SABOR Y TRADICIóN
A local entrepreneur brings familiar flavors and her family ’ s culture and cuisine to Bryan Story and Photos by ELLEN RITSCHER SACKETT
steady stream of midday customers pop in and out of newly opened Tortilleria Mi Tierra . They are primarily there for the corn
A flour tortillas , the taco ( mini ) tortillas , or the chili guajillo-infused flour tortillas displayed on the counter in clear , cellophane packages . Behind them , in full view , is a commercial-grade tortilla maker at work , nearly as long as the counter and twice as high . The dough is made with masa harina , a dried and powdered corn flour made from maize , and is stuffed into a wide funnel at the top . It disappears into the stainlesssteel machine and re-emerges minutes later in a single-file parade of tortillas , perfectly round and cardboard-thin .
The tortilla shop ’ s diminutive owner , Irma Paez , sports a sunny yellow T-shirt and a ballcap printed with the shop ’ s logo , her short dark ponytail neatly pulled through the cap ’ s back . She ’ s clearly in charge , as her staff , also decked out in the shop ’ s signature yellow T-shirts and caps , come to her with questions as she rings out customers at the register . Irma stops for a moment to snatch a puffy , hot tortilla as it drops out of the machine , interrupting its final ascent on up the conveyor belt to where the freshly baked tortillas are stacked . She places the steaming , lone tortilla on an aluminum foil square and says , “ We eat it like this ,” first sprinkling it with salt and rolling it into a cigarette-like cylinder before taking a soft , chewy bite .
Bryan College Station has been home for Paez and her husband , Mario Paez , for the past 20 years . Her family
34 July 2021