Authentic Mexican cooking that creates a beautiful medley of flavours
Like many people in the UK, until recently, the most Mexican thing I’d ever eaten was fajitas, guacamole, and chilli. But this changed when Food For Cowboys came to Hull, with an intriguing menu of soft, homemade corn tacos.
Starting out in a little spot in Bond Street, Food For Cowboys is now based next to the White Hart in Alfred Gelder Street. Despite all the fencing around the Drypool Bridge repair works – which proved to be quite a detour around City Hall – many people had made the trek and the restaurant had a pleasant buzz inside.
The decor is gorgeous, think warm terracotta paint shades, mid-century furniture, and cartoonish art on the walls. Downstairs is where the cooking and ordering happens, while upstairs is a cosy attic-like room with plenty of room for diners.
We were seated quickly and given menus. There was a range of small plates and starters, but we immediately began to pore over the taco menu with all its tantalising options.
For instance, the delightfully fishy-sounding cangrejo taco: soft shell crab, achiote batter, adobo crema, cripsy caper, guacamole and seaweed. Or what about carrillera de buey, with ox-cheek braised in wine and adobo?
My group was a mix of vegetarians, pescetarians, and full carnivores and we all found something to eat. There are two vegan options on the taco menu and most of the tacos are labelled gluten-free.
When the food came, there was a debate about whether the birria taco with braised beef and mozzarella or the carnitas taco with confit pork and salsa was the tastier. I’m pretty certain I had the best taco, and chose to quietly keep it myself rather than share.
My taco left me temporarily speechless. I had chosen the vegan flor de platano option – a deep-fried banana blossom – and it was the most pleasantly fishy non-fish thing I have ever eaten, courtesy of capers and seaweed.
There was a perfect harmony of fishy, spicy, salty, umami flavours and each bite had to be savoured very slowly and enjoyed in a quiet ritual. We also ordered the pescado taco, which was a coley loin with chipotle, cod roe, salted cabbage and seaweed.
While the fish was said to be very good, the flavours of the cabbage and sea weed were undetectable due to the spiciness of the sauce. There is no spiciness key on the menu – so if this could be a problem, check before ordering.
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