First Look: Tacos, Bites & Beats Opens in the Design District

Tacos, Bites & Beats has just opened in the Design District in the former location of Taco Stop, which closed in August.

They have been operating a food truck business since March 2017 and ran pop-ups around Dallas. With the new brick-and-mortar, they will have the opportunity to operate longer hours and bring tacos to a new audience.

“It has definitely been challenging trying to maneuver through various obstacles throughout the pandemic. Labor has by far been the biggest challenge, especially for our female staff due to having to be at home with their kids that are learning virtually,” co-owner Vo Signal says. “We began our search for a brick and mortar primarily to help fulfill the demand for the food trucks.  We found it difficult to meet the demand of inventory, storage, cooking, etc. without a full kitchen and adequate refrigeration space.”

The new location is open until 3 p.m., which allows them time to still do prep for catering and the food truck.

The menu offers breakfast tacos for $2.35 each or three for $6.50. You can get bacon; egg and cheese; chorizo, egg and cheese; or potato, beans and cheese.

For lunch, they offer tacos, burritos and quesadillas with protein options of bistek (or bistec), carnitas, chicken tinga and vegetarian paneer.

They serve elote in a cup ($3.75), which complements the tacos well; get them in an order of three for $8.50 with any of the proteins.

Although the tortillas are not made in house, the burritos and quesadillas hold up well and have great taste ($10). We tried the tinga on a flour tortilla, and the chicken was seasoned well, offering a good taste that's not too spicy.

We also had the bistek and carnitas tacos on corn tortillas. The carnitas was the favorite of the three; it was cooked just right and was not fatty or greasy. They serve two different salsas made in-house by chef Jorge Castellanos that are what they call the “green to-go” and the “red to the head.” The red did prove to be spicy.

Tacos, Bites & Beats will have Taco Tuesday specials and sell the tacos for $1, which include the bistek, carnitas, chicken tinga and paneer tacos.

It's set up for to-go orders only, but there is plenty of counter space and tables set up at a safer distance for dining outside. So if you are driving by, walking your dog or riding your bike (there is a bike rack for bike parking) stop by and grab some tacos.

Tacos, Bites and Beats, 1900 Irving Blvd. (Design District). Open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday.