Barbacoa Tacos

Sometimes a food pic is just too damn sexy not to have its own blog post.

Such is the case here. Meet the barbacoa tacos from Noemi's Tacos in Houston's East End neighborhood.

Barbacoa tacos are (not quite literally) a dime a dozen in Houston. They are a specialty of the many taco trucks and taco stands that adventurous Houston foodies have been blessed with.

A barbacoa taco is a simple construct. Two (layered) corn tortillas, a generous heaping of barbacoa de cabeza, onions and cilantro. On the side, two sauces — traditionally red and green.

And if the taco itself is the canvas, the sauces are the paint. Taco vendors often stamp both their personality and their family background on the sauces they offer.

For a gringo like me the barbacoa taco is the default taco for those taquerias where the staff speaks no English. No matter how much I stumble through Spanish when ordering, they always seem to hand me a barbacoa taco. Another barbacoa taco? OK, I'll eat it if I must...