La Vaquita burritos

Hankering for some Mexican food, I decide to try a chicken burrito from La Vaquita. It is a little shed, formerly a dairy, on Chapel Hill Road that turns out amazing Mexican food. There is no seating. It's a walk-up kind of place and not exactly fast.

I've not had anything there that didn't knock my socks off. The burrito proved no exception. The place is so good that I have to resist stopping, because when I do stop I eat like a glutton. It's embarrassing and unhealthy!

The burrito was huge. The chicken had chipotle seasoning but it wasn't overpowering or too spicy until I dumped hot salsa over it. The burrito also had rice, corn, green pepper, onion and red beans in it. La Vaquita served a couple of different salsas with it. One was a chunky, mild tomatillo salsa. The other was a smooth, fiery chipotle salsa. Both were delicious. I burned off a few taste buds with the chipotle salsa, but it was worth it.

Taco shack: La Vaquita

Recently Gourmet magazine featured a story about Durham's taquerias. La Vaquita on Chapel Hill Street is mentioned in the article. It's a tiny take out place with a large cow standing on the roof (not a real cow), hence the name La Vaquita. The place used to be a dairy but that was well before my time in Durham.

Nowadays it is a great taqueria run by a guy from Veracruz, Mexico. I've been a few times. The food is fresh and delicious. I've tried almost every variety of meat fillings for the tacos, sincronizada (basically a quesadilla), and huaraches (thick, corn tortilla). My favorite is the carne asada which is simply grilled beef. My next favorite is the barbacoa which is beef in a mildly spicy sauce. My third favorite is the ground chorizo sausage. But then the carnitas is great too...OK I like it all. Don't make me choose a favorite! The tacos are served on a soft corn tortilla with a wedge of lime and some radishes. I adore the sincronizada with carne asada. It is served with lettuce, tomato, crema (kind of like sour cream) and cheese.

One day I will branch out and try the shrimp with garlic and maybe the mole.

The food takes awhile to appear because everything is freshly made, so don't go if you expect fast food.

The place is located between my gym and my house. If I have a good work out, I treat myself!

Pozole, Ole!

Pozole is a Mexican stew made with a spicy broth and hominy. I think hominy is weird, but it is required for this delightful dish. I hated it as a child but as an adult I have acquired a taste for it.

The key to great pozole is to serve it with several garnishes so people can flavor their soup to their own liking.

Pozole recipe:

Four small cans or 2 large cans of hominy, drained but reserving liquid
2 lbs boneless chicken breast or boneless pork shoulder cubed
1 t. cumin
1 or 2 T. pureed chipotle chilis (put two in the blender w/ a couple of teaspoons of water)
2 t. dried oregano
2 or 3 garlic cloves minced
handful of chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Garnishes to serve is small bowls:
sliced radishes
chopped onion
chopped avocado
chopped cilantro
warm corn tortillas

To make the pozole, put the liquid from the hominy into a large pot. Add cumin, chipotle, and oregano to broth. Taste it and adjust the spiciness by adding more chipotle. Add the chicken or pork. The liquid should cover the meat. Add some water if necessary. Simmer over low heat for an hour. Add the hominy and simmer for 50 minutes over low head. Taste and adjust the seasonings. You can add more oregano or more cumin or chipotle according to your taste. Then add the chopped garlic and the cilantro. Simmer gently for 10 more minutes. If the soup turns too thick at any point add water.

Serve the pozole in bowls with the garnishes.