. I have a feeling I’ll be back on a Saturday morning sometime in the future, now that I know what to expect. You know the ones: the late Saturday mornings after a long Friday night. As for the Chef at Tacos La Bala, neither of us are surprised by the verdict. On a scale of tip-the-hat (low) to shank-the-chef (high), the Chef will be no more. He dead. In fact, I’m considering beating him to death with his dishwasher. Not the machine. The person. Bludgeoned to death by another human being. I’ll be at the gym. Need to work on the upper body strength to handle this.
Keeping the world in balance.
Have you ever eaten something so delicious it made you angry?