Five years ago, when her son was still in high school, Alejandra Graf invited his soccer team over for a taquiza, a type of party she grew up with in Mexico City. She picked up packs of the biggest, deepest chafing dishes from Costco and filled them with cochinita pibil, the juicy shredded pork reaching the rims of the pans, just as the other taco fillings, the steaming rice and the beans did. Lined up in Graf’s home in Katy, Texas, the trays were surrounded by bowls of homemade salsas and warm tortillas.
More than 20 players demolished all of the food. They were familiar with tacos, especially the Tex-Mex ones in their hometown, but none had experienced a taquiza, where everyone serves themselves, stuffing tortillas from a buffet of guisados, different stews like chicken with salsa verde or mole. Graf, who writes the blog Piloncillo y Vainilla, says: “Those kids still remember that day. It was just super fun.”
