Few foods are as unpalatable as pork, of which there is an old saying that the only thing you don't eat is the sound it makes. And few places in Mexico have known how to take advantage of it and explore it like Yucatán, where the legend of cochinita pibil has overshadowed that of another extraordinary Yucatecan pork dish. Recently, a bastion of this food has opened its doors in Mexico City. Its name? Castacán.
If anything, it had already proven Gabriela Cámarathe chef of ContramarWhat if it didn't mean having a chef from the desert of Chihuahua running the most popular seafood restaurant in the country? hot from Mexico City? Now, Gabriela's new adventure has taken her to the Yucatecan peninsula, the birthplace of castacán, a type of chicharrón made from a cut of pork that has both meat and fat. The result is similar to the so-called chicharrón norteño, sometimes also called simply "chicharrón con carnita", related of course to cuts like the pork belly.
This was the dish that baptized this spot in the Roma neighborhood, a place that combines a distinctly Chilanga atmosphere with the star dish of white Merida. The design of the place takes everything from the capital's classics: from the signs to the folding chairs, including the now classic neon lights, one of which features the pig, the main inspiration behind Castacán. This is clear in its menu, which proudly announces: "our pigs have no hormones or antibiotics". And that's where it gets good.
Lechón, cochinita and castacán
Castacán's menu is an admiring and admiring ode to Yucatecan pork. Tacos, tortas, and orders of tender suckling pig, soft cochinita, and crunchy castacán inhabit the menu, all showcasing the unctuous generosity of the pork. There is also a vegetarian option, vegetables with sweet potato puree. And this taco offering is accompanied, as it could not be otherwise in Mexico City, by an army of salsas, charmingly packaged in the classic salseros of the taqueria around the corner, another charmingly Chilango detail. The remarkable variety of salsas includes mango, habanero, yogurt, chile con piloncillo and sesame sauce, each with the recommendation of the taco that goes best with it.
Just because we are focusing on their tacos, we are not going to forget their lime soup, comforting as if it had come out of a Merida kitchen, nor their fresh tapioca desserts with fresh fruit and ice pops. Perhaps the best thing that can be said about Castacán is that, rather than appropriating Yucatecan cuisine, it aims to put a little bit of Mérida into a Chilango restaurant.
Castacán
Puebla 387, esq. Acapulco, Roma Nte.
Monday to Friday : 12 to 7 pm