Author Archives: Taco Trail Jose

by | January 18, 2012 · 8:58 pm

Taco Republic

Not another one, I thought when I learned of Taco Republic, the Richardson specialty taqueria from Ron Guest, co-founder of San Miguel Café. Velvet Taco is such a miscarriage. Torchy’s Tacos is hit or miss. Taco Ocho is appealing. However, none comes close to the excellence of Good 2 Go Taco or Austin’s Tacodeli? Could another fancy taco venture change anything? Early estimates indicate yes.

Opened for a week when a friend and I scurried north on Interstate 75, Taco Republic occupies a former La Paloma Taquería, not far the other fancy taco joint, Taco Ocho. But where the latter has a pan-Latino sensibility regarding tacos, Taco Republic brings it back to North of the Border favorites, with breakfast options forthcoming. Continue reading →

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by | January 16, 2012 · 11:37 pm

Tour de Taco Wrap-Up

el Tour de Taco group photo by Chris Curnutt/Facebook

There are some days that are ideal for a bike ride, never mind a phenomenal group ride. Yesterday was one of those days. It was then that Bike Friendly Deep Ellum’s Paul Adams led the el Tour de Taco, a relaxed bike tour of Dallas through Deep Ellum Fair Park, the Arts District, Downtown, the Cedars and back to Deep Ellum. Cyclist of all stripe and experience levels joined in. There was even a four-person recumbent party bike. Continue reading →

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Filed under Deep Ellum, Taco Tours

by | January 12, 2012 · 3:00 pm

La Paloma Taquería—NorthPark Center

It’s safe to return to the mall. I can make that statement after visiting NorthPark Center during the peak Christmas shopping season and again right before New Year’s Eve. It was then, on a trip with my son to see the Trains at NorthPark, that I stumbled by La Paloma Taquería.

Opened since Sunday, Dec. 18, this La Paloma is the newest location of the area chain and not far from the Walnut Hill location I reviewed in December 2010. What makes the NorthPark store distinct is its location in the former Orange Cup space. It’s sandwiched between Neiman Marcus and American Apparel in the frou-frou section of the mall, far from the food court and the disastrous cheeseburger taco at Tin Star Taco Bar. Helluva place to find $1.50 taco, never mind respectable ones. Continue reading →

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by | January 11, 2012 · 3:14 pm

Bike Friendly Deep Ellum’s el Tour de Taco

el Tour de Taco, Facebook

Who cares if your knuckles might crack from the cold? There is no other way to take a taco tour than via a leisurely bike ride. And taco-loving cyclists will undertake such an endeavor, Sunday, Jan. 15, during el Tour de Taco.

Organized by Bike Friendly Deep Ellum’s Paul Adams, the group ride will kick off from St. Pete’s Dancing Marlin Restaurant and Bar at 2 p.m. and end between 3:30 and 4 p.m. The itinerary, though, is freewheeling. Adams told me everything depends on the turnout. Continue reading →

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Filed under Deep Ellum, events

by | December 29, 2011 · 3:30 pm

3 Men and a Taco

3 Men and a Taco/Facebook

A tent beyond the Fair Park esplanade bore an unexpected treasure during the underwhelming Taste of Dallas, 3 Men and a Taco, a gourmet taco truck concern at the time without a truck. What the operators, an enthusiastic group of chefs, former bartenders and die-hard taco fans, had was an ambitious roster of grub separated into regular— though far from original—and walking—rolled and fried, AKA dorados—tacos.

Especially delightful was the beet taco, one of my top tacos of 2011. Sadly, it’s no longer on the menu. Also relegated to the menu hereafter are the Ethiopian-inspired doro wat chicken with traditional niter kebbeh (seasoned clarified butter) and berbere (an Ethiopian spice mixture), the gator with okra as well as beef goreme, another African turn, topped with a feta sauce. Continue reading →

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Filed under food truck

by | December 12, 2011 · 10:08 pm

The Taco Trail Top Tacos of 2011

December is for curling up on the couch with family, a pint of heady stout in hand, Bing Crosby’s seasonal standards competing for aural real estate with the proclamations of lovestruck teenagers tipsy from sneaking sips of Grandpa’s eggnog—“Hey, look, we’re under the mistletoe! You know what that means?”—emanating from the next room and for recollections of Christmases past, not to mention tamales. Tacos, not really. So, before I get anymore yuletide happy and completely forget about tacos, I’d like to offer a list of my 2011 favorites (i.e., those that kept me up late because I was pondering their insides).

Cabeza at La Norteña

An esteemed colleague of mine believes the best tacos come from carnecerias (butcher shops). Thanks to the cabeza at (below, right) La Norteña Food Mart, I believe it to. Cooked for hours by owner Baldemar Martinez, the cabeza taco is a capital taco where de todo un poco parties on your tongue. It’s succulent (that one’s for you, Joe Flowers). Continue reading →

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Filed under Best of, breakfast tacos

by | December 7, 2011 · 11:11 pm

Tacos El Guero Is Now Tacos La Banqueta; Quality Unaltered

It’s true. The original Dallas Tacos El Guero has been rechristened Tacos La Banqueta, as first reported by fellow taco lover Elizabeth Bair on Facebook this morning. I trekked to the East Dallas stalwart for confirmation and got it when I reached the corner of the property at Bryan Street and Carroll Avenue. To be sure nothing other than the name and the paint job had been altered, I ventured in for a nosh at my favorite taqueria in Big D.

The painted menu on the back wall now sports the designation La Banqueta, a moniker better suited to the interior—scant more than a kitchen and a 12”-wide counter slowly leaning away from a plastered with international currency—and the ability diners have to eat at counter in front of the shop. Continue reading →

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Filed under East Dallas, News

by | December 6, 2011 · 7:35 pm

Ojeda’s Mexican Restaurant

For months, a friend had sung the praises of Ojeda’s Mexican Restaurant a Maple Avenue Tex-Mex joint in which he practically grew up (his family ate there weekly).  We knocked back beer as we sat in the back room non-taco items obscuring the booth table.

All of it was run-of-the-mill Tex-Mex. Well, almost all of it.

What my buddy “really, really” wanted me to try was “the amazing puffed tacos. They’re the bomb, dude,” he declared with much verve.  “Brilliant!” I would expect a popular dish such as the puffed tacos at a family-owned and operated Dallas institution since 1969 to be brilliant, yes, and served by a knowledgeable staff. Continue reading →

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Filed under Maple Ave., Oak Lawn, Tex-Mex

by | November 30, 2011 · 10:36 pm

La Norteña Food Mart

“Awesome!” the thought swims around my mind as the cabeza taco’s qualities continue to swim in my mouth. Awesome!  But the cabeza, cooked for six hours, isn’t the only phenomenal taco at La Norteña Food Mart in Five Points. The pastor and carnitas options are fantastic. The beef guisada (thick stewy delight), when available is a gem. Heck, even the chicken is good.

The market/taqueria is an oasis in this rough and tumble section of Lake Highlands, a couple of blocks east of Greenville Avenue, and the subject of a previous story. Since that first post, I have returned several times to snack on tacos and for chats with the good-natured owner, Baldemar Martinez. Continue reading →

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Filed under Lake Highlands, one of the freaking best

by | November 30, 2011 · 2:40 pm

Taco Lady

The opportunity to munch tacos outside Dallas while on a camping trip with family friends and fellow taco enthusiasts, the Thompsons of TacOCliff, would not go missed. So, after breaking camp at Ray Roberts Lake State Park – Johnson Branch Unit, we stopped for lunch at Taco Lady, owned by legitimate taco lady, Luz Briseño, in Denton. Continue reading →

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Filed under Denton