More kinds of meat

They say that Eskimos have 30 different words for snow. Well, I'm learning that in Mexico, there are more words for meat than I could ever imagine.

I had lunch at Tortitlan today, my favorite torta (Mexican sandwich) place. On the menu were a few things I have never heard of, such as piernas and res. I wasn't quite ready to just experiment without more information, so I settled upon a Mexican version of a cheesesteak, which rivaled Pats Steaks in Philadelphia. Tender steak, queso fundido (melted cheese), spicy-hot salsa, tomatoes and crispy lettuce. Delicioso! But still, my curiosity about these other mystery meats had been piqued.

Antonio was on an airport transportation mission today, so Francisco - his backup driver - was our chauffeur. Francisco is 35, but looks 25. He is an avid runner, and doesn't drink alcohol. Besides working with Antonio, he also runs a Taco stand on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, so I figured he would be the perfect person to learn more about meat Mexican style.

So, I learned that res is a steamed beef preparation. Piernas is like ham. And at Francisco's taco stand, he sells cabeza (cheeks), lengua (tongue), sesos (brains), and even ojos (eyes). Apparently ojos are the best.

Surprisingly, I knew of one preparation that Francisco had never heard of. I asked Francisco if he sold ostiones de montaña (a.k.a. Rocky Mountain Oysters). He hadn't heard of them, and once I explained what they were using the only spanish dirty word I know, Francisco assured me that those are not on the menu.

I also asked Francisco about how regulated the various street vendors are, as stories of Americans getting sick in Mexico are common. Within San Miguel, each street vendor is licensed, and has surprise inspections at least twice a year, similar to the USA. I asked if he washed his vegetables, and this is a part of the process to be licensed. So I feel better about being more adventurous in the future.

Now, how to make a weekend night trip to his stand to try some of these crazy new meaty things?