Tlayudas Oaxaca Street Vendors

Tlayudas — the enormous, thin, charcoal-grilled tortillas that are one of Oaxaca's most distinctive street-food traditions — are served by vendors and stalls throughout the city's historic center, with the largest concentrations operating around the Zócalo, along Macedonio Alcalá, and in the streets surrounding the markets. A tlayuda begins as a large, flat, partially dried corn tortilla typically measuring 30–40 centimeters in diameter; it is placed directly on a charcoal grill until it crisps and develops a characteristic smoke flavor while remaining slightly pliable in the center. The base is then spread with asiento (unrefined pork lard that has absorbed chile flavor during cooking), a layer of black bean paste, shredded Oaxacan quesillo (the hand-pulled string cheese that pulls apart like mozzarella), raw or blanched cabbage, avocado slices, and then the protein topping of the customer's choice: tasajo (thinly sliced, air-dried beef grilled to order), chorizo negro (a dark, fatty Oaxacan sausage), cecina (chile-marinated pork), or a combination. The assembled tlayuda is then briefly returned to the grill to melt the cheese and warm all elements simultaneously. The result is a plate-sized preparation that serves one hungry person or two light eaters, eaten with hands or folded. Evening operations from 7 p.m. to midnight around the Zócalo are the most atmospheric, as vendors set up their charcoal grills in the pedestrian streets and the smell of smoke and sizzling meat draws a steady crowd.