Arrachera Calavera at Malinche in Ellisville presents a different take on tacos
Guests order it once "and then bring their friends back and order it again," says co-owner Angel Jiménez-Gutiérrez.
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Arrachera Calavera
This article appeared in the May 2021 issue of St. Louis Magazine.
Malinche in Ellisville dazzles with small-plate presentations inspired by the cuisine of Mexico City. The Gutiérrez family (of Señor Pique fame) serves dishes whose recipes span generations. A best seller since Malinche opened is Arrachera Calavera, which translates to the rather incongruous “skirt steak skull” (in this case, calavera is a reference to the bone marrow that accompanies the dish). Two tacos are offered, one with pickled red onions and salsa verde, the other with chilitos en vinagre and salsa roja. Both include homemade corn-and-cilantro tortillas, as well as homemade queso fresco laced with onions and peppers. But the ingredient with secret-weapon cachet is the achiote-and-lime marinated arrachera. Sourced from a town near Mexico City, the skirt steak is “extremely juicy and tender,” says co-owner Angel Jiménez-Gutiérrez, “and is also extremely expensive,” leading to a $27 price tag, but little customer resistance. “People order it once and then bring their friends back and order it again,” he says. Part of the appeal may also be the unusual garnish, an upright beef shank roasted with serrano peppers and onion that seep in to flavor the marrow, so patrons can scoop a bit atop the tacos for an indulgent boost. “I remember my father loving bone marrow and my mother making it for him often,” Jiménez-Gutiérrez says. “The dish is a tribute to both of them.”
