Operation "No Tacos" - A 30 Day Challenge
That's me up there with my dad, eating a plate full of tacos, the happiest 4-year-old ever. It was there in that one-bedroom duplex in the East End where my love of tacos and all things Mexican originated. Menudo for breakfast? Yes, please. Tamales for lunch? Of course! What about dinner? Yep, you guessed it... tacos!
Portrait of a Taco Enthusiast as A Young Man
Even now, 27 years later, in this great city with a million and one restaurants serving a wide spectrum of international and American cuisine, I still find myself eating Mexican food at least five times a week. You know you live in Houston when three of your top five places to eat are taco trucks.
Well, there must have been something in the salsa as I ate dinner at Tacos Tierra Caliente last week, because it was there that I pondered the following:
As a Houstonian, how difficult would it be to survive a full month without eating Mexican food? What if that Houstonian was also of Mexican descent, like me?
I'm taking no tortillas, tacos, fajitas, frijoles, salsa, tortas, menudo, barbacoa, chorizo, jalapeños, guacamole, or queso. Nothing that is either overtly Mexican or derived from Mexican roots, i.e. Tex-Mex.
photo by Marco Torres
I've run the idea past my immediate family and close friends. There's a 60/40 split between the "no way dude, you're crazy" reaction and the "it will be difficult, but yes you can do it" response. My dad, by the way, is in the first camp. Thanks, Dad.
So as of today, and for the rest the month, I will be consciously avoiding Mexican food. Follow me on Twitter @Marco4rmHouston for daily updates. I will mark tweets related to this challenge using the hash tag #30DaysNoTacos.
Leave a comment letting us know how you would fare in this challenge. Also feel free to torture me with TwitPics of tacos that may or may not break my spirit in my time of desperation.
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