Paleteros, Taquerias, Loncherias, Cocinas Economicas, Comidas Corridas
and Comidas Grandes...

Does this list describe social stratification, or cultural evolution
in a competitive world?

Is "Comida Corrida" really "Food on the Run", or is it a more
leisurely, sit down meal in the city?

I was at Wal*Mart last week, stocking up on cat food, and the stockers
were talking about how rough the economy was after the disastrous
freeze that wiped out most of the citrus crop this winter.

Everybody know Wal*Mart's business model:

Don't give the employees enough hours a week so they don't have to
give them benefits...

One of the M******s was saying that his sister was talking about going
back to M*****o, and selling tacos out of her mom's house. He said,
"It's not like over here, you know, you can sell tacos right from your
house and you don't need a license or health inspection, or nothing."

So, I said, "She's going to open a cocina economica, then?"

The stocker said, "No, man, she's just gonna sell tacos out of her
mom's house."

Well, that's a start in the restaurant business...

There seems to be a lot of confusion about what a taco stand or
loncheria or cocina economica is, and then I recently ran across a
term that's hardly used in the USA, "comida corrida" (meal on the
run).

"Comida Corrida" is M******n fast food, but not as fast as tacos and
burritos, and a lot faster than the traditional "Comida Grande".

It seems that there's a general quickening of the pace of life in
M*****o, nowadays, and M******n businessmen and laborers just don't
have time for the traditional leisurely comida, so they are eating
from push carts, taco stands, on the porches or in the dining rooms of
private homes and eschewing the
traditional multi-course meals.

Yucatan and Quintana Roo are areas that have succumbed to the
expectations of American tourists
who think that a taco is a taco is a taco...

http://www.playa.info/playa-del-carm...ican-food.html

"Truth on Tacos..."

"...Something called Mexican Food is quite popular in many parts of
the western world. More often than not, it is a derivation of a style
normally called Tex-Mex..."

"Tacos...
Lets get this one out of the way first. The Castillian definition of
the word taco includes many meanings, among them wedge, plug, cue and
ramrod. No doubt the conquistadors and colonists of New Spain lent
this name to the generic food style eaten by the indigenous people of
Mexico. The taco most Westerns are used to, that hard U-shaped shell
filled with seasoned ground beef, lettuce, yellow cheese, and sour
cream, is NOT Mexican and you will not find that here, unless you find
a restaurant serving American food. This type of taco is Tex-Mex
style. The taco you will be served here is a corn tortilla (they are
soft by definition) with some beef, pork, chicken or seafood as
filling. You simply give it a slight roll between thumb and index
finger and fire it into the mouth."


http://www.talkingtree.com/gallery/m...s=403&referer=
(Picture of a "comida corrida" AKA "loncheria" AKA "cocina economica"
on a porch in M*****o.


http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/comidacorrida.html

"...The Comida Corrida restaurant I visited a block up from the main
square in Queretaro offered the following:

"Cream of potato or chicken soup, pasta with ham and cream sauce or
rice, main dishes which included carne asada, fried chicken, chicken
with vegetables (tomatoes, onions and peppers) or something resembling
beef fajitas and, dessert; all accompanied by fresh bread and the ever
present array of salsas.

"After eating a large meal ( I chose the chicken) and chasing it down
with two soft drinks my bill came to $21 pesos - less than $3 U.S..."


"...Comida Corrida restaurants share top place with taco vendors on my
eating list as the best places to eat while on the road in Mexico."


http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/recip...kgcomida1.html

"Although some businesses in Mexico City have recently adopted nine-to-
five office hours, the majority of people eat comida at home. Even in
large cities, businesses usually close between two and four in the
afternoon, the traditional comida time-span, and there is a rush to
crowd onto buses and colectivos as people of all ages head home for
the main meal. For those who cannot get there, most cities have a fair
number of small restaurants which cater to the comida crowd and are
open during the afternoon for comida corrida - literally "meal on the
run" but more like a "daily special" - where, for a reasonable price,
a traditional five-course comida is served. When traveling, we often
take a break in the afternoon and look for a comida corrida
restaurant, usually a good buy and a filling meal."


http://www.cuisinenet.com/glossary/mexcom.html

"Comida Corrida: The Big Mexican Meal"

A traditional four course Mexican comida is described on this page.

"Rechazador de Disparates" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Paleteros, Taquerias, Loncherias, Cocinas Economicas, Comidas Corridas
> and Comidas Grandes...
>
---snip----

Paleteros, wheeled carts on the street with little bells telling everybody
around that popcicles are here, come and get them.

Taquerias slowly evolving to taquizas where soft tortillas are filled with
any of a dozen goodies from head meat, slow cooked lamb (barbacoa), red
sauce boiled goat (birria), deep fried pork (carnitas) and one of the most
popular - grilled flank steak (carne asada) and/or tacos al pastor (layered
pork on a skewer rotating around a wall of flames) - all served with bowls
of every imaginable salsa which makes the taco the royal of all Mexican
food.

Loncherias... don't have a clue. Never saw one in my 60 years in Mexico.

Cocinas Economicas are everywhere, from homes to tarp covered seating and
cooking on the spot. Think Chili Queens in San Antonio and Laredo. Generally
specializing in one kind of menu or other.

Comida Corrida is not running food! It is the deffinition of a place where
you will sit and order the mid-day main meal and they will serve you a
sequence (corrida) of food from the soup to the main course along with the
tortillas, salsas and bread to the end with beans and desert. It's the main
meal of the day.

Comidas Grandes... don't have a clue. We have breakfasts, mid morning
snacks, main meal, afternoon snack and evening 'to go to bed' snack.

In my Mexico experience to this day, every activity revolves around when we
will have the next bocadito, breakfast, comida or taquito. In Mexico we live
for the sole purpose of finding the next delicacy. In the US we work like
hell and gulp down whatever is available on the spot to continue our
challenging and rewarding work. (And end up by paying our savings to the
medical profession because we did not take the time to smell the roses.)


Cheers!

On May 25, 2:53 pm, "Wayne Lundberg" >
wrote:

> Loncherias... don't have a clue. Never saw one in my 60 years in Mexico.

As our neighbors to the south adapt to the A******n business model,
the solutions are often quite similar, but go by different names.

To paraphrase Forrest Gump, "M*****o is like a box of chocolates, you
never know what you're going to get."

The surprise is what makes M*****o a disappointment or a delight.

For instance, a "fonda" might be nothing but a stall in the
"tianguis" (open air market), or it might be a store front restaurant
in an established area.

In M****o, a "loncheria" may also be called a "comedor" or a "comida
corrida".

loncha f. slice
una loncha de queso: a slice of cheese

http://www.travel-acapulco.com/resta...loncheria.html

The Mexican loncheria is usually a small, open-air restaurant run by a
cook and a food server (one of which is usually the owner). You can
find them everywhere in Acapulco if you venture off the Costera. Many
loncherias only serve the "comida corrida" (fast food), and you will
get to choose between one and four different dishes. If you arrive
after 2:00 pm, you may have fewer choices - sometimes they even run
out of food altogether. They will have traditional Mexican food at
very reasonable prices (US$2 to US$3) and meals will come with
tortillas, beans, rice, salsa, and sometimes a drink.

fonda f.
(posada) inn
(restaurante) restaurant
Chile , Guatemala , El Salvador tavern, bar
Chile refreshment stand
Argentina cheap restaurant

comedor, comedora adj.
gluttonous
m. & f.
glutton, big eater

Idiom:
coche comedor dining car m.
(restaurante) restaurant

http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache...ng_en&ie=UTF-8

Because of work schedules: no real siestas
Lunch at fondas (roadside stalls)
Pork dishes: cuchifrito (internal organs), mondongo (pork tripe with
sofrito sauce), gandinga (liver, heart, kidneys mixed with
vegetables), lechon asado (served at Christmas spit roasted),
chicharron (dry crisp skin a delicacy)
Steak dishes: carne mechada, piononos, al caldero
Fish dishes: salted dried codfish, serenata (fish not as often eaten)
Others: pastelillos (stuffed plantain pies), flan de coco, bienmesabe
(coconut sauce)

Comedors - small inexpensive eating establishments found near the main
market, serve rice & beans

"Comida Grande" vs. "comida grande":

The former may refer to a holiday meal, and the later may simply refer
to the traditional big meal of the day.

On May 24, 7:42 pm, Rechazador de Disparates >
wrote:
>
>
> "Truth on Tacos..."
>
> "...Something called Mexican Food is quite popular in many parts of
> the western world. More often than not, it is a derivation of a style
> normally called Tex-Mex..."
>
> "Tacos...
> Lets get this one out of the way first. The Castillian definition of
> the word taco includes many meanings, among them wedge, plug, cue and
> ramrod. No doubt the conquistadors and colonists of New Spain lent
> this name to the generic food style eaten by the indigenous people of
> Mexico. The taco most Westerns are used to, that hard U-shaped shell
> filled with seasoned ground beef, lettuce, yellow cheese, and sour
> cream, is NOT Mexican and you will not find that here, unless you find
> a restaurant serving American food. This type of taco is Tex-Mex
> style. The taco you will be served here is a corn tortilla (they are
> soft by definition) with some beef, pork, chicken or seafood as
> filling. You simply give it a slight roll between thumb and index
> finger and fire it into the mouth."
>
Every Mexican taco I've bought had TWO, not one, 6" soft corn
tortillas.

--Bryan

On May 25, 4:53 pm, "Wayne Lundberg" >
wrote:
>
>
> Taquerias slowly evolving to taquizas where soft tortillas are filled with
> any of a dozen goodies from head meat, slow cooked lamb (barbacoa), red
> sauce boiled goat (birria), deep fried pork (carnitas) and one of the most
> popular - grilled flank steak (carne asada) and/or tacos al pastor (layered
> pork on a skewer rotating around a wall of flames) - all served with bowls
> of every imaginable salsa which makes the taco the royal of all Mexican
> food.

I adore tacos, especially carne asada.

--Bryan

On Jun 24, 10:56?am, BOBOBOnoBO? > wrote:
> Every Mexican taco I've bought had TWO, not one, 6" soft corn
> tortillas.

That makes sense, if the filling is juicy, two soft tacos won't leak
on your guayabera...