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In this episode of Tacos of Texas, we go beyond the tortilla and spotlight the taco’s extended family, those delicious cousins that carry the same spirit in different forms. From empanadas to pupusas and everything in between, we explore how cultures across Latin America and beyond have their own version of handheld, masa-filled magic. I sat down with Chef Enrique Lozano to discuss how these dishes tell stories of shared roots and tradition.
The full transcript of this episode of Tacos of Texas is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
Enrique Lozano [00:00:00] You see all these parallels where maybe, like, they don’t even cross paths, but, you know, it was around the same time and it was the same ingredients and around the the same climate. So, like things sort of started making sense, you now?
Mando Rayo [00:00:12] What’s up taco world? I’m taco journalist Mando Rayo and welcome to the Tacos of Texas podcast season 6 produced by Denny Productions in partnership with KUT and KUTX Studios. And we’re back exploring taco culture in Texas through the eyes of the people in the Lone Star State. So grab a taco arabe and some salsa and get ready for some muy Tasty, thoughtful conversations. Savoy. In this episode of Tacos of Texas, we go beyond the tortilla and spotlight the taco’s extended family. Those delicious cousins that carry the same spirit in different forms, from empanadas to pupusas and everything in between. We explore how cultures across Latin America and beyond have their own version of a handheld masa filled magic. I sit down with Enrique Lozano, how these dishes tell stories. Of shared roots and traditions. Spackle cousins, it’s a thing. Well, according to my sister from another mister, Miss Paulina. She says, we don’t cover enough of the food outside of tacos. So yeah, let’s talk about it. What are actually taco cousins? They’re the distant cousins, the primos, those distant relatives that are maybe related to you or maybe not. If you’re anywhere from Latin America, you’ve had them before. Empanadas, pupusas, arepas, baleadas. And beyond Latin America we’re talking about shawarmas, gyros, som, katiros, imas. These are all related and very similar, depending on where you grew up. So we’re gonna dig into these things I call taco cousins. Let’s get into it. Enrique Lozano grew up in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, where he watched his mother make meals from scratch and his father working as an executive chef at a maquila. Shaped by both of his parents’ passion for food, he opened up his own restaurant, El Chalatan, in Socorro, Texas, which earned him a James Beard nomination. These days, he’s working as a chef at Agua Azul in San Antonio that recently got named one of top 25 new taquerias. And today he’s with us not only to talk about that journey, but about the cousins of our beloved tacos. Enrique, welcome to the podcast. Thanks for having me, brother. Man, all the way from El Paso San Antonio, Austin. Yeah.
Enrique Lozano [00:03:12] That’s that’s quite a few yeah I mean luckily I get to fly a lot so that makes a little bit easier but honestly it’s still it’s yeah that’s traveling
Mando Rayo [00:03:21] Yeah, yeah. No, it’s always good to have somebody from Chucotown, right? Tell us a little bit about growing up and those influences of your parents in Juarez, but also in Socorro.
Enrique Lozano [00:03:33] Yeah, I mean, I grew up, obviously a group in Juarez, right? I was born in the States. So my parents did it, like how a lot of people do it in the border, you know? They wanna make sure their kids are set up. So I was, me and my sister were born in The States and then we grew up in Juárez. And I mean super influential, right, like to grow up in the city with such rich history as Juarez. It’s, the food, it’s incomparable, right. It’s Northern, Northern Mexico, but. Everybody claims to have like the best Northern Mexican food, but I mean Juarez is just, you know, it’s incomparable in the sense that, you know, it’s not the riches of like town.
Speaker 3 [00:04:10] Right.
Enrique Lozano [00:04:10] There’s a lot of struggle meals that people like to call them, but, uh, I mean, you learn to cook and you learn techniques. So, uh that, and then, um, when I was about 11 is when we actually make the move to El Paso and more specifically Socorro. And, uh I guess it was just like seeing the, the, the culture, you know, the culture change for sure. I mean even though that we’re like, you know, border cities. Um, it’s that there’s still like a cultural change, you know, like the, like growing up with people that don’t really speak Spanish, don’t really speak English is it’s like, it was interesting to see.
