Nice combo.  Much better than the gordita with the Ten Fidy.  This one works, and it might be worth exploring rye beers + mexican in more depth.

I didn’t plan on this, and I suspected it might be awful, but this was how the chips fell tonight.  I had planned out my evening beer selection before we decided on what to do for dinner, and then I accidentally finished the DFH 60 Minute IPA right when I finished cooking.  The Ten Fidy was all that was left in the fridge.  Pale ales and IPAs typically pair wonderfully with Mexican food, and dark beers are hard to pair well.

Ten Fidy is blacker than the blackest night, thick as motor oil.  Heavy roasted malt flavors accented by dark chocolate.  Laced with hoppy bitterness.  It doesn’t get any darker than this.  So I was surprised when it wasn’t horribly offensive paired with a gordita.  It was generally ok, but not great.  The flavors from each are so strong that a bite of gordita overwhelmed residual beer flavors, and a sip of beer overwhelmed residual food flavors.

The gordita was from a kit that came with thick tortillas, a seasoning packet, and ranch sauce.  The directions suggested chicken or beef; I went with chicken as I usually do.  The way to go is to cut it into thin strips and pan fry it with a little olive oil.  That adds a lot of flavor you lose if you just boil it.  We didn’t have much available in the way of toppings.  I found a random can of whole peeled tomatoes and cut that up.  We had some shredded cheese in the fridge.  And I put some salsa on mine, but it was spicy and the wife and kids can’t handle that.  Pretty good stuff for a kit.

Just for grins I sampled a pecan with the final couple ounces of Ten Fidy, and it was a better match than the gordita, but still nothing to get excited about.