I couldn't begin to tell you how we got to the subject. I was at a party thrown by my neighbor in my own back yard, surrounded by drunk people I didn't know. It's strange coming to a party late when the drinking is heavy. Everyone speaks a different language. Perhaps food was the only thing that could bridge the gap. Tacos are a language that both the drunk and sober can easily understand.
And so I found myself talking to a guy with the most glorious beard, hearing almost nothing he said until he mentioned tacos dorados. Fried tacos are often delicious, and the taco enthusiast poured over every detail from the crispy shell to the warm meat filling.
He waxed poetic about the lettuce, tomatoes and salsa offering juxtaposing textures and flavors. He spun a yarn about meat-stuffed masa that only a food writer (or another drunk) could appreciate. It was enough that his taco story was the first thing I thought about when I woke up the next morning.
My taco friend was describing the tacos dorados at Restaurante Luna's, whose tortilla factory burned early this summer. I'd been meaning to see how the rebuild was coming along. And now I had an excuse to eat tacos.
After so much poetry I expected perfection, but the tacos were oily and as crisp as they should be only about half the time. (The other half, they were a mess.) Chicken packed more flavor than beef, but neither version, when sampled in a carefully composed bite that included a little lettuce tomatoes and cotija cheese, stoked my desire to come back when they're using their own tortillas again.
As for the factory, it's even more of a mess than it was after the fire department left and the owners have given up on rebuilding across the street. Instead they're building a new factory and restaurant at the intersection of Northwest Highway and Stemmons Freeway. According to a waiter at the original restaurant, they should be open by December.
Hopefully in time for Christmas tamales.