Mando Rayo [00:04:45] You do you do get that mix
Enrique Lozano [00:04:47] right? Yeah, yeah, for sure. And, and yeah, so I mean, I personally, like, I learned English, like watching like Batman movies, like I would watch Batman movies in English with the subtitles. And that’s how I learned english. And I just knew that it was important, like to like learn the culture and the language. So I made it a point. But yeah, and then the food, I mean the food was different to like, all of a sudden, mom started buying like, Sam’s Club chicken, you know, like rotisserie chicken. And you know stuff like that so it was it was different but she was still cooking at home so um yeah the the i think the just the food in general and and that part of the world is uh is very unique and we’re seeing it now more than ever uh with you know restaurants popping up in new york and san antonio here in austin that are made by like choco people right right yeah yeah i see that and it’s it it’s well received you know because it is different it is very unique and it’s Mexican food that’s like. That has like a different flair, you know? And I think it has to do very much with that super close, I guess, relationship that both cities have. Right, yeah.
Mando Rayo [00:05:58] Yeah, well, you know, I think one of the things that we’re going to talk about today is, is our taco cousins and, and, you know, I, I was like, okay, we need to have Enrique on this because, you know, from el charlatan to doing your, your colgados, uh, you know, I think the last time you cooked for us, we were in El Paso. And we used pita bread and- Oh, that’s right, yeah. It was like a big mix. It was also unexpected. Yeah. Because I was like, you know what? Cook whatever you want, right? A lot of people, when they think of El Paso, they definitely, well, definitely still struggle, right? Right. They don’t think it’s Texas and the whole thing. Exactly. But we have so much rich diversity in people, but also in the food, right, the chile colorado. To, you know, to the influx of the New Mexico style too.
Speaker 4 [00:06:50] Right you know you know
Mando Rayo [00:06:51] You know, and so part of that is like when somebody doesn’t know about the rich cultures of Texas, like what is it that you would like to share about, you know, that diversity?
Enrique Lozano [00:07:01] Well, I mean, you hit it on the head with all that. It is a diversity. It’s super rich in culture, starting from way back when from cowboy cooking to the railroads where the Chinese immigrants. That’s very, I guess, what’s the word? It’s ingrained in the history of El Paso. And you could see it throughout the full tour, you know. There’s a lot of Asian influence in the way I cook and then the way that I grew up eating. So I think, more than anything, it’s like we were able to adapt and welcome flavors that we weren’t familiar with. But more than everything, there was an open mind of how we were going to cook certain things and stuff. Yeah, me personally, like my first job ever was at a Greek restaurant.
Speaker 3 [00:07:58] Okay, okay.
Enrique Lozano [00:07:59] You know like growing up seeing like that like the pita bread and all that stuff and it’s like this is a taco But or or is it a burrito, you know, yeah I’m like, I mean and it was just you know like the and then we had we did it on the spit So it’s I can’t pass thought I thought you know But then it’s a you know Like it’s back that makes yeah and just you no people are like more I guess and no passo like people like flavor, you don’t like they want to like it feels like flavor kind of like translates to value for your buck, you know? Yeah. Like if you go out to eat somewhere and it’s underwhelming, you’re going to feel disappointed and you’re not going to go back. Right. So you want to make sure, you hit them with the spice, you hit him with the flavors, you get him with a mix, with a fusion and stuff. So I think that that’s kind of what Opestos is.
