Mexican Food Especially Cabrito al Pastor
From sopa de mariscos to tacos to cabrito, Mexico has many great foods.
Typical Mexican foods are typically great. This page is mainly about cabrito al pastor, but gives credit to other good Mexican food. Ask anyone about their trips to Mexico and they will wistfully recall some great meals, from 5 star restaurants serving alta cocina to humble open air 
restaurants with limited menus. Whether it is guacamole, mole poblano, tacos, cabrito or the amazing soups of Mexico, we all have our favorite foods of Mexico. Since we can't always be in Mexico, the retailer above can at least provide you with authentic Mexican food products.
Frankly, a good authentic Mexican taco from a street vendor or an open air restaurant specializing in tacos is one of the best foods of Mexico in my opinion.
Sopa de mariscos is deceiving. First of all, if you think a soup is merely an appetizer, dispel that notion. Secondly, while seafood soup sounds disgusting, this is excellent and very hearty fare. A bowl is a meal. It is almost universally good - providing you like octopus, squid, fish, shrimp, oysters and probably other things that swim. Camarones al mojo de ajo are shrimp in garlic sauce are my other favorite. Mole I can take or leave, but my wife would rather take a good mole and leave me, so I'd best be careful what I saw about that complex dish. She feels about cabrito like I feel about mole. There is no accounting for taste (even if mine is right).
Oh, and if you order a shrimp cocktail, order one for two people. Unlike the dinky shrimp cocktails you are used to, these come in a big beer mug with several shrimp, lots of cocktail sauce, cilantro, avocado, onions and probably some other stuff. One is a meal, not an appetizer for most people.
Different ways to cook cabrito
For a gallery of cabrito being cooked, click here for cabrito pictures. It will open in a new window so you can keep reading. My favorite Mexican food is cabrito al pastor, or young goat, roasted on a spit over open coals (often from mesquite wood). Surprisingly, cabrito al pastor does not have a smoky flavor. Cabrito al pastor is cooked for 6 hours and is turned every 15-20 minutes. No seasoning is added.
Do not be gulled by places, both in the USA and Mexico that just advertise cabrito. There are various forms of cabrito, not all of which might tickle your fancy. The main forms of cabrito are: al horno (oven baked) , en birria (stew), en salsa (in sauce). The ones least likely to appeal to most people are cabrito en sangre (blood) and machito (it's complicated). Machito probably tops en sangre for least appetizing, but it is that taste thing again. Some compare machito to haggis. I have never had haggis, but machito is the innards of a goat (heat, lung, kidneys etc.) wrapped in the ever appealing tela or visceral lining and tied together with a bit of tripa (small intestine) to make a pretty package. I like odd foods, but that is even odder than I am. It is probably supposed to be an aphrodisiac, if you could find anyone who would kiss you after you ate that.
Most people think the best cabrito in Mexico comes from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. I beg to differ. I think there is good cabrito in many places. Most people just don't know to look elsewhere.
I have eaten hundreds of portions of cabrito al pastor in my life, all over Mexico. I used to rate cabrito restaurants as being "the best." That was fruitless. "Best" is a matter of personal taste. So now I just say that these are among the best I have had. There are no doubt other cabrito restaurants I have not tried yet. But I will!
Here are some of my favorite restaurants for cabrito al pastor. They are all good and each cabrito restaurant is a little bit different. The owner of El Meson del Cabrito in Saltillo, Coahuila, told me in an interview that the cooking method is pretty much the same no matter where you eat cabrito. What makes the different tastes is where the goats were raised and what they ate. I happen to like his cabrito al pastor above El Rey in Monterrey, but that is my opinion. Go there and see for yourself.
For a photo gallery of cabrito kitchens and restaurants, click here.
Some of my favorite restaurants for cabrito al pastor are:
Saltillo, Coahuila - El Mesón Principal on Hwy 40 just before the interchange coming into town on the right. It is across from the big shopping center. Their web site is great. They have more variety to their menu than most cabrito restaurants. They serve steak (most all do) but also dishes regional to Coahuila and alta cocina (haute cuisine) and international dishes. So a non-goat lover (that does not sound right) will be happy there, though vegetarians will find something to eat, just not a lot of choices. El Mesón Principal has been around for more than 50 years. Blvd V. Carranza y Ave. Egipto,
Col. Virreyes Residencial C.P. 25230 Saltillo, Coah., México,
Tel.: (844) 415 00 15 y 415 34 21
San Luis Potosi, SLP - La Estrella de Dimas, south of the old bypass of San Luis Potosi on Hwy 57 and north of the new one. Alas, 
times are tough now. They close at 5 PM. I was unable to eat there the last time through. I was really bummed out.
Directions to La Estrella de Dimas from my road log
74.0 – Come to South end of bypass. Turn LEFT onto MEX-57 - UNLESS going to La Estrella de Dimas (turn right).
There is an excellent cabrito restaurant, La Estrella de Dimas back towards town, 4 miles. Cabrito is young goat grilled on a spit over open coals for 6 hours. The restaurant is on the right, just before an intersection with Eje 126. Exit at Eje 130 to lateral. (http://www.mexcon.net/dimas.htm). Address is Carretera Queretaro – San Luis Potosi, KM 8 (or Av. Benito Juarez #192). Phone is 444-824-1914
After it, you will pass a hotel on your right that is medium-priced. If you see a Ford dealer, you have gone 2.2 miles too far. You will have to turn around and come back.
Be careful because there is another restaurant farther towards town also named La Estrella de Dimas and it is a buffet with no cabrito.
END ROAD LOG
Matehuala, San Luis Potosi - El Mezquital, on the north end of town, beyond the Wal-Mart and the Hotel Las Palmas on the opposite side of the highway. There are two cabrito restaurants in this wayside village. The one on the south side has never seemed as good or as friendly as the Mezquital. Both are about the same price. El Mezquital is also open for breakfast, though you won't get cabrito in the morning.
Hidalgo del Parral, Durango. It has been many years since I ate at a cabrito restaurant on the periferico around town. IT may be gone, but by golly, if you go to Hidalgo, look for it. It was so good that I ate two portions and took a third back to my hotel for breakfast.
Monterrey, Nuevo Leon - El Rey de Cabrito downtown (817 Constitución Ote) is famous all over Mexico.
Acapulco, Guerrero - Restaurante Cabrito on the Costera, away from town from the Convention Center. It was surprisingly good and founded by Regiomontaños (people from Monterrey).
Cabrito is practically fat-free and has about the same calories as chicken per serving.
Goat (1) |
122 |
2.58 |
.79 |
23 |
3.2 |
Beef (2) |
245 |
16 |
6.8 |
23 |
2.2 |
Pork (2) |
310 |
24 |
8.7 |
21 |
2.7 |
Lamb |
235 |
16 |
7.3 |
22 |
1.4 |
Chicken (2) |
120 |
3.5 |
1.1 |
21 |
1.5 |
Source: 1 USDA Handbook #8 1989 2 Nutritive Value of Foods, Home & Garden Bulletin Number 72, USDA, Washington,D.C. Government Printing Office 1981
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