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Cinco de Mayo is coming up, and a perfect place in Arkansas to celebrate and taste the cuisine is your local taco truck or food stand. But let’s be honest, the menu can be intimidating. How many times have you stood there in line trying to Google the menu and defaulted for a chicken quesadilla and bottle of water? It doesn’t have to be that way.
Let’s break down some of the typical items from a local taco stand and make the menu more approachable as you decide to branch out further and further. YOLO, right?!?! Don’t miss out on some of the “most amazing food you will ever eat” because the menu is intimidating.
Used with permission from El Pasiano Taco Stand in De Queen.
Traditional Mexican Food Truck Menu
- Sopes – fried masa patty with meat and toppings stacked on top.
- Gordita – Mexican pita sandwich
- Tostada – corn tortilla fried crisp and stacked high.
- Torta – Mexican sandwich served on fluffy white bread or roll
- Huarache (Guarache) – masa dough and refried beans flattened out and cooked like a flatbread to go on the bottom of meat and toppings.
- Taco, Burrito, Quesadilla – traditional vehicle, as expected. Just know they will serve “as it comes” unless you specify otherwise. For a taco that usually means chopped onion, cilantro and lime wedges. Quesadilla and burritos will sometimes include crema, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.
Used with permission from Dominguez Handi Mart.
Mexican Street Food De-Coded
- Horchata – a sweet, rice milk drink with flavors of cinnamon and vanilla.
- Agua Frescas – roughly translated as “freshwater,” a refreshing beverage made from water and blended fruit.
- Menudo versus Pozole – in cold months, these warm soups can be the perfect comfort food but often stump a gringo who is not prepared. Menudo is a soup made with the honeycomb membrane of a cow’s stomach in a red chili pepper broth with hominy oregano, onion and lime. Pozole is a more traditional Mexican stew usually made with cabbage, hominy, and pork like an al pastor taco.
- Nopal – very traditional as a condiment, this cooked down cactus leaf sometimes fills a vegetarian option.
- Salsa Verde versus Salsa Roja – verde = green and roja = red. Salsa Verde uses a jalapeno and tomatillo base. Salsa Roja is not your typical cantina-style salsa. Instead, it uses roasted tomatoes and ground chilies de arbol to bring the heat. Dip your pinky in for a taste before you pour.
- Elotes versus Esquites – traditional Mexican Street Corn that is grilled and coated with mayonnaise and spices (or flaming hot Cheetos!), you just have to decide if you want it on the cob or in a cup. Typically, Elotes is on the cob, and Esquites is in a cup, but it can also mean with mayo or without. You want to try this if you haven’t, but let me suggest in the cup! Also, note this is a traditional festival and weekend celebration food, so it’s usually only available on Fridays and Saturdays.
- Mangonada – the best mango smoothie you’ve ever tasted swirled with chili lime powder.
- Walking Taco – while not authentic, it does sneak up on some local menus for the reluctant gringo – this is typically a bag of Fritos with chili poured over the top and consumed with a plastic fork.
- Churros – Think funnel cake batter fried as sticks and covered with cinnamon sugar.
Used with permission from Callie Miller and Flavorlicious.
Taco Truck Meats De-coded
- Pollo – chicken, grilled or shredded based on the truck.
- Carne – beef, usually a flank or skirt steak that is marinated and grilled.
- Al Pastor – pork shank marinated in an adobo sauce and cooked in spices that usually include pineapple; it’s often shaved over the grill and chopped.
- Carnitas – slow-roasted pork, usually shredded like a pulled pork sandwich.
- Lengua – beef tongue, usually a little greasy, but can have a deep smoked and grilled flavor.
- Pescado – fish tacos, while super popular in California, it’s rare that Arkansas taco stands mix fish into their menu. Still, it can be shrimp or fish tacos with a traditional mayonnaise-based cold coleslaw on top.
- Cabeza – head, yes, a whole steer head is slow roasted and the meat removed – think chicken wing or crawfish, the best stuff is in the hidden places.
- Buche – tripe/tripa – OK, stick with me here. Buche is pork stomach, and Tripe is beef stomach – both can have a deep rich flavor if given the time to marinate and slow cook, but it is one of the chewiest meats. This is where you want to share and try something new!
- Desabrada – slow-cooked shredded beef.
- Picadillo – homestyle taco meat, ground beef with spices, onions and peppers.
- Chapulines – rarely at an Arkansas taco stand, but if you see it -run. It is slow-roasted GRASSHOPPERS!
Don’t be intimidated. Ask questions. And whatever you do, try something new!
Used with permission from Tortas Chomis.
Great Places to Celebrate Cinco de Mayo
- YOUR local taco stand
- Taco Mama’s | Hot Springs
- Tacos 4 Life | Conway, Benton, Texarkana, Springdale, Rogers, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Little Rock, Jonesboro, Searcy
- Top 10 Taquerias in Little Rock
- Taqueria Azteca | Maumelle
- El Palenque | Little Rock
- Taqueria La Pasadita | Little Rock
- Baja Grill | Little Rock
- Bombaldi’s Café | Eureka Springs
Let us know if you have a local hot spot you love!
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[…] Cinco de Mayo, May 5, seems like a perfect day to talk about fajitas. As a matter of fact, if you find yourself at a popular chain restaurant eating the Tex-Mex dish, you have a man in south Arkansas to thank for not burning your hands on that hot, sizzling skillet. […]