Mando Rayo [00:08:48] Yeah, yeah. No, I love it too because of, you know, we’ve done other stories on the podcast around the Chinese railroad workers, and how that influenced the walk they took from the train wheels, and how they influenced the discada too, right? And a few years ago, I was in El Cometa, and everybody goes there, right, for the flautas, but you walk in and you see waitresses, and they look Asian, but they talk all in Spanish, you know what I mean? So you do kind of have like that mix. So let’s talk a little bit about like that, influence in your cooking. So talk about el charlatan and what were kind of the mixes that you brought to that restaurant.
Enrique Lozano [00:09:32] So El Charlatan was really like, it was a combination of like the things that I had like been doing growing up, I guess, as a cook. I know I for sure wanted to do ramen. And I had, before that, I had another restaurant called Nishi Ramen in El Paso downtown. And there I was doing more like the fusion, like kind of like what Chris does here in Austin, Chris from Ramen El Barrio.
Speaker 3 [00:09:54] Yeah, yeah.
Enrique Lozano [00:09:54] And it was more like fusing Mexican flavors into a bowl. What I did at the charlatan was I presented ramen a little bit more traditional, but then I also had my Mexican dishes too, but then also had dishes that combine both. I kind of wanted to pay respect to each dish. Sometimes you feel like fusion might be a little bastardizing the ingredients or the dish itself or the culture. So I wanted to do that as respectful as possible, but more than anything, I wanted it to make sense. I had a dish there that it was a Korean-style soup that usually has some ingredients that I couldn’t find right, but we had no palitos, so then I added no palitoes to the soup. It was more of a stew. It was a tofu stew with kimchi.
Speaker 3 [00:10:37] OK.
Enrique Lozano [00:10:38] And so, and then like, even the kimchi too, that we would make, we would make kimchi in house, but then it’s still using a goju-garu, like the, the traditional Korean chili, we would use a chile colorado or guajillo. Guajillo, right, right. It’s that, it was those influences that made so much sense, you know? Yeah. Uh, we had a dish of short ribs or costillitas or carrieras. Um, and the marinades, it was Korean, uh, Japanese marinades. You know, soy sauce, uh hoisin, you know, we put the scallions, you And, but, but all those flavors made sense because that’s what we’re already doing. That’s what, we’re like in the backyard, me and my dad, we marinate stuff. We use soy sauce, like, you know, a little beer, sure, but they all make sense. You know? So it’s like, that was kind of like, I think like what made it super successful too, that we weren’t trying to like recreate the wheel. We’re just presenting it together. You know, like.
Mando Rayo [00:11:28] And how do you know when things actually blend together well? Cause like you said, you can do something and something might be off or it might be just maybe watered down.
Enrique Lozano [00:11:36] Well, there’s a lot of trial and error for sure, right? Obviously, but a lot of it too is just like the way this cuisine started, it was like they made it happen with what they had around. Sure. You know, so it is a lot of that like, you know, kind of like limiting yourself to be more creative, right. Like, so like, okay, we’re only going to have these ingredients and we can only get it. I would work very locally with a farm that was right next to us, Bodega Loya. Um and they have a huge variety but still it was like okay how are we going to incorporate this ingredients to this so we don’t have to go to the store and buy like something that comes from california or something you know
Speaker 3 [00:12:10] Yeah.
Enrique Lozano [00:12:11] And so it was like, there was a lot of trial and error, but then it’s like, okay, so we can do it like this because it makes sense. You know, like, it’s, like instead of using okra, we’re gonna use an opalitos, you know? Sometimes like we would have dishes with some chilies that they only had at the farm, you know, so it’s just that. It’s just like, I guess the more you limit yourself, the more creative you can be.
Speaker 3 [00:12:31] Yeah, yeah.
Enrique Lozano [00:12:31] And with a space too. I mean, it was at Hacienda, but it was like the space that we had wasn’t that big, you know, the kitchen was like. Yeah, yeah, I remember going there. Yeah, for sure. So it was, like, people were like, man, you do all of this out of this kitchen? I was like, yeah. I mean it helps you be creative, you know? Right, right, yeah The limitations, so.
