Near Mexico City is a 18,000-foot tall volcano called Popocatépetl, which has at least two reasons to be a footnote in North American history. The first is that when Che Guevara and Fidel Castro were plotting the overthrow of the Cuban government, Che desperately tried to overcome his asthma by climbing it. Castro’s autobiography reports, “He made a heroic effort, although he never managed to reach that summit.” Aside from causing Che to wheeze, Popocatépetl’s other claim to fame is that it was the inspiration for the topopo salad, a star attraction on Mexican restaurants throughout Tucson and, rarely, beyond.
Topopo salads were popular in South Tucson long before trendy chefs thought of vertical food.
The story at the august El Charro in Tucson is that founder Monica Flinn was so impressed when she saw Popocatépetl that she designed a salad to look like it and named it using an old Indian word for volcano. Height is the common denominator of each topopo salad, no matter what its specific ingredients. Atop a crisp tostada, lettuce and vegetables are dressed and formed into a great conical mound, up to a foot tall, with columns of cheese, carrots, and celery running up the side. Mealworthy versions also include carne seca, roast chicken or shrimp, and garnishes include tomato, olives, avocado, and festive colored peppers.