This week: Mashed Potato Tacos served up by La Tolteca
¿Como se dice?: At first glance, potato tacos seem more like a munchies binge than legitimate Mexican food. (Tortillas plus mashed potatoes? Deep fried? Stoner heaven.) But at La Tolteca, those potato tacos aren't even in the same category as a questionable late night nosh. Instead of being a poor play on leftovers, the light and fluffy potato tacos are a mouthwatering treat that we think should be available the Valley over. The only thing comparable between the two is that after eating one you'll definitely eat another, then another, and another... So plan accordingly.
(sink your teeth into all the spicy details after the jump)
La Comida y El Sabor: The potato (papas) tacos at La Tolteca contained a mass of smooth and creamy mashed potatoes wrapped around a homemade corn tortilla and deep fried to crispy perfection. This delicious carb bomb is then topped with lechuga, queso y crema. It may be one huge, bland looking taco, but these are some seriously addictive eats. (They're also the kind of eats you may be more comfortable chowing down in private, because they're mushy and will ooze all over your hands-- and you don't want to waste that goodness on napkins.) We're pretty convinced these potato tacos are packed with enough onions, crema, and queso to shave a couple hours off our life, but we'll make the sacrifice for the flavor of a loaded baked potato pureed and shoved in a deep fried taco shell. Sinful bliss.
Bring a bit of México to your kitchen: We recommend swinging by La Tolteca for the O.G. potato taco, and picking up a package of tender corn tortillas that have been produced in-house. (Go ahead and pick up some flour tortillas while you're at it, because we bet a big fatty potato burrito would be pretty bomb too.) You can also grab just about every ingredient you need for these tacos in the little mercado within La Tolteca. Well, everything but the mashed potatoes probably. For that we recommend the tacos de papas recipe accompanied by a graphic that sums up our opinion on these tacos: Mashed Potatoes + Tortillas = Hell Yeah.
Know of any Mexican gems in the Valley? Reveal your family secrets in the comment section.