Mando Rayo [00:12:46] Yeah, totally. Totally. And now you kind of made the leap to San Antonio to open Agua Azul. Right. So, tell us a little bit about that for somebody that, you know, is really into mariscos.
Enrique Lozano [00:12:59] And again, you know, bringing that sort of like that that border town sort of flair to like a place like San Antonio. It was for sure, I guess, like adjusting, you know, for like trying out the restaurants in San Antonio was like, like, man, there’s like no spice here, you
Speaker 3 [00:13:18] Right, right, yeah.
Enrique Lozano [00:13:19] But it’s what sells, right? Sure. So it’s like, OK, so how are we going to manage it where we have a little bit of everything for everybody, right. And I mean, obviously, you can see it too. Our menu is huge, right, so like. Yeah, the cart is like, oh my god. It’s a book. We’ve been open for three months, so it’s like, we’re still going to try to adjust. Let’s try to hit every corner and see what sticks.
Speaker 3 [00:13:39] Uh-huh, uh-huh.
Enrique Lozano [00:13:39] So that’s why it is so big. But I mean, we’ll condense it down eventually. But anyway, the whole story there is like, we brought people from like different walks of life to kind of like bring in like a sort of unique experience and unify it more than anything. And again, you know, try to make it where it makes sense. But like, I mean we have like aguachiles, we have black aguachile, we have blue aguachil, we have red. Many aguachiles we have ceviches. I mean, even like we have pizzas, but it’s like not just pizzas from the freezer. Like we make our own dough. We make our pasta, we make around cheese. We make around salsa or sauce. So it’s a lot of things, but we did make sure that everything was gonna be handcrafted and more than anything, just flavorful and delicious, right? So yeah, there’s a lotta things. Our tacos, obviously, you talked about that earlier. Uh, we have really good, uh, amazing tacos that are like, so for sure different, you know, to something that’s been offered before, not just in San Antonio, but like around Texas. And that’s something that I for sure wanted to showcase still, like, you know, like kind of like, we still got that, you know that flair of like we were still able to like combine flavors and make unique experiences.
Mando Rayo [00:14:50] Yeah, yeah. No, when I walked in, you know, I didn’t know what to expect, to be honest, because, you, know, it was like, okay, it’s seafood, my niece goes, okay. But in San Antonio… It’s a little different, right? Right. You got to cut through the barbacoa grease. And then, no, but I walked in and I kind of felt like I was like in Acapulco or like Los Mochis, anywhere along the coastline, Baja La Paz, right. And it just really had this kind of seaside tropical feel. And then the flavors, the flavors are definitely there. They’re just like.
Speaker 3 [00:15:28] Popped.
Mando Rayo [00:15:29] You know, and the chile, the tenchila, you know, and even the colors, the brightness, because we had your jicama tacos. Oh yeah, yeah, the big rip. Yeah, yeah. And describe the jicamas tacos.
