If you haven't committed to a sit-down meal at Cala yet (and you totally should), make the time to visit their no-reservation-required taco stand in the back of the restaurant. Open weekdays for lunch starting at 11am, Tacos Cala offers a daily array of Mexico City-style tacos guisados, or homestyle stews. Our favorite is the pork adobo tacos, with chunks of pork shoulder that are browned and braised until tender in a spicy, smokey red salsa. We love it so much, we got the recipe (and it's surprisingly easy).
Pork in Chile Adobo Tacos
Serves 12-15
Ingredients:
5-pound pork shoulder
adobo seasoning*
1. Cut pork shoulder into half-inch cubes.
2. Purée all adobo ingredients together in a blender and pour the resulting adobo sauce into a large bowl.
3. Add pork to the bowl to marinate in sauce for a minimum of 10 minutes.
4. Remove pork cubes from marinade and sear on all sides in a large deep-sided skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Pour chicken stock and leftover marinade into the pan until the pork is submerged.
6. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer, cover the pan and braise for approximately 3 hours or until pork is falling apart.
7. Serve pork with rice, beans, tortillas (Chef Cámara recommends La Palma’s tortillas), and your choice of salsa or guacamole.
*Adobo Ingredients:
2 large cloves of garlic
1 large white onion
3 medium Roma tomatoes
3 dried ancho chiles, seeds removed
15 dried cascabel chiles, seeds removed
10 dried guajillo chiles, seeds removed
2 1/2 T achiote paste
1 cup rice oil
1 T salt
2 T water
Omar Mamoon is the founder of Dough & Co.