My drinking diet generally consists of water, coffee and booze (my day begins and ends in that order). Generally, I’m not a fan of sodas, with one exception: Mexican Coke.
I should call it “taqueria” Coke, really. Because, to get the most out of a glass bottle full of cold, sugar-sweetened Coca-Cola—as opposed to the American version made with the vilified, heavier and sweeter corn syrup (a good, non-alarmist answer about the health issues surrounding HFCS from Marion Nestle here)—it really should be paired with a few tacos topped with lots of salsa, which reacts to the Coke by making it fizz and burn somewhat pleasurably in your mouth.
Yes, Pepsi started selling their “Throwback” cane sugar version in April, but even if American Coke starts doing the same thing (and not just at Passover), it just feels much cooler to drink Coke made in Mexico. (And yes, Target now sells Mexican Coke because well, Target is cool, but it’s still better had at a taqueria.)
We’ve discussed selling Mexican Coke at Tacolicious; I see it in our future. But until then, I’ll have to get my Mexican Coke fix at places like El Cachanilla on 21st Street—one of my favorite taco joints in the city. Although the taqueria is attached to a restaurant, the traditional little tacos are served from a side window where all you get is meat, and frijoles upon request. Then it’s up to you to dress your tacos up with the available fixings, which includes a few nice salsas, cilantro, onions, lime and pickled jalapenos.
The beauty of El Cachanilla isn’t it’s high-quality tacos though, it’s more about the atmosphere: the rudimentary, cactus-lined mural painted on the side of the building that serves as a backdrop for the two wobbly sidewalk tables, a scratchy menu that includes al pastor as well as beef head, and the fact that this little stretch of the Mission still feels like a slice of Mexico to me. It’s not unusual to see characters like this guy (pictured)—who’s kind of ruining the moment by drinking a Pellegrino but the boots make up for it—taking up the table next to you.
Add a Mexican Coke and a beautiful, hot day like today and you’ve done a little traveling without having to go much of anywhere.