Enrique Lozano [00:15:42] Yeah, so I mean, that was a thing that we wanted to do. And it was like, we’re like, well, let’s make something that’s really gonna like stand out. Let’s see what we can do. And we have like, our coconut shrimp is amazing. We have a pretty cool recipe for that and we make them fresh every day. And so I was like okay, like I kinda wanna showcase this but then like, how do we do it? So we started playing around with it, putting it in tacos and then I was okay, let’s it make it really like central Texas. Like what can we add in there? So we tried it out with like the Texas Twinkie, you know, like the brisket with the jalapeno and the bacon and cream cheese. It was too rich. I was like, okay, that’s not gonna work. That’s a different thing. Okay, so what do we do now? So then we tried a costa and a tortilla, a flour tortilla, and then we try different toppings. And so then it was like okay, well what about if we add like a sauce to like make it, you know. Okay, well what’s the most Texas thing ever, you know? Yeah. San Antonio thing, I have a big red, right? Yeah, right, right. I was, like, How can we present Big Red? And I was like, well, I mean, just literally just reduce the soda down to a syrup. So then I tried that. And then I try that just along with the coconut shrimp. And that tasted very much like Chinese takeout coconut shrimp, and I was like, oh, that’s super good. But then how do we present it in a taco without it being like over rich or, you know? One of the owners was like what if you try like a jicama tortilla? And I’m like, ah. No, that makes no sense. Like what would we eat? I’m like, no, it’s not a taco. And I was like, you know what? I gotta try it. You know, like. So then we tried it and I was like, wow, that’s crazy. Like the flavors work so well. You know? Like jicama might as well be like an Asian ingredient as well. The owners are Chinese Mexican. So like we sort of have like that, you know, embedded into the history of Aguasul. So then, we add it. And it’s a little freshness. So we added like a little salad of like bell peppers and onion. A little cilantro, and then we did, instead of doing the Texas Twinkie, we just went with like a jalapeno with cream cheese. And that was refreshing, and that was like the right richness, and so the taco came together, and it was like, yeah, this is a winner.
Mando Rayo [00:17:41] No, it was it was like, you know, just visually was, you know, beautiful, right? But like it really like had the spice. It had the super sweetness of the of the big red, you know, but then the the the bite with a jicama tortilla, I guess, if you want to call it that, you know, and man, it was it was so good. Let’s dive deep into, you know, when we think about Those things, all of a sudden, you’re developing a recipe or a new style of taco or think about other influences into Mexican food, right? And one of the things that people always ask us is like, what about empanadas and pupusas and all that? I’m like, yeah, let’s talk about it. We call that taco cousins. Right, yeah. So walk us through like Latin America, Mexico, Central and South America. What are some of the varieties of what you would consider taco cousins?
Enrique Lozano [00:18:36] I guess we got to define what a taco is, right? And I mean, a taco, at the very basics of it, is tortilla, toppings, and the filling, right.
Speaker 3 [00:18:45] Yeah.
Enrique Lozano [00:18:46] So filling in toppings. So then from there, it’s like what I feel like anybody thinks like when they think of tacos is basically, you know, something like tortilla has to be corn, right? Right. And we’ll get into like whether it has to be, you now, tortilla, right, especially with the jicama. But corn, obviously, you know, it it’s it’s super rich, you know, like it’s really, you know, It’s Mexico, like through and through. So. I mean, we can start in the North with like, you know, gorditas, too, like, we have corn gorditas. It’s like, it’s an open-faced sort of like, you know pabusa, right, like and it’s got like, you know corn toppings and or filling and toppings, right? Yeah. But I mean you got flautas, you know, so like flautus too.
Mando Rayo [00:19:30] Are the flautas or the taquitos?
Enrique Lozano [00:19:33] Right. Yeah. These lines that, you know, I guess could get blurred, but at the same time, you know, I think more than anything, it’s just, you know, marketing purposes, right? Sure. Yeah, that’s what it comes down to. Like, you know, do you want to market that as a taquito or as a flauta? And it’s like, what sounds better? Yeah. And then you could do, you know, whatever, or you could even just call it a taco. You know, there’s people that do that too, right. Yeah
Speaker 3 [00:19:52] Yeah, yeah.
Enrique Lozano [00:19:53] Roll tacos or whatever. So, yeah, I mean, there’s that. You mentioned pupusas. You know, we have tamales. You know? Tamales could definitely, you know, be good.
Mando Rayo [00:20:02] Fit within that
Enrique Lozano [00:20:03] Yeah.
Mando Rayo [00:20:03] Then you go, if you go to like South America, you have like arepas arepas. When you think about it, then you mentioned gorditas, you know, Mexican and then arepas from Venezuela and from Colombia. And arepas, I don’t see them as a sandwich, but it’s more of like, you know an open.
