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Mexican

Deidre Schipani

Tyrone Walker
The Post and Courier

Tuna taco at Taco Boy on Folly Beach.

Rick Bayless, chef-owner of the Frontera Grill and Topolobampo (Chicago), cookbook author and James Beard Award winner, commented, "Mexican cooking in the United States is still in its spaghetti and meatball stage."

It is interesting to note that we know so little about the cuisine of our neighbor to the south.

Its adobos, barbacoas, moles and ceviches are lost in the Mexican-American, Tex-Mex and Southwest shuffle of burritos, fajitas and nachos.

Our search for the authentic ethnic Mexican cuisine continues. Our readers' input in this guide will be a big help; our climate is ideal for a true Mexican campestre (open-air restaurant), and our tastebuds are ready to explore.

Some of the more interesting foods of Mexico can be found in the taco trucks around town. We encourage you to try them.

Taco Boy

15 Center St., Folly Beach

588-9761

www.tacoboy.net

Less than $

Authentic ethnic, it is not, but Taco Boy does a good job of staying close to the soul of Mexico with a little Tex-Mex thrown in for the bottom line.

It is a taqueria (taco stand), a cantina (bar) and like its brothers and sisters in Mexico, Los Angeles and San Antonio, it is simple in menu, decor and price. The salsa crudos (raw sauces) are fresh; brightened with lime and cilantro. The rajas (roasted peppers) are strips of poblanos, and the crema is cooling and tart.

The guacamole favors authentic presentation in its earthen molcajetes and a flight of tequila is the perfect partner for avocado's vegetal quality. Fish tacos are grilled and the portobello and poblano rajas quesadillas marry meaty, chewy, earthy mushrooms with roasted red pepper strips accompanied by guacamole, salsa crudo and crema. The carnitas share a common bond with Southern barbecue — soft, slippery bits of pork flesh along with hardened bits of "burnt ends."

You will find a tasty tres leches cake for dessert and freshly prepared agua fresca, the sweet, chilled fruit beverages so loved in Mexico.

Taco Boy is an oasis from the beach where salty, crunchy, sweet and cold merge on your tongue and in your belly for a cheerful indulgence, taqueria style.

Santi's Restaurante Mexicano

1302 Meeting Street Road, downtown

722-2633

Less than $

Santiago Zavalza (Santi) manages to craft a Mexican roadhouse feel at his popular restaurant. His guacamole and mole are the draw, and his prices speak to a cheapskate's pocketbook. The asada and al pastor along with the cervezas and casados are crowd-pleasers. He has managed to take the foods of his country and adapt them to local ingredients and tastes. This popular lunch spot bears witness to a kitchen that takes it slow when cooking beef to tender shreds, stratifying a mole to all its rich complexity and producing a bright tasting salsa verde. The service is fast and friendly, and the threads of culinary learnings from his mother and grandmother are woven into the fabric of his cooking at his namesake "cocina."

El Mercaditop

3775 Maybank Highway, Johns Island

559-7216

Less than $

Changing from a market to a restaurant has been an easy transition for El Mercadito. Here you will find platos of carnitas, chile verde, lengua and tacos al pastor (which some say are the Lebanese influence on Mexican cuisine). Tacos are presented Mexican-style with bits of chopped onion or radish and a squirt of lime; no "salad" of shredded lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and sour cream gilds these lilies.

The chile relleno is unadorned, as it would be in Mexico. Long-time fans feel some of the classic dishes have been "Americanized," but this is still the place where you can find "tongue" and "cheek."