Mexican Food: Still Fancy, Hip

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Over in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn Based has a point-by-point comparison of the tacos served at Cochinita and Salva Vida, two of the recently opened so-called trendy taquerias. The former comes from a Los Angeles expat, and the latter from the folks at the General Greene.

Although Cochinita loses points for its "hipster-heavy" clientele and refusal to serve free chips and salsa, it earns some back for its fresh tortillas and "West Coast rep." For its part, Salva Vida gets the nod for a "diverse" patronage and affordability, but ultimately loses out to Cochinita, which is judged to have better-tasting tacos.

Fresh tortillas like the ones served at Cochinita are essential to high-quality tacos, and to drive this point home, the Daily News pays a visit to Tortilleria Nixtamal. The Corona restaurant and tortilla factory supplies numerous establishments with its tortillas, which are made from masa ground fresh on the premises. The masa is made by nixtamalization, in which the corn is boiled and soaked in lime and then ground into dough. It's a process that goes all the way back to ancient Aztecs.

Pulque also traces its lineage to the Aztecs. Made from the fermented juice of the maguey cactus, it's an old-fashioned alcoholic drink that, as The Washington Post discovers, is enjoying a resurgence in Mexico City. Once pushed aside in favor of beer, it is now the booze of choice for -- of course! -- "young urban hipsters, who have taken to the antique drink as a kind of retro, subversive return to their pre-Columbian roots." The article neglects to say, however, if it's served by men wearing ironic facial hair and bow ties.

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