Seis Kitchen and Catering makes its corn tortillas from scratch, starting with the nixtamal. The word refers to the ancient Aztec process of making masa by boiling down corn with lime water. It's an essential step in tortilla-making, one that's most often skipped in favor of industrialized store-bought dough.
But down at the Mercado San Agustin, tortillas are serious business. They are fresh and hearty and thick; good enough to eat rolled up by themselves. But they're also a base for some interesting regional styles of meat: the achiote-glazed Cochinita Pibil pork and the Poc Chuc chicken of the Yucatán. And my favorite, a Seis original called the crispy avocado tacos.
Co-owner Jake Muñoz said he wanted to make a beer battered fish taco that vegetarians can eat. So he takes avocado quarters and coats them in a thick batter laced with Modelo Especial. Then they go into the fryer and come out as bulbous masses filled with avocado so soft and warm it's stunning. All with a crunch like a savory donut. Dare I say it, even better than the fish tacos of the coast. 'Cause hey, when life gives you avocados ...
Insider's tip: Seis is also the only restaurant in town that serves Poc Chuc, a grilled slab of chicken or pork that's popular in the Yucatán. The Poc Chuc tacos took first place for chicken tacos in the 2012 Tucson Taco Festival.
Location: 130 S. Avenida del Convento in the Mercado San Agustin
Phone: 520-622-2002
Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays
Payment: accepts debit and credit