Enrique Lozano [00:20:22] Yeah, it’s like an open gordita, or like, you know, we have sopes, you know, sopes. It’s on that, you know, sort of that sort of range. But then, you know, if you want to, like, I guess go back a little bit, and then it’s, like what else, burritos, burrito for sure. Then we have quesadillas. We can jump back to the United States and be like, you have stuff like you have the the hard shell taco, you have the puffy taco, all that stuff. I mean, you even have like now the taco bowls, right? Which is like.
Mando Rayo [00:20:53] It’s not a taco bowl. It’s just a bowl with ingredients in it, for the record.
Enrique Lozano [00:21:00] Yeah, so it’s like, where do you cross the line, you know, and I guess now more than ever, too, you know, it’s, like, you, know, chefs, and, you know, restaurateurs and business owners trying to find out how to present, like things, you know, in ways that are, like unique. And, you know, that’s where you get like things like the taco bowl, right, which I’m not a fan of, right.
Speaker 3 [00:21:17] Yeah.
Enrique Lozano [00:21:18] But I mean it’s still you know it’s things that sell and it’s things that are like innovative you know we do the jicama you know so it’s like the jacama tortilla so it’s like you know it’s I mean yeah it’s it’s something that’s that’s very interesting um
Mando Rayo [00:21:31] Yeah, and then, you know, if you go outside of Latin America, outside of Mexico, you have like the, you know, shawarma, and then you have the gyros, you have the rotis, right? Yeah. So, so, you know, we were just having a conversation around like a very specific dish that was very similar. It’s a Muslim dish that is very similar to birria, you know what I mean? Yeah. So I always say there’s pyramids everywhere. I just you know, right, right? Yeah, you know whether it’s Africa North Africa and all that
Enrique Lozano [00:22:03] Yeah, I mean, and I think it all sort of boils down to like those struggle meals and what’s going to give you the most, you know, bank for your buck, right? And, you got things like flour and corn. They say birria, so there’s, you now, there’s the tagines, you know, where like the tagine is like the, that cooking vessel or like the clay. And then you put like the gold in there, you know, like some, you know, some garbanzos, some, you know cuscus and stuff. And you get like, when it comes out, it looks like birria. You know, red and everything. So you got stuff like that. And I mean, you have the. Like what they call in the the sova caras and sonora right like the big tortillas and then you have something very similar you know in in middle east you know that’s true that’s so it’s uh
Mando Rayo [00:22:42] and Brownsville.
Enrique Lozano [00:22:43] At Brownfield. They have huge tortillas. You see all these parallels where maybe like they don’t even cross paths but you know it was around the same time and it was around the Same ingredients and around the Same climate so like things sort of start making sense you know it makes sense because yeah they have similar things we have similar things you know when you get together and like you have that sort of like a upbringing and you come to like somewhere like opa so let’s say like as a native Middle Eastern, you know, and you start making things. You’re like, well, I can, you have flour here. I can make pitas. Like, well you don’t have lamb, but you have pork, so I can the pastore, you now? And it’s like, things start making sense, right? So.
Mando Rayo [00:23:23] Well, it’s also like the migration pattern of food, right? So like what was introduced to a land, what was native to a line, that kind of stuff. And even where Al Pastor comes from. Yeah. Right. So when you think about tacos, You know, it’s like the dad.
Speaker 4 [00:23:41] Yeah.
Mando Rayo [00:23:42] Uh, uh, the, the father of, uh Al Pastor is, is the Taquara.
Enrique Lozano [00:23:46] Yeah, of course. Right. Yeah. Yeah, and it’s funny that like, now, like, you know, after all these years, now people are starting to go back to that, you know, like we got a pastor from the arabe, from the taco arabe. But then now people are starting make taco arabes instead of taco al pastor, right? Like you got, like in Juarez, you got places popping up, they’re making like other trompos with beef. So like you see that, like you know going back to the origins. And it’s like, it’s kind of cool to see, you know. So yeah, it’s fun.
