The Inventors of Al Pastor: El Tizoncito

Al Pastor roasting on the spit at El Tizoncito, Mexico City

Upon my arrival in Mexico City, there was much confusion finding my amiga, Eme, at the airport. Fortunately there were some incredible sculptures by Jorge Marín to distract me, as well as a friendly, handsome security guard who I gave some of my art stickers.

Sculpture by Jorge Marín, Mexico City, DF, Mexico

By the time I found Eme at another terminal, I was already starving. We grabbed a cab and headed toward our digs in the Condesa neighborhood. We were fortunate enough to have friends staying at a mansion so we were able to live large there for a few days while attending the Material Art Fair. Which by the way was amazing. You'll read more about that later. We have tacos to talk about.

We dropped our bags on the first floor of the mansion and headed down the street for tacos. Conveniently, there is an El Tizoncito, just blocks away. Tizoncito claims to be the inventor of Tacos al Pastor. We arrived to the marinated slices of pork loin stacked in the shape of a spinning top. The name comes from the "style of the shepherd" and is cooked very similarly to shawarma and gyros. The meat slowly spins and roasts and then thinly sliced onto tacos. At the top of the meat is a piece of pineapple that gets richly sweet as it cooks and a thin slice is added to the tacos. It's just enough subtle sweetness to compliment some of the spicy salsas.

Salsas at El Tizoncito, Mexico City

After we were seated, we were seated by a very friendly waitress and an even more friendly tower of chips and salsas. There were four very different salsas - a tomatillo with green chile, pure serrano, chile de arbol and morita chile. There were liquified beans also served which helped cut the heat when needed. The michelada (beer with lime juice and salt) also helped mellow things out.

Al Pastor Tacos at El Tizoncito, Mexico City

And then... the tacos came. Tender roasted slices of al pastor, pineapple with white onion and cilantro. Perfection on my plate. The taste was delicious and I couldn't get enough. I stopped after six. Only because I knew I was having churros later.

Visit El Tizoncito website for menu and locations.