Seeking Heated Comfort? Try the Guiso at Morelia

Comfort foods lived up to their name in 2020, and that trend surely won’t fade with this new year.

A good standby to have in that rotation is a guiso, especially one that’s particularly spicy and scooped up in a fresh tortilla.

At Morelia Restaurant in North Oak Cliff, you can peruse a lengthy menu of items, but go straight to a guiso – the guiso de res (beef) is good ($8.95 at lunch), but the heat from the guiso de puerco (pork) is wonderful ($8.50 at lunch).

If you like the kind of spice that lingers in your chest and that you find yourself craving after a week, you’ll like this.

Chunks of pork are stewed with a spicy green chile sauce and served with rice and beans. Go ahead and order both corn and flour tortillas – they’re made in-house and fresh.

You may go first for the corn if that’s your habit, and that’s all well and good, but the flavor of the flour tortillas are memorable. They’re airier than, say, a typical Sonoran-style tortilla and full of a robust flavor with a light, dusty exterior.

Tearing a piece, you’ll find it to be a superior vehicle for a swipe of refried beans followed by that nearly-too-spicy-but-totally-acceptable guiso.

You can get all this in the dining room or get it to go. A recent comment on this writer’s Facebook post insisted no Mexican food is good for takeout. Dear commenter, we disagree. Sure, don’t get a tostada to go, but a guiso settling further into its flavors on the drive home holds up wonderfully well.

Morelia Restaurant No. 1, 2707 W. Jefferson Blvd. (North Oak Cliff). Open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.