A Unexpected Cathartic Experience with a Chile Relleno Taco in Las Colinas

Taco spots are everywhere, right? