Las Market Meat Vegas

Posted on December 03, 2011 by Admin
Las Market Meat Vegas

Las Market Meat Vegas

Even well-traveled tourists who have years of experience ordering food in restaurants throughout Latin America, including Mexico, may find it a little different getting what they want in a market or restaurant in Oaxaca. It’s not that Oaxacans are so provincial that their palates lack exacting gastronomic sophistication, or that we in Oaxaca don’t know the different between a sandwich on a bun (torta in Oaxaca), and a piece of cake (torta in other parts of Latin America). Food and meal terminology can vary from country to country, and indeed from state to state.

Here's an explanation of some common culinary terms, essentials when ordering meat (carne) in Oaxaca, whether at high end restaurants, middle-of-the-road lunchtime haunts for tourists and locals, comedors featuring a comida corrida, the markets, the city’s plethora of street stands, or roadside eateries throughout Oaxaca's central valleys.

One might ask why the need for a glossary of food terms when visiting a popular tourist destination in Mexico. Many restaurants in Oaxaca do not have bilingual menus or staff, especially when one ventures away from the restaurants noted in the usual tourist guides, and into the markets. True enough, those eateries popular with foreign tourists do cater to English speaking clientele; but there’s much to be said for venturing off the beaten track, and sampling food in the smaller comedors, restaurants, and in the markets where Oaxacans eat. All meat plates are served with at minimum a side of corn tortillas, except of course those with tortillas already incorporated into the dish such as tacos and tlayudas.