Author Archives: Taco Trail Jose

by | September 20, 2012 · 4:43 pm

Five More Favorite “Specialty” Tacos

I’ve taken up to five buses and a DART rail line to get to a taquería. Several, including La Nueva Fresh & Hot and Tacos La Banqueta, are worth more than that. But not all the businesses I visit are tried-and-true Mexican joints that impress with south-of-the-border signature antojitos. Some are gourmet food trucks and fast-casual counter-service concerns that deserve as much kudos as the aforementioned treasures. Adding to my previous assembly of favorite non-traditional tacos, here are five more.

Latin Love at Taco Ocho
One of two remarkable Richardson fast-casual taco joints, Taco Ocho cruises into pan-Latino territory. Among the eight tacos available, the Latin Love is hunk. Its threads of salt-tinged beef lead into the sweetness provided by slice of fried ripe plantain, accented a by smear of refried black beans, a drizzle of salsa verde and a sprinkle of cotija. And to wrap it up, the corn tortilla withstands the heft of the fine contents. Continue reading →

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by | September 18, 2012 · 8:41 am

Fito’s #2

Image: Ben E./Yelp

The writing is on the wall at Fito’s #2, a West Davis Street taquería with walls bearing Spanish aphorisms. My favorite translates to “Look at your mother-in-law with the same wonder you look at the far-away stars.” Above the kitchen door: “Love enters through the kitchen.” A mural of lotería cards (resembling a Tarot set but used to play a Bingo-like game) conceals the bathrooms.

It’s all very sweet. It also shouldn’t have been a surprise. The building’s colorful façade was a dead giveaway I ignored. What I couldn’t ignore and what led me to Fito’s #2 was the promise of trompo, pork that takes its name from its shape (a spinning top) and the vertical spit on which it is prepared. Essentially, trompo is traditional pastor, a local rarity. Not many Dallas-Fort Worth restaurants have the space and patience to allow heat to work its quiet art on a large hunk of pork. Continue reading →

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by | September 13, 2012 · 10:54 am

Plato Loco Mexican Cafe

My family likes to hike, even the cantankerous three-year-old who pretends to lead a platoon (his mother and I) through Texas’ hilly wilds. Whenever and wherever we can, the three of us take to trails in search of animal tracks and “clues”—to what, the boy won’t tell us—in step behind our son who periodically commands us to “keep your eyes peeled, soldiers” or stop so he can take a picture with his toy Vtech digital camera.

After an easy hike at Cedar Hill State Park, we stopped for lunch at Plato Loco Mexican Cafe. The boy’s reward for behaving well was a crunchy taco—“no lettuce or cheese or chocolate”—while the missus and I grubbed on a trio of Tex-Mex standards. Aluminum piñata lamps and strands of Mexican folk art cut-out paper, papel picado, hanged from the ceiling. Continue reading →

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by | September 12, 2012 · 11:26 am

The Tacos of Southern Methodist University

A version of this post was originally published on MSN Postbox, which until the project was terminated Sept. 1 was my day job. The piece was part of the website’s Campus Guide topic. Now that students have settled into the course load I’d like to share it with Taco Trail readers and recommend several places to get your taco fix near Southern Methodist University.

Pizza fuels many a college town in the Northeast. In Texas, however, higher education finds nourishment in tacos. No other Dallas university campus is as sustained by taco shops and Tex-Mex restaurants than that of Southern Methodist University.

Across from SMU on Hillside Avenue is Digg’s Taco Shop. The fast-casual operation takes inspiration from Austin’s music scene (wall-mounted LPs), but it’s not a dump with sticky counters. The restaurant’s clean orange and white color scheme marks it as acceptable for mom and dad on parents’ day. More than acceptable are the mahi and the carnitas tacos, kicked up a notch with a margarita ice pop. Continue reading →

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Filed under breakfast tacos, Dallas, DFW, North Texas, Tex-Mex, Texas

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by | September 11, 2012 · 7:06 am

One Shot: Off-Site Kitchen

“One Shot” is an occasional series reviewing non-taquerías’ tacos.

