Taco Cuervo in Bucerías is a good place to start if you are new to street eating, an inexpensive way to find a quick meal in Mexico. Food carts, known as puestos in Spanish, come complete with propane powered stoves, chopping blocks, and all the necessary ingredients.

They are found on many town streets, especially near plazas and markets or wherever people congregate. So many of us, unfamiliar with this favorite Mexican way of grabbing a quick bite, avoid street eating, thinking it isn’t healthy or sanitary. If you know how to ask about their procedure for cleaning produce, you will be assured of a healthy meal.

We recently visited Taco Cuervo, a small food cart just off of the main highway through Bucerias, and found a clean cooking set-up where Elvia, the cook, is serving tacos and quesadillas. After we were reassured by her answer to our question as to how she disinfects vegetables and we visually checked the cart for overall cleanliness, we made the decision to sit down for lunch and were not disappointed.

Her tacos and quesadillas come with a variety of fillings: carne adovado, lengua (tongue), chorizo and carne asada, all encased by corn tortillas made to order. Be sure to try the beans, peruanos, a local favorite that are tender and creamy. A variety of great salsas, all freshly made, provide the final touch.

This is street eating at its best — simple, cheap, quick and tasty. For directions to Taco Cuervo, visit Cooking in Mexico, my food blog.

Kathleen Dobek explores the culinary traditions of Mexico from her home in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Nayarit. Through regular columns on BanderasNews and via her Cooking in Mexico blog, Kathleen shares her experiences in Mexico and introduces the great variety of New World ingredients and contemporary dishes of this country to the foreigners who visit and live here.

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