Mando Rayo [00:24:14] Yeah, no. So if you had to tell people, like, okay, if you’re going to try, say, outside of tacos, that you would consider, whether Latin America or other regions, other parts of the world, if you have to give them like, here’s five different dishes or meals to try from, let’s cover Latin America, Central and South America, and then five outside of that, what would they be?
Enrique Lozano [00:24:41] As far as like taco cousins, okay. I would say like, if we could start with like Asia too, I mean, Asia is like huge, right? So like, I guess boil it down to like, maybe like some like Chinese cooking. Like you have the scallion pancakes, you know, and that’s just sort of like a wrap, right. You make your own taco with that too, right, maybe it’s duck, maybe it is pork. So I’d say that’s one for sure, you now, the shawarmas, right the gyro. The gyros are definitely something that I think hit on a very similar parallel to tacos with the toppings, with the salsas.
Speaker 3 [00:25:16] Yeah, yeah.
Enrique Lozano [00:25:17] The flavors. Then let’s see what else. I mean, you said you said arepas arepas are right there, you know, pupusas for sure. I think a lot of places have like a sort of flour vessel like a dough, yeah, stuff with something and then Right, right, even you have the, what is it called? An Indian cooking.
Mando Rayo [00:25:45] Uh, samosa?
Enrique Lozano [00:25:46] Samosas. Yeah. Yeah
Mando Rayo [00:25:49] Ha ha ha.
Enrique Lozano [00:25:49] And those are pretty great. Yeah. Yeah, and then those have like a chickpea flower and then yeah Yeah, so it’s like, yeah, those are fat and they’re stuffed and it’s I you know, so stuff like that that I think Yeah, I mean is that five?
Mando Rayo [00:26:01] Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think that yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you know, sometimes we get into our comfort zones, right? So what would you tell people to like, all right, let’s try something new.
Enrique Lozano [00:26:13] What does that look like? Let’s try something new. I mean like as far as like a like family member or like
Mando Rayo [00:26:20] Yeah, just anybody. Yeah, I mean, that’s like, you know, no, I’m mean, it was time is kind of kind of sad.
Enrique Lozano [00:26:26] It up, you know, like one of the, one of the things like, I mean, I think of my dad, right? And, uh, with my dad too, it was like, um, I took him once to a, uh pay way. And I was like, I want you to try these, like, they’re like tacos. And it’s like, what do you mean like tacos? Well, just, you know, hold on, let me show it. It’s easier if I show you then explain it. Yeah. So then you go to a pay way and they, they got the lettuce wraps, right? So it’s like, uh they give you the lettuce and then they give it to brown chicken. And like, and I was like, just try it. And he’s like Oh, that’s amazing. I was like, yeah, it’s like, you know, it was like is it a taco though? Like, it is like, well, I mean, you know, what is a taco, right? So I guess things like that, you know, anything that’s wrapped, you know, is usually really good. Yeah.
Mando Rayo [00:27:07] That’s true, with some good spiciness and maybe some crema.
Enrique Lozano [00:27:13] Yeah, for sure.
Mando Rayo [00:27:14] Yeah, awesome. Well, you know, Enrique, I was really excited that not only are you coming to Austin to be on the podcast, but you’re going to do some colegados with us. Yeah. So so tell people what colegado are. Some people may not know what that is.
Enrique Lozano [00:27:29] So, I guess the origins of the way that I grew up cooking colgados was that in Juarez, my really good friends over at Cascavel Cantina and restaurant, they started off as a pop-up. What they did was that they saw this style of cooking from Argentinian style, like hanging meats, very close to or far away from the fire. And it’s more like big cuts of meat, right? But what they did is they Again, being like the border people that they are, they wanted to add their influence to it. So then they started doing different things. Instead of like doing like maybe like a big goat, they would do like, you know, like a pork butt, like marinating pastor, you now? Or, and then they would like their own sausages and then hang that. A lot of vegetables, you like some corn and stuff. So what it is, is, you it’s like a, it’s a, sometimes it’s the pit, sometimes it a howler. You know, there’s all kinds of different applications. I joke around, because we say, like, me and my friend Jorge Ortiz, Monstro from El Toro, we joke around that we have, like the Iron Man, you know, like they have the Mark 1, the Mark 2. We have like about, right now, like nine howlas that we don’t have access to, like throughout the world. I mean, I’m just mainly, you know.
