Fact: The average resident of Mexico consumes 135 pounds of tortillas per year.

Nixtamalization (the process of creating maize dough) was developed at the beginning of Mesoamerican civilization between 1000 and 800 B.C.

Taco culture, however, has only been popular for the last two centuries.

These and other exhaustive facts are featured in the new book, Tacopedia, at all DPL locations.

This travel guide/recipe book has a healthy amount of photos, and quite a bit of scholarly information on the sundry variety of regional variations.  It is an excellent way to learn the difference between suadero and al pastor.

It is frustrating, however, to know there is no way this gringo would ever be able to obtain the correct meat cuts, much less come close on the meticulous recipes.   What’s worse, most of these featured taquerias are hundreds of miles from any all-inclusive resort.

Thankfully, the Quad Cities supports a population that enjoys authentic cuisine.  Armed with what I’ve gleaned from this book, I may brave outside of the burrito at one of our fine local establishments.

Happy Cinco de Mayo to one and all.