- Taco Tip number 33.
- You know you're at a legit taco truck
where the music is blaring,
the Mexican Coke is flowing,
and the trompo's rolling.
- And you order tacos with a simple hand gesture.
Tres al pastor, por favor!
(laughing)
(upbeat music)
- I'm Jarod Neece.
- I'm Mando Rayo.
- And we're taco journalists exploring
the most iconic tacos in Texas, through the eyes
of the people who make them.
- [Mando] We're in Houston, Texas.
- [Jarod] H-Town!
- We're here for tacos al pastor, Houston's iconic taco.
- [Jarod] And, I'm excited to back in my hometown
where there's literally a taco truck on every corner.
- [Mando] Where also gonna talk to a group of Dreamers
and see how they keep connected to the culture,
and their families through the tacos.
Our first stop is to catch up with Marco Torres.
He's a photographer, journalist, and taco lover.
So, Marco, we're in a warehouse, but I want tacos.
Where are we?
- We're actually at the Raven Tower,
which is in the near north side of Houston.
You know, people know me as Marco from Houston,
the taco guy and the photographer, so you know,
that's who I am.
And this is the home of laMacro food truck,
so laMacro serves the best trompo tacos in Houston.
- [Jarod] Alright, well, I wanna find out how they taste.
Let's go.
(laughing)
- Tacos al pastor are basically marinated pork.
We marinate it with dried chillies.
We put pineapple, and then we cook it on a vertical spit.
You wanna give it the shape
while you're putting it on there.
- So that basically looks like a top.
- [Marco] Yes.
- [Mando] You know, like the old school tops
that you throw down. - [Marco] Basically, yeah.
- It's a taco dreidel, guys.
- Taco dreidel. (laughs)
- [Mando] So within the loop, you couldn't see trompos,
or tacos al pastor, on a spit, right?
You couldn't do that because of the health department.
- [Marco] What I did is I talked to a couple of inspectors,
and I said, you know what, I really wanna do this.
So I gave him my run down, and he says,
well, if your apparatus could be 100% stainless steel,
we'll let you do it.
- Where'd the recipe of it come from?
- The al pastor recipe that we use comes from Mexico City,
and we've been using it for the last four and a half years,
and there's one ingredient that we put on there
that nobody else put, but obviously I can't say it on--
(laughing)
- It's beep!
(laughing)
- [Marco] People come in from all over California,
Canada, Mexico, and all of that, and they're like,
how is it that that your pastor is a lot better
than where I'm from?
And, I think, like I said, I do thank Mr. Pasqual
because his recipe is the one that put us on the map.
- Also, congratulations because the city of Houston
recognize you as one of Harvey's Heroes.
- You go on these refugee places
and they'll take sandwiches, bread, peanut butter,
and all of that,
but, not a warm meal.
So, us, that was our response.
- [Mando] Your way to comfort them.
- [Marco] Yes, yes.
- You're a first taco responder.
(laughing)
- Yeah.
(upbeat music)
♪ I get it while I can
♪ We'll build a master plan
♪ There's nothing that can stop the flow ♪
♪ With energy in hand
♪ You pull me in I get pulled out ♪
♪ Your love is what I'm all about ♪
♪ It's so intense without a doubt ♪
♪ It always makes me want to shout ♪
♪ Livin' I'm livin' I'm livin'
- [Mando] A taco tour in Houston is incomplete
without going to Boombox Taco,
which is also another taco truck.
The history that Alex has from his family,
you can taste it in the food.
In the tortillas, and the carne,
and the vegetables that he uses.
And, the other reason that I love supporting Boombox,
is because he supports the music and the art,
and the other kinds of cultures that are here in Houston.
-I'm Alex. I'm from Queretaro, Queretaro."
All my passions are together in Boombox Taco,
and I love it, I love it.
- [Jessica] First of all,
he does not like to stay in one place.
Let's keep that clear.
- [Jarrod] That's helpful.
(laughing) - Exactly, exactly.
So, he wants to be with all the people everywhere.
Like he says, in the market, in the shows,
and the this and the that.
- This is a lifestyle.
- It's a lifestyle.
- It's a lifestyle, 100%.
