El Tlaxcalteca
When I checked social media in July to see if El Tlaxcalteca had reopened since the lockdown, I was relieved to see it had and thrilled to see new menu items, including machetes gigantes. I had no idea what that was, but I was going to find out.
It was most definitely gigante, it did look like a machete and it tasted like beefy heaven. The machete gigante ($19.50) is crazy big — I actually got out the tape measure and had my dining companion/personal hand model hold his arm next to it for scale.
About 18 inches long and more than 5 inches wide at its largest point, it weighed around 3 pounds. There were two of us, and I wished there were four of us, maybe even five.
It was sort of like an enormous huarache-shaped quesadilla, the corn dough folded over on itself after the filling of birria de res — pulled beef cooked in broth, with peppers and other flavorings — and cheese were layered on.
The dough was fried up crispy (but remove the machete from its sturdy aluminum tin as soon as you can to keep the bottom crisp, too; leftovers will crisp up beautifully in a cast iron pan). With it, a couple of large griddled jalapeños and quartered limes, plus a cup of the most delicious beef broth stocked with onions and cilantro. Oh, and a container of smoky salsa. What a meal.
El Tlaxcalteca is making other menu items with its chile-inflected birria, too — vampiros (tacos built on tortillas that have been crisped), mulitas (doubledecker tacos, tacos sandwiched with a second crisped tortilla on top), quesabirria (a taco of melted cheese and the birria) and even birriramen, a bowl of birria with noodles, ramen style. And I hear the restaurant plans to add more new dishes, as well.
Hours: Open at 9 a.m. daily until 9 p.m., and sometimes later, if customers are present. Call in to order and pay and pick up in the restaurant (which is open for in-person dining), or simply order at the restaurant.
Uncle Wolfie’s Breakfast Tavern