Taquería Jackpot in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget
I love Mexican food, so I was very happy to move to Salinas, California with its many taquerías and restaurants serving food from all the regions of Mexico.
I did an online search to see how many tauerías there are in Salinas and counted 68 as of May 2024. It is very easy to do Taco Tuesday in Salinas with that many taquería in town.
Almost all of these taquerías can do a combination platter or platillo for about $15 to $20. Taco combination platters usually come with the following items:
-2 blackened chicken tacos with shredded cabbage or lettuce and melted Swiss cheese
-refried black beans with softened cotija cheese on top. (Cotija cheese is like Greek feta cheese in that it does not melt and has a slightly tangy flavor. Cotija comes from the western Mexican state of Michoacán on the Pacific Ocean.)
-Mexican rice, which at its most basic is boiled with chicken broth and tomato juice to give it a nice orange-yellow glow.
-2 small containers of pico de gallo salsa made with chopped hot peppers, tomatoes, onons, and cilantro
-2 lime quarters to squeeze into beer, diet soda, water, or tacos
I think this is a nice combination of food for $15 to $20. Almost any taquería can do catering for combination platters with some advance notice, too.
Having food like this available allowed me to have a simple yet cost effective food system in place when my daughter Florence Paget was a teenager. Anyone in the family could make the following items or buy them from a restaurant:
Monday – pasta night with marinara sauce, shredded gruyère cheese, boiled eggs, prosciutto, and salame
Tuesday – Taco Tuesday with combination platters
Wednesday – Pizza Day
Thursday – Asian Restaurant Day or Costco Yakisoba at home
Friday – Baked fish with onions and potatoes or baked fish with chopped tomatoes and onions
Saturday – Baked chicken
Sunday – Macaroni and cheese or lasagna
I would serve lettuce, fruit salad, and a slice of cheese to go with these meals.
I did not always stick to this plan, but it helped me take inventory to make shopping lists and have items on hand to easily make these meals.
I am a big fan of Taco Tuesday for making food systems like this possible and love it that I can get tacos at 68 food outlets in Salinas, California.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