- [Jarod] So these tacos and the salsa,
are these the family recipes?
- Absolutely, some ideas I grab from my family,
and with Jessica,
- Yeah, I grab from my family, too.
- [Alex] Actually, we combine.
- [Jessica] Yeah.
- [Jarod] Al pastor is traditionally made on a spit,
and you don't make that.
- [Jessica] No, we don't.
It's marinated just like al pastor,
but it is cooked on the grill at the moment.
- [Jarod] They don't always taste the same,
but how to you keep it,
the quality up and--
- [Jessica] It has to be definitely the quality of the meat.
- [Alex] I come butcher family, so every time I see a piece,
every time I go to the market, I'm making sure the--
- He's always going like this.
- This is a part.
This is a part.
(all talking at once)
- It's really cold, it's a freakin' fridge,
and he's like touching. - Sometimes,
I start opening boxes.
Hey, don't open that box!
♪ Taco, taco, taco
♪ Taco, taco taco
(upbeat music)
- [Jarod] Where here in Houston's north side
at Tia Pancha, one of the largest flea markets
in the city.
- [Mando] We're going to talk to a group of DREAMers
and find their connections to the tacos.
- I came to Houston when I was five-years-old
from Colombia and lived here ever since,
so growing up, right?
You leave your country and you come here to the States,
and you're already an outsider.
And, you're going through your day,
you're trying to work, feed your kids, help your family,
whatever it is that you're doing,
but you're constantly bombarded with,
you're a criminal.
Why are you here?
Right?
But then you come home,
and what's the first thing that you do?
You eat with your family, with your friends.
You have this experience.
Even through all of the storm,
I can always count on the people that I love
to be next to me.
- They talk about, they wanna send you home,
but you're already home.
- Yeah, I mean that's as close of a concept to what is home.
That's the question, what is home?
Home is where our lives are, where we've been to school,
or where we've raised families, or we've bought homes,
cars, et cetera.
- They think that we're outsiders,
but I don't consider myself anything else
other than a Houstonian.
They imagine who is a DACA person,
or who may not speak English.
Do they pledge allegiance to the flag?
And it's like, we're normal people, you know?
We probably might be putting gas next to you,
or we just treated you to some amazing tacos, bro!
(laughing)
- And at the same time they're eating
at Taco Tuesday.
For me, that doesn't make any sense.
If you're going to eat the food, you have to respect it,
you have to honor it.
Tacos and the food are an extension of our culture.
- We accept milk and orange juice,
but we don't accept the dairy workers, right?
They're undocumented people working?
This attitude, that's reminiscent of our history,
we accept the things and we like the change, right?
But, the people we're not so sure about.
And, it's a generational thing
that's going to have to change and occur.
- [Jarod] What changes can be made?
- Talk to your neighbors.
Sit around the table, eat tacos together.
And, hopefully that will change the mentality people have
of immigrants in the United States.
(upbeat music)
- I smell and feel like marinated pork!
After eating all those tacos al pastor.
And I truly believe, that taco is represented
of the people of Houston.
- [Jarod] And, I loved coming back to Houston
and eating tacos I'd never eaten,
going to places I'd never been,
meeting people like Alex at Boombox Tacos,
people like Saul, who's a Harvey Hero.
- And, I love the bravery of the DREAMers.
A lot of adversity, but they're creating change
and making this their home,
and they're doing it one taco at a time.
- [Mando] Thank you, Houston.
- [Jarod] AKA City of Syrup.
- [Mando] H-Town, Clutch City, Screwston.
- [Jarod] Keep it true.
- [Mando] Scrumbia
Houston strong.
- We do. - What up Fifth Ward?
- Grill. - Slabs.
- Inside. - Chingo Bling.
- [Jarod] Outside the loop. (laughs)
Chopped and screwed.
- [Mando] Over the bay.
(heavy bass music)
- [Mando] In the next proximo show,
we'll go to the Rio Grande valley
where barbacoa Sunday is a way of life.
- [Jarod] And visit Armando Vera,
the last barbacoa pit master standing.
- [Mando] And find out if we can cook our own
our own cabezas in a pozo.
(upbeat Latin music)
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