- [Man] I think that's for us.
[knocking at door]
[Rick sighs]
[uplifting music]
- I have coffee, by the way.
Yes.
- Oh finally!
- [Rick] What the [beep] do you want?
[all cheering]
[trombone music]
- [All] Rick, Rick, Rick, Rick!
- Oh my god!
- [All] Rick, Rick, Rick, Rick, Rick!
- This is amazing!
- [All] Rick, Rick, Rick, Rick, Rick!
- Yeah.
[upbeat funky music]
My cover.
I am really excited.
So that was the March
issue of Bon Appetite,
and the whole issue is dedicated
to tacos across America.
This is such an amazing time
for tacos in the United States,
so many Mexican-Americans
and Mexican immigrants
across the country are
doing really cool things,
bringing their traditional
taco techniques and methods
to the U.S., mixing it with
a little bit of ingenuity
and creativity, and creating
something completely new.
So today we're gonna be exploring
tacos in Jackson Heights.
I've asked a friend of mine to take me
to one of the best places
to find tacos loceros.
Tacos loceros are sort of
essential Mexican taco.
They're really huge.
You find them a lot in the markets,
and they've got a little
bit of everything.
They're really, really delicious.
It's a whole meal wrapped in sometimes
two and three tortillas.
They're really big, and
they're really hard to eat,
but I'm really excited.
This is Steven Alvarez,
and he is a professor
of taco literacy at St. John's
University here in Queens,
and I have asked him to take me to find
the best Taco Placeroslaceros
in New York City.
So Steven, where are we going?
- We have to go to Corona Queens,
the capital Puebla York
to try some famous,
famous tacos placeros.
- Okay, wait a minute.
What is Puebla York?
- This is Puebla York.
This is where the Pueblanos
from New York arrive
to make the city their own,
including one of their culinary treats,
the Taco Placeros.
- [Rick] I'm getting hungry.
- You're gonna need it because these are
some serious tacos.
These are plate-sized tacos,
and in fact we're here,
so why don't I introduce
you to my buddy Lupe?
- Awesome, let's go.
[speaking in foreign language]
- I wish I could stay because
it's making me hungry,
but I have to get back to work,
but you're in good hands here.
- Thank you so much, Steven.
Thanks Steven.
- Good luck.
Take care, guys. Take care.
[speaking in foreign language]
- So whenever you make Chile Rellenos,
you start off by blistering
and charring the chiles.
But you can see, the skin
is actually coming off
and that's exactly what you want to see.
[speaking in foreign language]
- So she's steaming them.
So as soon as they come
off the fire, she puts them
in the bag to trap all
the heat and the moisture,
and that softens the skin
so you can easily peel it.
[speaking in foreign language]
Okay.
[speaking in foreign language]
Ah I see, okay.
[blender blending]
We beat the egg whites to
almost completely stiff peaks,
we added the flour to kind
of hold everything together,
and then we added all the yolks at once.
It wouldn't have worked if we'd
added all the eggs in first,
so you need this sort of light,
airiness of the egg whites,
and then you incorporate
the yolks at the end
to add the richness and the fat.
So we're cutting out the seeds.
[speaking in foreign language]
Uh-huh, so we're gonna drench it in flour.
[speaking in foreign language]
She's basically throwing
the hot oil over the top
to set the eggs so that
it doesn't deflate.
[speaking in foreign language]
So, now that we've got
our Chile Rellenos done
we're gonna take this
out to the prep station
and these are going to be
the essential component
of our Taco Placeros.
So we are gonna make the
tortillas for both the Placeros,
but generally all of the
food that they serve here.
[speaking in foreign language]
[giggling]
She's laughing.
[laughing]
[speaking in foreign language]
That is done.
Now that our tortillas are done,
we're gonna talk fillings.
I'm gonna taste everything she's got.
[speaking in foreign language]
And this is a goat soup?
[speaking in foreign language]
This is the mole poblano.
This is tomatillos.
this is sausage, potato, and rajas.
This is a Posole Blanco with pork.
I think what we're gonna
do with the Chile Rellenos
is we will do
[speaking in foreign language]
and for the [speaking in
foreign language] we will do
[speaking foreign language]
Wow.
That is a big taco.
[speaking in foreign language]
Wow.
[laughing]
[speaking in foreign language]
[laughing]
And these are my two taco placeros.
Wow, I am hitting the gym after this.
[speaking in foreign language]
[laughing]
[speaking in foreign language]
Okay.
All right, I'll go next.
[laughing]
[speaking in foreign language]
[laughing]
[speaking in foreign language]
[laughing]
[playful music]
Oh my God, I have to say these are some
pretty well-constructed tortillas
to hold the weight of all of this.
Just doing the lord's work.
Oh my god.
Mm.
What's great about the chile relleno
is it's tender, but it's not soft.
It still has a little bit of punch to it.
You get the richness from the batter,
and then you get that cheese
and the [speaking in foreign language]
the [speaking in foreign
language] and the papas
have a little bit of tang.
This is a really, really good taco.
So the last one, this is
[speaking in foreign language]
I actually chose the thigh
because I like thighs
dark meat has the most
flavor, the most fat,
but there were pretty much all the parts
of the chicken in there.
All right.
Here I go
I think.
Oh my god.
Wow.
I am really into these tortillas.
They are really holding
up and doing their job.
[laughing]
[speaking in foreign language]
And this is an amazing example
of what tacos are in the
United States right now.
In the March issue of Bon
Appetite, we've laid out
tacos from across the
country, all different types
filled with all different things.
We've got features on corn tortillas,
we've got stories on flour tortillas.
And I've developed four recipes for tacos
that I really love, plus
a whole bunch of different
easy ways to make salsa.
You've gotta check it out.
And next time you're in New
York, you've got to come
to Queens and try Dona Lupe's
amazing Tacos Placeros.
and all the guisados that she makes
with love and passion.
[speaking in foreign language]
- [All] Rick, Rick, Rick, Rick, Rick,
Rick, Rick, Rick!
[trombone music]
