Braised Oxtails at Tlaxcalli

Braised oxtails at Tlaxcalli

When I first moved back to Oahu, I had asked a cousin where there was good Mexican food. This is since living on Maui I had many choices of “Maui Mex”-at Maui Tacos run by a friend, chef Mark Ellman, RIP. Also there were several Mexican expats who opened their own restaurants after moving there to work in fields, restaurants, and hotels. A natural progression. Those served NOT So Cal Mex (tacos, burritos, etc). I got used to “country” or home style Mexican cooking. My cousin said Taco Bell. Thanks Darrell.

I first noticed this guy griddling meats at farmers markets about town. He did it out of a pick up truck. Then he had a lunch wagon, and then a brick and mortar. I followed him throughout all of that.

What first got my attention was that he made his own tortillas. That alone sold me.  Fresh tortilla are so much better than packaged for retail/wholesale. Second, after speaking with him, was that he cooked offal. Soon I was having ears, snouts, and organs, in tacos!
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Now, I consider him a friend, as much as one can. I say that as he is not easy to get along with. He has expelled me from his restaurant more than once. But, that would be my fault, as I was always “poking” the bear. If there could be a “taco nazi”, he gets my vote. I like that about him. No pretense, no BS. This is his food, take it or get out!
What I like besides the fresh tortilla, and offal, is his attention to slow cooked food. Country food. The food of his family. What he ate growing up.

There are many menu items one does not find at other Mexican restaurants, many of which now are on the birria bandwagon. I am not a fan of boiled meat served with the boiling liquid on the side. As the boiling liquid-or what they like to call consommé- is highly viscous, it’s a mess to eat. I only have birria as a dip sandwich, as the bolillo roll absorbs the jus, helping in getting the flavorful broth into your mouth. If eaten with a taco, it just runs out threatening to soil your hands and clothing.
    
Tlaxcalli slow cooks these oxtails to the point the meat DOES fall off the bone. This makes for an unctuous eating experience. I go so often, I need not order, he sees me, and makes my order. But its not just the soft, well seasoned meat, nor just the fresh tortilla. It’s the beans. These alone would make me come back. I have tried to order them as a side dish, and he would not sell them to me (did I say he is difficult?). His point, which I get, was that if he sold them to me, he would not have enough available as a side dish to the oxtails, which is the whole point to the sale of that meal.
    

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