Category Archives: Dallas

by | August 24, 2012 · 12:05 pm

Cafe Maya Jazzes It Up

Add a swinging Saturday to Margarita Monday, Taco Tuesday, Humpday Happy Hour—not to mention the monthly first Tuesday $1 margarita night—at Café Maya Mexican Kitchen and Cantina. Tomorrow, Saturday, Aug. 25, owner Sergio Pinto will welcome the Magia Negra Latin Jazz Trio.

The first ivories will be tickled by Magia Negra’s pianist/vocalist Miriam Hernandez at 9 p.m. The last chord will be played at 1 a.m., with bandmates Young Heo on bass and Lamont Taylor on drums.

While you’re in the house, fire it up with a cochnita pibil doused with the off-menu habanero salsa, then cool down with a mango mojito.

Café Maya Mexican Kitchen & Cantina
1001 W. Jefferson Blvd.
214-948-9900

Leave a comment

Filed under Dallas, DFW, Oak Cliff, Sponsored, Texas

Tagged as , , ,

by | August 23, 2012 · 3:57 pm

The Great Taco Run Goes the Tortilla Course

A different sort of taco trail is taking to Dallas on Sunday, Sept. 30. The Great Taco Run will give the city another race with another hook, yes, but can you think of anything more rewarding after giving it your all along the streets of the Big D than tacos? I can’t.

Presented by area sports store Luke’s Locker and benefiting the Trinity Strand and Katy Trail, the race will be separated into 5K, 10K and 10-mile lengths, all finishing at the Runners Village at Museum Way and Victory Avenue, near the American Airlines Center, where several taco vendors will be serving up their signature fare beginning at 8:30 a.m. Participants will be able to vote for their favorite taco vendor while a panel of judges will choose theirs. The winners will be announced on National Taco Day, Thursday, Oct. 4. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Dallas, DFW, events, festivals, National Taco Day, News, Sponsored, Texas

Tagged as , , ,

by | August 16, 2012 · 10:32 am

Torchy’s Tacos SMU Preview

Torchy’s Tacos, Austin’s favorite specialty taco brand and home of the Dirty Sanchez, is putting the fire to the feet of local uber-chain, Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. And, I, for one, am happy about it.

There’s much to like about the Torchy’s Tacos near Southern Methodist University, which held a preview party last night and had its grand opening this morning. The restaurant is down the street from SMU, it’s got a cool fast-casual design, is the first Torchy’s outpost to serve cocktails, called Firewater and, of course, its “Damn Good Tacos.”

Nevertheless, if the quality of the fare and service on display last night is maintained, there will be no problems here, only damn good tacos. That is, if the obnoxiously loud DJ was a one-time thing.

After the jump, photos from the sneak peek-and-eat fiesta. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under Dallas, DFW, events

by | August 9, 2012 · 10:57 am

Tepa Mar y Tierra—Breakfast Tacos Edition

The regular tacos at Tepa are terrible. The breakfast tacos, on the other hand, are a fine haul. That’s not to say they’re perfect. The flour tortillas aren’t as spongy as I’d like them to be. However, they are cooked to order. I watched as the taquera placed the dough on to the griddle and flipped the flatbread discs when each began to puff. Shortly thereafter, I was handed a trio that cool at an unusually fast rate, which shouldn’t be a problem. You’re not going to chatter on about the day’s headlines with these babies nearby.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under breakfast tacos, Dallas, DFW, Oak Cliff

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | August 4, 2012 · 3:34 pm

El Padrino Ordered to Vacate, Hopes to Remain in Bishop Arts

If you’ve developed a taste for the tacos at El Padrino Mexican Grill’s satellite stand, you should know they’ve fallen victim to development. In my Friday, Aug. 3, Dallas Voice profile of restaurant designer and Taco Republic owner Ron Guest, I reported that spot in the Bishop Arts District had received a three-month order to vacate the premises. It’s due to become part of Oak Cliff Mercantile, a  dual concept from Sarah Lombardi, daughter of restaurateur Alberto Lombardi. The new tenant will use the eponymous building as its nucleus. The kiosk will anchor a beer garden.

