No. 98: Chicharron Tacos from Tacos al Carbon
Nearly everything served at the 24-hour Lake Worth taco institution known as Tacos al Carbon is stellar food. But the chicharron tacos take us somewhere special. A soft, hand-made corn tortilla is piled with crispy, tubular chunks
of deep-fried pig skin, then laced with onions, cilantro, and (upon
request) a mound of tomato and fresh, Mexican cheese (queso fresco).
How you eat it is your call - but I'm partial to getting the works,
then pouring on a healthy enough slosh of al Carbon's spicy-as-hell
orange salsa as to send my mouth into pleasurable shock. The crispy
bits of pork rind are amazingly satisfying to bite through due to the
hollow nature, like how breakfast cereal would be if it was made out of
meat and served by the Gods. And they're perfectly fried without being
greasy - and let's face it, a little grease after a midnight drinking
binge never hurt nobody. Yup, these little puppies are emblematic of
what makes honest, democratic Mexican "dining" so great: these artisan,
working class cooks have taken the stuff the privileged of the world
turn their nose up at, and transformed it, as if by magic, into eating
at it's finest.
Previous 100 Favorite Dishes:
No. 99: Primanti Bros. Sandwich
No. 100: Chicken Wings from Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza