June 9, 2008
Because they're hugely more acidic
Time Out has a feature this week where Chicago chefs specializing in various ethnic cuisines reveal some of their favorite cheap restaurants around the city. The first chef (and the only one to appear in the online edition) is Rick Bayless, and along the way he shed some light on a discussion my wife and I were having about how sour tomatillo based sauces are:
"There are two flavor profiles in Mexican food," he says between bites of a taco at Don Pedro Carnitas: home food and street food. "Street food almost always has this super well-cooked fatty element in it that is completely balanced by straight, bright acid."I actually bought a copy of the magazine (which is a pretty extreme move for me), and I was pleased to find that I was unfamiliar with the majority of the restaurants mentioned, even in neighborhoods I'd say I know reasonably well. Lots to try.He squeezes some lime on his taco.
"When Mexicans go to Europe, they're just incredulous. There is nothing to balance all that heaviness. They consider it a really super one-dimensional cuisine. They're always reaching for a lime or a pickle or something -- an acid."
He swallows, takes another bite.
Post a comment