For something so basic and cheap, it’s the incredible food. It doesn’t matter if it’s from a simple food truck located in Mexico or a chic local-sourced establishment located in the U.S., the taco endures because of the blend of tortilla, protein, and toppings. Its simplicity allows for various uses for the person who eats it. Tacos are food or snacks that can be enjoyed in a restaurant or while moving. For the cook, it could be an experiment in itself or a chance to honor the traditions.
The taco scene in Buffalo exploded in the latter half of 2021, with three new eateries opening within the past three months and the move of a well-loved Mexican taco restaurant that serves Buffalo’s diners who are both adventurous and conservative with new menus that they can explore. The taco has been growing with various spiciness, unique combinations, and essential bites executed correctly. The Taco Stand.
Isaac Domingue, left, and Ryan DiFranco opened Hombre y Lobo downtown in November.
Hombre y Lobo Tacos & Tequila
149 Swan St., Suite 1
Inspired by trips they took together in Mexico, Hombre y Lobo owners Ryan DiFranco and Isaac Domingue have opened a brand new restaurant in downtown Toronto in November that is devoted to street-style tacos as well as Tequila. While they are familiar with authentic food made in tiny kitchens in unexpected places, his most-loved pork tacos came from an unassuming mobile restaurant located in Monterrey, Mexico – DiFranco has decided to combine the traditional Mexican food with innovative concepts catering to the Buffalo palette.
Try your pick of the Buffalo CHX taco ($5.50 medium blue cheese, chicken tenders lettuce, pico, and blue cheese in a flour tortilla). It’s a popular choice due to its resemblance to a staple of the local market. A customer has told DiFranco: “You don’t have to purchase a complete sub. It’s more like the size of a chicken finger bite.” Like that, this Baja Fish Taco ($5.50) is akin to the taste of a fish fry.
Some customers may be willing to pay a little more to ensure that their food is fresher and the money they spend supports the local farmers. However, suppose you took a closer look at the standards of Hombre y Lobo’s braised pork and braised beef tacos ($4.50 each). In that case, A dedication towards local farmers is evident, including Belleview Farm in Corfu providing beef and Chestnut Hill Farm located in Orchard Park supplying pork.
The Baja fish taco ($8) at Flaco Taco in Orchard Park dwarfs the corn tortilla.
Flaco Taco
4211 N. Buffalo St., Orchard Park.
Flaco Taco partner Todd Lesakowski is happy with their Baja fish taco ($8) And not only because the fish is fried and dwarfs that corn tortilla. The accompanying Yucatan salsa, one of the twenty salsas Flaco offers, is a perfect complement to the mild fish by blending habanero, red onions peppers, sour orange, and the chipotle lime yogurt helps to temper the heat of the salsa while also adding its flavor.
Flaco that shares partnerships with Fatty Beer Co. across the street, eschew pretense by imitating a taco shop. “We consider tacos as what they are: street food,” Lesakowski told. “We’re not serving things on plates that are packaged into bags.” The tacos ($5-$8) can also be purchased in BurriBowls ($9-$12) that contain beans and rice.
Although Lesakowski initially thought about creating scratch tortillas, all of Flaco’s tacos are made with El Milagro corn tortillas today. The salsas include everything from a mild peanut, the sweet-and-sour cactus, to macha based on olive oil, which has enticed diners since the November debut.
The patrons at close Fatty Beer can order food from Flaco and get it delivered across the street. It’s a great option after having a few difficult-to-find IPAs.
D.A. Taste
141 Abbott Road
From their renovated kitchen in their home, and later behind a small convenience store on South Park Avenue, South Buffalo couple Dominick Buster and Azrael Laia are now settled in their first brick-and-mortar building, the former Jacobi’s located on Abbott Road.
Two things haven’t altered much since the shift: the success of D.A. Tacos’ beef Birrias slow-braised beef tacos dipped in the spicy concoction – and customers’ willingness to sit for hours or more to get the latest food.
“Before we began our tacos, we thought they were simply meat, lettuce tomato, cheese – just like everyone is,” Laia said. “Then we asked ourselves, “Why don’t you put this in there? Why is that?’ Then it was all just as it was.”
An indication of how sought-after their tacos are is: D.A. Taste will only take customers who walk in because there’s not enough time to answer the phone or look up online for orders. In the newly opened location, too, people line up out the front before the 11.30 a.m. opening. The lobster and shrimp blackened tacos are the most popular trend.
The future is bright for those who want to access D.A. Taste’s tacos. When the couple renovates the dining room and adds employees, the service will likely become fast-casual. It will include more than 50 seats but provide tacos in the car and more options for ordering and more hours.
Pork for Casa Azul’s al pastor is shaved off a vertical rotisserie, and the beet-marinated onions are a deep shade of pink. The tortillas are hand-pressed and cooked to order.
Casa Azul
191 Allen St.
The closing of Cantina Loco has been a blow to those who love tacos. However, the opening to Casa Azul, which relocated from 128 Genesee St. to Cantina’s former location on 191 Allen St., eases the bitterness. Since the beginning of December, Allentown has welcomed chef-owner Zina Lapi’s efforts in creating homemade Mexican food, beginning by offering tacos (three for $13) and then expanding to tortas, tacos, and Churros.
The taco of al pastor is a great way to show Lapi’s respect for Mexican customs, featuring shavings of shaved pork made from a vertical rotisserie and fresh-cut pineapples jockeying in a sweet-salty contest that’s the ultimate win for your taste senses. There’s an innovative variation: Lapi adds beet-marinated onions, a more vibrant version of the typically pickled onions.
Casa Azul presents the largest selection of tacos made from vegetarians of the restaurants on the list. According to Andrew Galarneau noted in his 2017 review, they are plentiful across Mexico. The menu includes poblano and potato, roasted cauliflower and shishito pepper, and Brussels sprouts featured on their latest menu. Be sure to check out the new design of Lapi’s Allen Street restaurant; Lapi has improved lighting and lots of greenery to give a new look to the area.
