For me, quesadillas are about the most indulgent Saturday morning breakfast that I can have while living here. I am sure I liked them in the US, but to be honest, I don't remember them being very exciting - a partly soggy flour tortilla, oozing with cheese, some sort of un-identifiable meat hidden inside, accompanied by a bland tomato-based salsa on the side. All the ingredients are things I like, but the whole combination did not have the zest that it does here.
Actually, in Mexico I have never seen a quesadilla like those that are served in the US. The two styles that are available are a deep-fried version that starts off with raw masa and one based on a corn tortilla that is cooked on the comal.
Of course, the ones I go crazy about are the deep-fried version, though I am quite happy to eat the comal version any time Ismael wants to buy me one.
One of the great things about Ismael growing up in Mexico City is that he knows where the best quesadillas are. In the neighborhood where he grew up, we can find quesadillas with a crispy outside, a generous amount of filling, and bursting with flavor for just $1.25 USD each. Of course there are some issues, such as this place is a little bit out of the way for us and the lack of seating. You also have to take into account that this place is popular - there is always a line and they close when they run out of ingredients, so getting here early is a good idea.
A husband and wife team run the business and actually cook the quesadillas while employees prep all the fillings. The filling choices include picadillo (ground beef with carrots, potatoes, and peas), mashed potatoes with peppers, mushroom, squash flower, shredded chicken, tinga (shredded chicken in salsa), beef, huitlacoche (a mushroom that grows on corn), brain, tuna, and chicharron (fried pork skin in salsa). You can, of course, choose to have cheese with any other filling for about 8 cents more.
The wife takes the orders (it is best to write out a list to give to her) and makes the quesadillas, while her husband takes the quesadillas through two different fryers, drains them, packs them, and deals with the money.
The wife is amazing to watch as she makes each quesadilla in about 15 seconds.
After the quesdallas are made, they go first into this deep-frier, in batches to help keep the orders together. Then he moves them to one of the two friers just to the right. Big pots of hot oil over a gas-flame, like how the other friers are, always make my heart beat a little faster.
Delicious breakfast...
