The lack of good Mexican food in Boston has been debated endlessly. It seems to come down to the fact that the Boston area has few immigrants from Mexico. I live in East Somerville and here immigrants from El Salvador have several restaurants. They serve pupusas and curtido and also dishes they call tacos. The one at the end of my street is Taco Loco, Mexican Grill. Outside the restaurant is one of the signs put up by the city in East Somerville, explaining the moving history of the family who came here to escape persecution and opened Taco Loco.
I remember the first pupuseria I went to somewhere south of Palo Alto in California decades ago. I was enchanted with the food, distinct from Mexican with its own charms for sure, but not much like Mexican. I am glad I live near a place where I can get pupusas. I am still somewhat sad about the Mexican situation, but I cook at home with dried peppers from Christina’s, where you can buy everything you need for a complex mole. I also feel sad when I try barbecue in Boston area that purports to be Eastern NC style. Mostly, it’s not, and the sauces taste like chemicals. A few places get it OK and all said and done, I am very glad I don’t live in Eastern NC.
But I do agree, let’s be glad for what we do have, let’s keep the food places we like in business, let’s be glad for the new Southeast Asian and Peruvian “trends”. Maybe I’ll go to Sarma tonight.
