The best way to eat like a “local” is to pay close attention to the people around you, check out what they’re ordering and then do the same. I do this a lot when I travel (even within the city).
When I pay attention to what’s going on at any of the taquerias and other Mexican restaurants in San Francisco, I’ve noticed that inevitably, there is a division in the room: While the gringos, such as myself, are diving into an assortment of tacos or a burrito the size of a small dog, the Latino crowd is likely bent over a huge bowlful of steaming hot soup.
Taking cues from the “local” patrons around me, I’ve found myself at different restaurants ordering the soup that the table next to me is enjoying. I’ve walked down to El Zocalo when I was feeling flu-ish for their turkey soup—a simple brothy concoction made with a massive turkey leg, huge chunks of carrot and potato. At El Gran Taco Loco, I once ordered the pozole—usually one of my favorite Mexican soups—which turned out to be perhaps a little too local for me, with a huge pig foot sticking out of it. Better was the pozole I had for breakfast at Los Jarritos, paired with their housemade corn tortillas. And one afternoon, I sat at the counter of Puerto Allegre—which is a tame little restaurant if you go at lunch—and had the tortilla soup, which considering the fact that the food there is generally not all that, was pretty darn good.
So when you show up at T-Lish Tuesday tonight (and I hope you will), don’t gloss over the albondigas soup (pictured, in its perfection, above). The pork-tomato based broth, redolent of jalapenos and Mexican oregano, is afloat with carrots and meatballs made with rice and mint. On the menu—should you be curious—it says “Albondigas: just like Wednesday but on Tuesday” which is Joe’s nod to his teenage job at Familia Garcia, a bad Mexican restaurant in Modesto that only had good Mexican food on Wednesday when Luis the cook was allowed to cook from his heart for employee meal, instead of the daily menu. For that, he cooked albondigas soup, served with a little side of rice, tortillas and salsa. Which meant that Wednesday was Joe’s favorite day (and probably a sign of the start of his formation as a wannabe Mexican). Of course, now his favorite day is Tuesday.