The Design District is coming up in the world—the restaurant world. It began with the 2010 opening of the Meddlesome Moth, a highfalutin gastropub from the team behind the Flying Saucer beer-bar chain (Shannon Wynn, Keith Schlabs, Larry Richardson and co.). When Oak opened in December 2011 near the Moth, critics were floored by the fine-dining destination. Taco Stop served its first eponymous offerings in February 2012. The anticipated October opening of Matt McCallister’s restaurant, FT33, will probably top foodies’ Best Of 2012 lists. Also destined for year-end accolades is Nick Badovinus’ Off-Site Kitchen, a casual luncheonette evoking an Alpine beer hall-fast food joint hybrid. Among the menu items is the much ballyhooed Crispy Sloppy Taco. Continue reading →

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by | September 7, 2012 · 2:13 pm

Taco Ticker: A Taquero Torrent, Pink Puligists & Estrellas

Friday on the trail means Taco Ticker, a selection of light, taco-related reading from around the web. This week’s pickings include litigation over the color pink and a bite that will have you declaring, “I gar-on-tee!” However, if you’re going to click on any item, make it the first link. The piece covers the booming D.C. taco scene with chef profiles, “Taconomics” and a slideshow filled with pretty pictures of meat.

Tacopocalypse hits the District — Washington Post Going Out Gurus Blog

Three-Michelin-Star Chef Slings Tacos for Tacolicious — Tacolicious

Local food truck in battle over name ‘The Pink Taco’ — KTRK ABC13

5 Ways to Try Alligator — SFoodie

Taco Bell “Taco A Day For A Year” Contest — CBS Philly

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by | September 6, 2012 · 4:58 pm

Tortas El Jacalito

The taquerías and Mexican restaurants west of Hampton Road along West Davis Street in Dallas are, at turns, imposing with blacked-out windows, ramshackle in construction or irresistible in the form of a three-dimensional menu. Tortas El Jacalito, which is beyond Cockrell Road, is of the latter stripe.

From the street, potential customers can read of huaraches (doughy sandal-shaped tortilla dishes excellent for clearing the vegetable drawer), sopes (thick corn masa patties usually topped with refried beans, lettuce, tomato, meat and salsa) and, of course, tacos. Inside, is much of the same, brighter, even.  Pop art-style portraits of Golden Age of Mexican Cinema era stars, including leading lady María Félix and clown Cantinflas, best known in the United States for his performance as Passepartout in Around the World in 80 Days, line the eatery’s walls.

As remarkable as El Jacalito’s trappings are, it’s not all that is noteworthy. Continue reading →

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by | September 5, 2012 · 10:19 am

Tacolab: San Antonio Puffy Tacos

Last weekend, I traveled to San Antonio for some taco research, predominately of the puffy kind. While I was in the Alamo City, I had the opportunity to meet Diana Barrios-Treviño of Los Barrios Mexican Restaurant & La Hacienda de Los Barrios, San Antonio institutions. She was kind enough to show me how puffy tacos are fried at La Hacienda, which I recorded. The video makes for the perfect introduction to a new series on The Taco Trail: Tacolab. Each Tacolab installment will go inside home and restaurant kitchens for demonstrations, hijinks, disasters, etc. There might or might not be lab coats from time to time.

So, without further ado: Continue reading →

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by | September 4, 2012 · 5:56 pm

Vivo Restaurant

My quest for taco knowledge and great tacos is a multifaceted one. There are just so many types of tacos developed during millennia of history to maintain an unwavering focus. Lately, I’ve been fascinated by tacos of the fish and puffy variety, and during a trip to Austin for the Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival, a friend and I got to indulge in some of the latter at Vivo.

A restaurant surrounded by a dusty lot along Manor Road—one of two locations—near standard-bearer El Chilito, Vivo is difficult to enter. Don’t go around the front. Turn to the rear of the eatery in a converted bungalow. Then, find a business easy to enjoy your first time.

The interior dining room is dominated by warm burgundy, contemporary art and a labyrinth to the graffiti bombed bathroom. It’s a lounge space for delectable Tex-Mex: cheese enchiladas, fajitas or chile con queso. Outside, where my lunch companion and I sat, was a verdant space filled with mosaic tile-topped cafe tables, wobbly metal chairs, plotted ferns, evergreens, vines and succulents concealed from the street, all the better for us to enjoy our puffy tacos. Continue reading →

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Filed under Austin, Reviews, Tex-Mex, Texas

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by | August 31, 2012 · 8:00 am

Taco Ticker: The Bell, The Pinche & The Loco

Friday means Taco Ticker, a selection of light, taco-related reading from around the web. This week’s pickings are dominated by the big boy of crunchy taco chains. Enjoy the holiday.

Kevin Morrison of Pinche Taqueria, Hailed One of American’s Best New Restaurants — Eater Denver

Taco Bell tests new Doritos Locos Tacos flavor — Nation’s Restaurant News

Former Taco Bell to Become Taqueria — Castro Valley Patch

Taco Bell Crime of the Week: Cops Drop Off Drunk Man at Taco Bell; Man Takes Off and Gets Killed by Traffic! — Stick a Fork In It

Which Chain Makes the Best Carnitas Taco? — Serious Eats: Los Angeles Tacos

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