There are food trends that come and go. Then there are food trends that come and become a cuisine staple. Like, for instance, the shawarma.
Shawarma was big in my native Manila back in the late 90s. I must have been 11 or 12 when out of nowhere, proliferation of shawarma stands erupted, seemingly overnight. On days I had extra money with me, I would walk about 4 blocks from our old house to the closest stand and procure what was then the most coveted food item in the city. Its popularity has since then dwindled but it is not uncommon to find places that still sell the shawarma to this day.
Fast forward to 2017 and here I am, now in Tennessee instead of Manila and I’m trying to remember how the shawarma of my childhood stacks up and how closely it approximates the original. But even more so, how closely that original resembles its descendant– the taco al pastor.
The taco al pastor or shepherd’s style taco is said to have originated from the shawarma. When Lebanese immigrants first came to Mexico in early 20th century, they brought with them their spit-roasted lamb aka shawarma. The story goes that Mexican shepherds adopted this practice, hence the name, but substituted lamb with pork. Over time, it gained widespread popularity all over Mexico.
Aside from the difference in the type of meat, the taco al pastor is served on a corn tortilla instead of a pita, and prepared with cilantro, coriander, pineapple & lime.
I savored my first taco al pastor back in California, where I spent the last decade. I lined up at a venerable taco institution in LA and watched as a taquero expertly sliced pork from the trompo (vertical grill) and into the warm tortilla. As if icing on the cake, he swiftly cut off a couple of chunks of pineapple from the top of the trompo and placed these on the taco. It was an experience I never forgot, as the smoky, slightly spicy meat played with the sweet & tangy taste of the pineapple.
And it’s an experience we try to replicate. We marinate our pork overnight in a variety of chiles, giving it its smoky and sweet blend. Instead of the traditional salsa verde, we serve our taco al pastor with a cilantro cream sauce. Last but not the least, of course, the pineapple.
The taco al pastor is a staple in our menu and we hope, eventually, it will become a lunch staple here in Murfreesboro. And should there be some 12 year old who walked 4 blocks to reach our truck just to savor our taco al pastor, my fervent hope is that kid would think that the experience was…almost religious. Almost.
We have shut down for the winter season but we remain available for catering and private events. Shoot us an e-mail at info@catarinasfoodtruck.com for any inquiries. We will resume our regular service this Spring 2018. Old favorites like the taco al pastor will be back along with new items in our menu. Stay tuned!