Saturday, December 23, 2006

From: Squirrel Squad Squeeks

Stick out your tongue

One day, Teh Boy is going to kill us.

Recently as Mama Squirrel and I were driving home from work, I veered off the road and into the parking lot of Taco Loco. Mama agreed with me that we needed a snack before we started dinner. I ordered us a quesadilla of suadero, succulent roast pork. I asked Mama if that would be enough. She left it up to me. I ordered a second quesadilla of carne asada, but they were out. "We have chicken and tongue", we were told. With a quick glance at Mama, I asked for "lengua". Another glance at Mama showed that she was unfazed. The dangerous part is not that Mama accepts me as I am; it's that she encourages me.

We both know by now not to try eating Taco Loco food on the way home. It's insanely hot. Besides, we couldn't eat this without Squirrelly, Jr.

Once we were home, we quickly figured out which quesadilla had the tongue. That is the one we gave Teh Boy.

Not long ago, we brought chicken foot home for Teh Boy to try. That experiment did not go well at all, and he wouldn't speak to us for hours after that. We were holding our breath as he bit into the quesadilla de lengua. No bad reaction. In fact, he dug in. As Mama and I were nibbling on our share of the quesadillas and puttering around the kitchen, Teh Boy sank into a chair and went to town with tongue.

When we asked him what he thought, he said that was the best quesadilla he ever ate. He asked when we could go back. We said we would go again soon and that maybe next time we should try the tongue. His immediate reaction was, "Oh, no. No tongue. I can't eat tongue. I wouldn't like tongue." So here we go. I asked him what he thought was in the quesadilla. He said, "beef". Mama said, "well, yeah." I just made rude gestures with my tongue. He looked at me and asked, "This is tongue?" One tense second passed as we waited to see if his head would asplode before he shrugged and said, "Huh. I guess I like tongue. Can I call Nana and tell her?"

Honestly, Mama and Teh Boy liked the tongue better than I did. I have had tongue once before. That time a big piece of tongue was cooked to doneness and put on a plate. That was pretty bad. At Taco Loco, they dice the meat and season it beautifully. The dish is very good, but the meat has a stronger flavor than I like. Still, I wouldn't hesitate to have it again, especially in one of those quesadillas. They were so satisfying that we never did make dinner.

Now I just have to convince the rest of the squad to try the tripe.

Taco Loco
3035 Lamar Ave
Memphis, TN 38114
(901) 743-9295

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