A new column by Vivanda Felice and Pipa Benoit, pseudonyms for two Monroe County “foodies” dedicated to supporting and highlighting local food, spirit and culture.

Nothing satisfies my (Vivanda) food-soul quite like a taco. Stranded on a desert island and I am only allowed one food? Tacos. I’m tasked with cooking a crowd-pleasing meal for our family, even the ones with particular preferences and questionable intolerances: Tacos. The meal that satisfies, whether assembled in a school cafeteria or in a Michelin star restaurant: Tacos. The combinations and variations in the taco-sphere are endless.

In my idolatrous adoration of the taco, I’ve done my due diligence. I have extended road trips, deviating hours from the highway to the taqueria that boasts the best carne asada. I’ve abandoned my intestines’ better judgment to enjoy gas station carnitas. Location adjacent to a well stocked salsa bar was a key factor in accepting a job. I start most days making my family breakfast tacos. Clipped inside my purse is a salsa-holster, in case of an emergency: the cocina’s salsa is Pace Picante.

Trust me when I tell you that Mi Delicias’ food is legit.

Hailing from El Paso, Texas, the Saenz family takes great pride in their authentic Mexican food. Sonia and Mario, together with their children and grandchildren, founded Mi Delicias to bring the cuisine of the Southwest to the Midwest. Sonia and Mario retired from their first careers to share the foods and flavors they love through their new catering business.

Mario and Sonia started Mi Delicias because they wanted to “Bring the Family Dinner Back.” They recognized that families are so busy, and sometimes even going out to eat adds another thing to the busyness. For the exhausted parents with distended schedules: Mi Delicias offers a week’s worth of prepped meals ready to heat and eat. Replace the drive through with healthy, easy to assemble dinners when home cooking is impossible. As Mario says, “Let Mi Delicias be your delicias!” The ingredients in their offerings are high quality, fresh, and thoughtfully prepared. The preparation of the dishes reflect the less-is-more maxim of freshly cooked meals: let the ingredients speak for themselves.

Mi Delicias is based out of Waterloo, but delivers anywhere in Monroe County and Red Bud, Monday through Saturday. You will also find them at the Columbia and Waterloo farmers markets, the Rural Rumble and Gibault’s Taste of the Region. Mi Delicias is available at The Roastery in Maeystown so you can pair your Living Millennially oat-milk latte with an egg, chorizo and potato burrito.

The foundation of this veteran-owned business is buffet style catering. Surprise your Superbowl party-goers with a table of tamales, especially the smoky poblano pepper of the Rajas con Queso tamale. Mas delicioso. Impress your guests with salsas from their family recipes, passed down through three generations, including chile de arbol (hot), mango habanero, creamy guacamole, and poblano salsa. Round out the meal with a fluffy Tres Leches Bundt Cake.

My appreciation for the opportunity to enjoy the flavors of Northern Mexican cuisine in Waterloo can’t be overstated. I’ve never been to El Paso, the epicenter of the expansive Borderplex Region which boasts the largest bilingual and binational workforce in the Western hemisphere, but Mi Delicias helps me imagine the richness of that community. The rainbow of colors in Mi Delicias’ offerings reflects the vibrancy of the Mexican culture. I watched my kids’ eyes bulge with intrigue at the display of Mi Delicias’ Aguas Frescas. Golden melon, sunny pineapple, rich hibiscus and lime, cast in giant perspiring Vitrolero jugs are thirst quenching and refreshing. Enjoy a guilt-free Southwest Chicken Salad with a bright lime and cilantro dressing atop black beans, roasted corn, sweet peppers, crisp lettuce, chicharrones and queso fresco. That dressing, though — we tried to guess the ingredients, but they are “secret.” With Mi Delicias, you can eat well and feel good, too.

Back to tacos. The Al Pastor Street Taco, which is ground beef prepared in a traditional pineapple-based marinade, rich with chiles and sweet spices – completes me. Hugged in two mini corn tortillas, I topped my tacos with Salsa Verde, cilantro, onion and lime. Order Discada Street Tacos for your carnivorous crew. This five meat blend of asada, ground beef, chorizo, bacon and diced ham is popular in the Northern State of Chihuahua, Mexico and the Southwestern U.S., and the most popular with my family. It’s so good, I predict “Discada” will become part of our local food vernacular.

About that chorizo, which is featured in the Discada Street Tacos and the breakfast burritos — it tastes smokier, meatier, and packs the perfect amount of heat compared to other chorizos that I (Pipa) have tasted in the Midwest. It’s perfectly seasoned, a superb pairing with the richness of ingredients such as eggs, cheese, and avocado. It’s shipped from the Southwest, so not available anywhere else around here.

You can expect a little spice from peppers of the “Sun City.” While our heat-averse friends may be wary of the pickled carrot and jalapeño served with the carnitas torta, the spice enhances the pork flavor, and is mellowed by the creamy fresh slices of avocado and pillowy bread. Even somewhat heat-averse Pipa says she would buy a jar of the carrot and jalapeño pickles. Calm the palate after the Salsa Roja with a creamy Horchata, a refreshing drink made with ground rice, milk and cinnamon.

The tamales are, in our opinion, a signature dish of Mi Delicias. I (Pipa) have had my belly’s heart (I just made that a thing) broken over the years with the dry, crumbly, dusty tamales at many joints. Most can be salvaged with a slathering of salsa roja or salsa fresca. But much like Viv and her tacos, I have gone out of my way, even planning trips around the search for that perfect tamale. I found it right here in Waterloo. Mi Delicias makes three types — chicken with a tomatillo sauce, pork with a red sauce, and vegetarian with poblano peppers and cheese. The masa dough is what separates them from the pack; it’s moist and fluffy, a perfect vehicle for the delicias inside. My family and I snag a dozen for the week at the Monroe County Farmers Market. I found a forgotten (or was it hidden?) tamale in the back of the fridge yesterday that was two weeks old. I heated it up and it was still moist and full of delicia.

Our next stop is the Turner Hall parking lot for the Columbia Community Market, where we’re excited to try their loaded nachos and street corn in a cup. And, of course, to pick up another dozen tamales for the week.