I refer to this as to the “Gringo Taco Day,” since crunchy tortilla tacos shells were not the norm for Mexican food; soft corn tortillas are usually used. Many people take claim to the crunchy taco, but only one made it famous.

Glen Bell, the founder of Taco Bell, made the fried corn tortilla taco shell famous, and after that many restaurants began to fry their corn tortillas. Today, tacos are more famous in the culinary world with food trucks offering all types of tacos, but the good old gringo taco is just ground beef, lettuce, tomato, and cheese – just like mom used to make.

I ask you today to experiment with the gringo taco, with flavors such as hoisin duck tacos with cilantro and scallion and some pickled daikon. Make the ordinary extraordinary today.

Questions?

If you have any questions about this article or flight crew culinary training, contact me at jdetloff@airculinaire.com. For questions about in-flight catering, contact weborders@airculinaire.com.