Mando Rayo [00:28:43] I know you brought one out to San Antonio personally for an event and but yeah, so so a how lie is basically like a metal pit
Enrique Lozano [00:28:51] Yeah, metal, yeah, like a big, big old grill.
Mando Rayo [00:28:54] Yeah, and made metal pit. So I got one in the back. Yeah, I’m excited to try one out. It was a custom, made by a Mexicano, on the cheap. Yeah, did you name it? Not one of those $5,000 ones. Oh, yeah, I know. Yeah, but we’re going to cook this afternoon, and we’ll put some highlights on the show notes and on our Instagram. Yeah. And I think that’s also like a good way of like closing out our discussion because it’s something that like a style that you took say that that was popular in Argentina and then all of a sudden you’re doing it in Juarez. Yeah. You know what I mean? That’s cool. And so yeah, anything else you’d like to, you know, share with our podcast listeners?
Enrique Lozano [00:29:42] Um, yeah, I mean, just to like, I guess be open-minded about like, you know, what tacos can be. Um, I think, uh, we’re, we getting into the age of like, uh what they call it now, the no what the Hano movement. It’s something that like, we gotta be really open-mind about, you know, uh give chefs the opportunity to like present you with like new flavors and new experiences. If, if you go into a restaurant, like, for example, like very close here in Austin, like Chris, you from Rondel Barrio. You go and you try his food, it’s gonna be new, but he does good techniques and he has amazing flavors. So give people like him, young people, the opportunity to wow you, be open-minded when you go to a restaurant.
Mando Rayo [00:30:18] Love it. Love it, love it. Awesome. Well, Enrique, thanks so much for being on the show. Thanks, man. Appreciate you. Gracias. Thanks. Mil gracias to the homie Enrique Lozano for having this conversation on Taco Cousins. And you know, I think it’s something that definitely we should explore. Like even myself, I do eat a lot of tacos, but you know going outside of that, getting some empanadas, some shawarma, some gyros, you know everything. It’s good to mix it in, and maybe you’ll go to a new market where you’ll learn a new culture or try a new ingredient. We should, everybody should do that. Like explore, be curious, let’s do that.” So on that note, let’s give out some shout outs to some taco cousins. One of my favorites is Yapa Empanadas in the Austin and San Antonio farmers markets. Cedars Bakery in Houston, and Arepa Texas in Dallas. This has been the Tacos of Texas podcast, developed and produced by Identity Productions. If you enjoyed today’s episode and are craving more taco content, go to our website at www.identity.productions or follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube at Identity Productions and United Tacos of America. This is your host, Mando, El Taco Journalist Rayo. Vamos a los tacos! In the next próximo, Tacos of Texas. Did Taco Bell steal the taco? Let’s find out what happens when culture is overtaken by corporate America. Yo quiero Taco Bell. Do I really though? Dong.
Louisa Van Assche [00:32:09] The Tacos of Texas podcast is presented by Identity Productions in partnership with KUT and KUTx Studios. Our host and producer is Mando, El Taco journalist, Rayo. Our audio is mixed by Nicholas Worden. Our video production is taken care of by Dennis Burnett. Our wonderful interns are Quetzal and Diego Rayo, and our story and line producer is me, Luisa Min Van Asse. Music was created by Peligrosa in Austin, Texas. And King Benny Productions located in the Quinto Barrio of Houston.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
