In light of the coronavirus pandemic, we’re kicking off our inaugural biweekly roundup of taco and Mexican food news a tad bit differently than we would otherwise. Instead, we’re taking a cue from our long-running BBQ News Roundup. So first, some good news.
El Bueno
Our How to Support Your Favorite Taquerias and Mexican Restaurants post is updated daily.
Tacodeli announced expanded hours for pickup. The breakfast-and-lunch taco chain has traditionally closed by 3 p.m., but as of this week it will remain open until 8 p.m. for curbside pickup via ordering online. The Austin-based chain is also offering the menu it opened with twenty years ago.
El Paso’s modern Mexican restaurant Elemi will be featured on the Hulu series Taste the Nation With Padma Lakshmi. The show premieres June 19.
Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn describes the smoked-meat tacos at Teddy’s Barbecue in Weslaco as “tantalizing.” Also in Weslaco, he found great barbacoa tacos at T-Ghost BBQ.
Cuantos Tacos, in Austin, which had temporarily closed, reopened this week. It’s serving from the mustard-yellow truck Tuesday to Saturday.
We have an archive of recipes—Instant Pot and otherwise—to keep you well fed while you hunker down. May we suggest the sopaipillas, chile con queso, pozole rojo, and crispy pork carnitas?
D Magazine’s Pandemic Pantry series posted a recipe for black bean tacos.
The San Antonio Express-News reports that favorite son and celebrity restaurateur Johnny Hernandez has pivoted his La Gloria restaurant at the Pearl into a temporary mercantile.
According to alt-weekly San Antonio Current, a new study finds that San Antonio is the U.S. city where Mexican food is most popular. The original report says: “Mexican cuisine is the most popular ethnic cuisine in 27 states, Chinese in 22 states.”
El Paso’s Fox affiliate featured a taco truck company that’s seen an increase in business during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Laredo Taco Company wants everyone to know March 31 is #TakeoutTacoTuesday.
Taco Cabana is taking advantage of the loosened laws regarding restaurants selling alcohol by selling beer and margaritas to-go. It is also offering family meal packs.
HomeState, a Texpat-owned breakfast taco spot in Los Angeles, is transitioning locations into general stores for the community (swipe to the third image for the full list of available goods).
Los Angeles chef-driven taqueria Guerrilla Tacos is offering an Emergency Taco Kit special. The to-go package includes thirty eggs, tortillas, ten pounds of meat, salsa, and, of course, toilet paper, and sells for $150.
The online publication L.A. Taco gets hip to costra-style tacos, which it calls “keto tacos,” and was kind enough to talk to me.
El Malo
NPR’s All Things Considered interviewed Luis Olvera, owner of Dallas’s Trompo, about how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting his small business.
El Padrino and Tacos Mariachi in Dallas have GoFundMe campaigns, here and here, respectively.
Trill Taqueria in Austin also has a GoFundMe page.
Del Sur Tacos, which after five years operating as a McKinney gas-station taco joint, established a restaurant in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, has temporarily closed the latter location.
Texas Monthly’s Cat Cardenas reports that Fiesta San Antonio is postponed until November.
Taco Fest: Music y Mas was originally planned to go down April 4 in San Antonio. The event has been postponed, but a new date has not yet been announced.
Taco Libre Dallas has been postponed. The original date was April 25. The new date is November 7.
L.A. Taco’s Birriamania festival, which would have brought together vendors specializing in the taco de birria, the trendiest taco around, was postponed amid COVID-19 concerns. The new date is June 13.
El Feo
The new Torchy’s Tacos in Shreveport had to shut down hours after its soft opening.
A burglar made himself food and took a nap in a Georgia Taco Bell.
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