Any out-of-work taqueros in Berlin looking for a job? Taqueria Ta'Cabrón is hiring and, from the looks of it, the kitchen seems like a nice place to work. The other day at lunchtime, there were a clutch of people in there, laughing and chatting away with each other in Spanish, rolling burritos and piling fillings onto tacos.
Psst, if you do take the job, can you do me a favor, though? And get the cooks to make the "really hot" hot sauce just a little hotter? Maybe slip a few extra chiles in here and there? Just a few. The thing is, the weird paralysis to serve anything hotter than a bell pepper that seems to infect every ethnic eatery in Berlin seems to have struck here, too, even though I know there are folks eating there every day who can definitely handle a few jalapeños or habañeros more. I just know it.
I came to Ta'Cabrón on the recommendation of my friend Mister Rios, who says it's as authentic as Mexican cooking gets in Berlin. The taqueria is a sunny, friendly room painted with bright colors. You order at the counter and then your food is brought to you. They serve everything from tacos to burritos to enchiladas and tostadas. There are daily specials (albondigas, perhaps, and a creamy soup to start) and even a dessert like flan. I ordered the tacos with cochinita pibil, long-cooked shredded pork topped with pickled onions (yum), and they came with a tiny tangle of shredded lettuce and cubed tomatoes as well as a little puddle of refried beans (delicious).
The tacos were very tasty, but sadly lacking in heat (the little glass bowl you see in the middle there is one of two freshly made "hot" sauces you can spoon over your food yourself. I was told that this one was the spicier version, but it really was pretty mild). I know I sound like a broken record on this blog - I'm starting to get sick of the same complaint over and over myself - but it's really frustrating to know that cooks the city over are dumbing down their food because of the perception that their main customer base can't handle the heat.
I wish - oh, how I wish! - I could give all those cooks and restaurateurs more confidence, promise them that if they cook the way they cook at home, with all the heat and spice that the recipes truly call for, they will find their customers! But something tells me they won't listen, not to this one lone voice.
I liked the tacos and can't wait to try the other things on the menu, the tostadas, for example, or one of the daily specials. Maybe, if I come often enough, they'll start to slip me more of the spicy stuff. Maybe. A girl can dream, after all.
Taqueria Ta'Cabrón
Skalitzer Straße 60
10999 Berlin
(030)
