"Crispy" is a word that affixes itself to many descriptions of chalupas, especially commercial enterprises that furnish them with lettuce, tomato, and string cheese. The chalupas in this batch, shallow-fried in lard and topped with onion and shredded beef, were supple; the texture reminded me of pancakes. A better label for my half-order, sauced red and green in equal measure, would be "short stack."
Also shown: a cup of café de olla, ladled from the traditional earthenware pot (on the house). The pot and the cooktop each rest on a tlecuile, the Nahuatl word for the Spanish fogón — generally, a wood-fired hearth or stove of some sort. These tlecuiles are charcoal-fueled and, when need be, hand-fanned.
H/T Matt Shapiro
Chalupas Poblanas El Tlecuile
By the roadside at 3747 Junction Blvd. (Roosevelt-37th Aves.), Corona, Queens
718-424-3662
www.Facebook.com/Chalupas-Poblanas-El-Tlecuile-114216710342440
Friday through Sunday, 6:00-11:00, except during heavy wind or rain
