More taco talk, this time with mezcal.
Because I can’t stop when it comes to tacos, later this month I’m involved in a panel that will discuss the history and future of tacos in Dallas. The panel will be moderated by Lesley Téllez, award-wining food writer, former Dallasite, and author of Eat Mexico: Recipes From Mexico City’s Streets, Markets and Fondas. Tickets are on sale now and include all-you-can-eat tacos. More information is below.
From the cash-only hole-in-the-wall joint to the fancy taqueria, Dallas is obsessed with tacos. But how did they get here? How have they gone from crunchy shell to gourmet fillings? And why? What’s next for the street snack? The panel discussion Dallas Tacography: The Tortilla’s Tale in Big D at El Come Taco on Tuesday, July 14, will tackle those questions and more. With all-you-can-eat tacos.
Moderating Dallas Tacography will be Lesley Téllez, award-winning food writer and former Dallasite, and author of the new cookbook Eat Mexico: Recipes From Mexico City’s Streets, Markets and Fondas, released in June by Kyle Books. The book is a culinary love letter to one of the biggest cities in the world, with more than 100 recipes and beautiful on-location photography.
Joining Lesley in talking Dallas tacos will be a lineup of top-notch area food writers, restaurateurs and bloggers:
Carmen Cuellar Summers, a member of the Cuellar dynasty that opened El Chico and influenced the development of Tex-Mex in Dallas and across the country. The name Cuellar is synonymous with Tex-Mex.
Whitney Filloon, editor of Eater Dallas: Whitney graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in 2009 and has written for publications including the Dallas Observer, Gayot, and Eater.com. She currently serves as editor for Eater Dallas and is passionate about charcuterie and ice cream, though not (usually) together.
José R. Ralat, food editor of Dallas-based western lifestyle magazine Cowboys & Indians. He is also the writer behind the Taco Trail blog, for which he has written hundreds of reviews and explored the history of tacos and accessories like the taco holder, which, for the record, he loathes. The New York Times has called him “an expert on the folklore of tacos.”
Lesley Téllez is the author of the award-winning food blog The Mija Chronicles and owner of Eat Mexico, a street food tourism business she founded in 2010 in Mexico City. She will be sign copies of her new cookbook, Eat Mexico, during the event.
About El Come Taco
Opened in 2013 by Luis Villalva and family, El Come Taco offers Mexico City-style tacos and other street food in a modern setting. Customers are also treated to occasional delicacies like chapulines (roasted grasshoppers) alongside standards like tacos al pastor from a traditional trompo as well as plenty of Mexican Day of the Dead calaveras. Fodor’s Travel named it one of the best taco spots in the U.S. in May 2015.
The Taco Trail 
José,
We have our annual team summer party that same evening, so we won’t be able to make it in for this event. We are bummed to miss, and we’d love to hear how it goes and/or watch footage if you guys film it.
Good luck!
Thanks, Lauren