“No one saw this coming,” says Juan Contreras, managing partner of El Padrino’s stand and the 22-year-old full-service original on Jefferson Boulevard—which is not closing. However, Contreras adds, it makes sense. The lease was altered to a month-to-month agreement 10 years ago. Now, it’s a matter of finding another Bishop Arts space. Continue reading →

3 Comments

Filed under Bishop Arts District, Dallas, News, Oak Cliff

by | July 19, 2012 · 4:57 pm

Cesar’s Tacos y Gorditas

There are some taquerías I decide to leave unreviewed, even if I frequent them. It’s not because I’d prefer to keep them a secret. Rather, it’s because I frequent them out of convenience, I don’t think I have much to add to the discussion, I’m saving them for a list/some other project or they’re so terrible I can’t stomach typing such vitriol.

Case in point: Cesar’s Tacos. It’s not that the Davis Street restaurant is bad. I patronize the joint regularly, especially when my in-laws visit. As a local chain, Cesar’s Tacos would be an ideal subject of a larger story. There comes a moment, though, when your original plan is scuttled and things head south. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under Chains, Dallas, DFW, Oak Cliff, Reviews, Texas

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

by | July 17, 2012 · 12:18 pm

So-Cal Tacos

Operating out of Tarrant County, Scott Wooley’s So-Cal Tacos is a red rig affixed with a surfboard. Like its Dallas counterpart, Rock and Roll Tacos, it’s hard to miss. So-Cal Tacos is also the truck that initiated my quest for primo fish tacos, leading to notable selections across Dallas-Fort Worth and San Diego (more on that in the future).

The San Diego Classic, the signature dish, resembles a Gorton’s fish fillet of childhood but offers bright, acidic licks and a pleasant crunch imparted by panko breading and zippy garnishes of slaw and aioli. The breading is a departure from the standard fish taco enclosed in beer-batter. However, it works. And in three words: I dig it. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under Dallas, DFW, food truck, Fort Worth, Reviews

Tagged as ,

by | July 15, 2012 · 3:15 pm

Taco Party, Dallas’ Newest Food Truck

Last weekend’s Taste of Dallas is more than a food expo. It’s a testing ground for nascent culinary ventures, like Taco Party, the city’s newest food truck. Taco Party is so new, the rig doesn’t yet have a branded wrap. Instead, posters covered parts of the truck, formerly of Dos Paisano’s Salvadoran-Mexican operation, during what was Taco Party’s public service debut.

Part of the annual event’s Taste Curbside, a new component featuring Dallas’ hottest edible trend, Taco Party is owned and operated by cousins Rafael Rico and Eduardo Ramirez. It’s Dallas’ first Mexico City-style gourmet taco truck.

While Rico and Ramirez, Mexico City natives, were busy dishing out Taco Party’s fare, Lourdes Palomares, Rico’s wife, took some time to answer my questions regarding the lonchero (taco truck). Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under Dallas, DFW, News

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | June 7, 2012 · 5:31 pm

Rock and Roll Tacos to Serve Funday Sunday Brunch

Brunch is for lushes, the ones who power through the burn with copious amounts of potent hair of the dog and hearty fare to soak up the previous night’s impaired judgment. (OK, maybe not solely for the hungover.) What your average brunch menu doesn’t list, though, is a legendary hangover cure: Menudo, a Mexican specialty of stomach in clear or red broth.

Rock and Roll Tacos is coming to the rescue for those folk who’ve been quietly wishing for a bowl of the stuff to slurp away the booze but haven’t dared to travel outside the usual circuit when the food truck’s kitchen in LaGrange begins brunch service, June 10. They’re calling it Funday Sunday Brunch and will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Dallas, DFW, News, Sponsored

by | September 22, 2011 · 9:53 pm

Good 2 Go Taco Downsizes (Taco Sizes, That Is)

The SoCo breakfast taco—heck any taco—at Good 2 Go Taco is an investment in time and gastrointestinal real estate.

So, when I saw the East Dallas specialty taqueria’s Facebook page announcing a smaller-scale option then confirmed by TG at Pegasus, I was elated. Great to see them branching out. 
And here I thought they couldn’t get any better.
Good 2 Go Taco   
1146 Peavy Rd.
214-519-9110
http://www.good2gotaco.com

Leave a comment

Filed under Dallas, News