Horchata

A few weeks ago, my friend and I went to see Anatasia on Broadway. As phenomenal as the show was, my highlight of the day was discovering the Los Tacos No.1 that was a block over from the theater. I think my first sign that it was going to be a great experience was the fact that it was right across the street from the Lyric Theater, which is now home to the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Broadway play. I’m as much of a Harry Potter fan as the J.K. Rowling is British.

On entering Los Tacos No. 1, I remembered the documentary we had talked about in class, Los Cocineros – From Guerrero, Mexico to New York City #Docs #DESMADRE, which included the story of Uriel, an employee of the restaurant as spoke about his struggles and experiences coming to America and living here (You can read more about that documentary here). Also recalling Aziz Ansari’s comment on this place as the best place to get tacos. Now I’m not going to say my opinion on the food as of yet. However, I do wanna take a minute to look at these giant jugs of juice they had in the front of the store.

The main attraction, for now, is the Horchata. This drink varies between countries of course, although the basic ingredients are vanilla, milk, and cinnamon. Other variations include nutmeg, rice, almond, morro seeds, sesame seeds, etc. I personally love this drink with some ice. According to Latin Post, the etymology of the word ‘Horchata’ comes from the Catalan word ‘orxata’ when the drink was made from barley. One of the stories regarding the word “includ[es] one legend where Spanish Conquistador James I of Aragon visited the village of Alboraria for the first time, and partook of the sweet beverage, and allegedly proclaimed, “Açò és or, xata!” (“That’s gold, darling!”).” Same James I of Aragon, same. I mean, when I drank it for the first time, I definitely said the same thing.

Let me know in the comments if you’ve had Horchata and which variation you’ve had.