Arizona used to be a part of Mexico before it was defeated by the US during a war. Hence, the reason why most of the locals and establishments in the this state are Mexicans and Hispanic. Because of this, we can expect that Mexican food are readily available every where especially the very first food in my list of my comfort food.
Mexican Tacos
Where ever you go in Arizona, taco restaurants are everywhere. Speaking of such, I would like to share to you my favorite one. The restaurant is called Ta Carbon. They have one location near our house and one near the school I work. This restaurant offers different kind of meat as filling to their taco. My personal favorite is the Taco Tripa. Tripa refers to the small intestines either pork or beef. These are grilled to perfection and be the main filling inside a tortilla. Mexican tortilla could either be corn or flour. Then a lot of condiments will be its toppings such as chopped onions, cilantro and dressed with your choice of sauce. I love the guacamole sauce and a little bit of spicy chili sauce on it. Most of the time, if available I request extra slices of avocado on it.
Aside from restaurants, seeing Tacos food trucks is pretty common during night time. Most of these food trucks are family owned and have their rented spots to serve freshly cooked tacos. According to my Mexican and Hispanic students, the Abuela (grandmother) in each family is always the best cook.
Ramen
Due to the growing population of Asian communities in the state, asian restaurants are also popping widely. One of our go to place after a very hectic week of work and we can hardly spend time outside, we find ramen places. So far, we've got our top 3 favorites. First on the list is Sosoba The Nonstop Noodle House. Their ramen is incomparable to any that we've tried in the country. In fact it is one of the famous ramen places that are highly recommended. Their ramen is just so great. The noodles are superbly cooked . It was not too hard nor too soft. The meat are extremely tender and topped with fresh spices. Of course their broth is heavenly delicious. as much as we wanted to visit it often but we can't as it is 3 hours drive from where we live. The second to the list is the FiGami Asian refresh in Phoenix, Arizona. This one is near to the school where I work at. Their ramen is comparable to the top 1. their serving is also pretty decent but we noticed that their meat isn't as tender as the Sosoba's. Last pick will be the ramen from the Ra-ra ramen. It is equally decent however, their noodles are kind a stiff. These ramen cost ranges from 10$ -16$ per serving. Yes, it is not cheap but it is always worth it.
Mangonada
I am a person who is not so into fruits. But when I tried this Mexican desert for the first time, I totally fell in love with it. It is the Mangonada. Just like the tacos, this is also their mostly known desert like our halo-halo in the Philippines. So, Mangonada has ice shavings topped with mango chunks. It is flavored with a Mexican sauce called Chamoy. It has the combination of sour, salty and a little bit sweet flavor. But what makes it more savory is adding their famous seasoning called Tajin. It has sour, salty and tangy flavor that makes the Mangonada more flavorful. Moreover, it can also be accentuated with a straw dipped and covered with tajin. Similarly, this desert is often available in both restaurants and food cart. My personal favorite is the one sold by Elotes (food cart). Mangonada price ranges from 4$ - 9$ a cup.
Takis
During my first year as an exchange teacher, I cannot understand why my students love this so much. It is the most requested reward for achieving their goals in tests and challenges. Later on, I realize how you would not want to stop taking crunchy bite from this overly sour and spicy rolled chip. If you are not used to it, you will feel your tongue burning but later on, you will definitely appreciate it. Yes of course, it is yet again flavored with Tajin. The most common seasoning for Mexican foods. I always buy big packs of individually packed Takis as part of my reward system. Big packs costs 14$ with 25 mini individual packs. Now, every time that I crave for chips, I always take a small pack of Takis.
As what James Beard said, “Food is our common ground, a universal experience”. Food draws people together and build wonderful conversation and experiences.
Hope you love this blog fellow Hive friends.
Till’ next time, 🖐️