http://tortadetamal.blogspot.com/2007/11/pastores-vs-gyros.html

I am somewhat inclined to agree with the independent Mexican invention theory even if you could show some powerful Lebanese genealogy because the Lebanese-Mexicans have a history of adopting something pretty close to whatever they were used to and taking over an existing Mexican name and product. (IE, there may have been something called al pastor that was pretty similar to what eventually wound up on a middle eastern style spit.) Perfect case in point is jocoque — you can still get the original thing in Jalisco and probably around there but for 90% of at least chilangos it now means straight up Labne/Kefir cheese and is thought of by them as an Arab food. There is probably some bitter commenter somewhere in Veracruz who remembers the “old” “authentic” taco al pastor before the Arabs came and put it on that atrocious contraption — a theory, at least.

Shawarma must have been invented by a Turkish shepherd. Tacos “al pastor” (“the way shepherds make them”) use carne adobada that has been roasted on a spit. They bear a passing resemblance to shawarma except that they are haraam – the meat is pork.

Mexican adobo (as distinguished from the adobos of Spain, Cuba, and the Philippines) is a marinade made of spices, dried chiles, annatto paste, and citrus juice. Try it the next time you fire up your Weber.

To make tacos al pastor, cheap cuts of pork are sliced thin and marinated in adobo for about a day, then they are assembled on the rotisserie spit shawarma-fashion. (A spit for shawarma tends to weigh about three times more than one bearing carne adobada.) The end-cap, which shepherds used to keep the meat from sliding off the spit and which is no longer obligatory, might be either half an onion or the bottom part of a pineapple. Fat that renders from the spit is cached and used to fry the tortillas. The taquero will shave off the crispier bits as the tacos are requested; if demand is hotter than his flame, he will finish his shavings on the grill before making them up into tacos.

Ordering such a taco “con todo” means you want the taquero to make it up with minced raw onion, chopped cilantro, a boiled sauce of chile de árbol (similar to Thai or Chinese chiles), and a thin guacamole. Otherwise you might specify what he should omit or go light on. It is unlikely that you should need to ask for extra this or extra that because the honor system works both ways – a good taquero always gives full measure.

Saludos desde dónde empieza la patria.

Johnny0 – I usually feel bad about my own lack of a blog when I read you, also lack of knowledge of google earth, now also lack of fulfillment of lifelong ambition of operating quesadilla stand. Fortunately these are remediable, if it happens soon I’m leaning toward a misspelled English name with extraneous apostrophes and aitches and quotation marks like “Quesadilla’s Elizabeht’s” and a big sign inside with lots of uses of the letter “k”, such as “AKA LAS KEKAS.” The thought, as you can tell, has barely ever crossed my mind.