Introduction

The idea for Amor y Tacos has been brewing in my notebooks for almost a decade. After publishing a book of traditional Baja Mexican recipes, and another of Mexican-inspired vegetarian food, I knew I wanted to create a “party book” of cocktails and simple, delicious food, reflecting what was happening with Mexican food on both sides of the border.

Reading back over ten years of my research journals, I found myself intrigued by the new angles on Mexican food that kept popping up in my notes, especially in the areas of tacos, antojitos (little bites), and cocktails. I started to see a new kind of Mexican food with a streetwise spin that was fun, exciting, and unexpected. I found bartenders acting like chefs; I began to see old standards done in new ways. Not fusion, but a fresh take on traditional preparations. It was food that was clearly Mexican but rethought, rediscovered, newly appreciated. I don’t recall whether the light went on with my first chamoy margarita, or my first taco vampiro. But after my first visit to El Taco de la Ermita in Tijuana, I knew this was the direction I wanted to pursue, not least because it is rapidly becoming an even a bigger trend in the United States.