Tlayudas

The tlayuda is not a taco and refuses to be called a Mexican pizza in its own state. It starts with the base: a thin corn tortilla the size of a dinner plate, cooked slowly until it dries to a leathery, keepable crisp - originally a traveler's ration for the Oaxaca valleys. The build is canonical: asiento, the unrefined pork lard from the bottom of the cazo, spread first; then black bean paste, quesillo - Oaxaca's own string cheese, pulled into a nest - shredded cabbage or lettuce, avocado and tomato, with the meat of choice on top: tasajo, cecina enchilada or chorizo from the grill. Then the fold, and the finish: the whole thing pressed over charcoal until the cheese runs and the base blisters and cracks. Street braziers set up after dark - the smell of asiento and coals is Oaxaca's night signature - and the eating is a two-handed, structurally uncertain pleasure best accompanied by mezcal or a cold beer. Order one between two if it is your first; they are larger than reason.

What you actually see

• The base - a plate-sized tortilla toasted stiff.
• The asiento layer - pork lard as the foundational grease.
• Quesillo pulled fresh - Oaxaca's string cheese in a nest.
• The charcoal press - folded and blistered over coals.

When to go

After dark, when the street braziers fire; markets serve them by day. Year-round, in every Oaxacan town.

Honest expectations

Portions are enormous - sharing is standard practice. Vegetarians can order without meat and asiento, though the lard is the flavour's backbone. Cash, plastic stools and smoke are all part of it.

Nearby

Oaxaca city's night braziers around Llano park and the 20 de Noviembre market's smoke alley serve the reference versions.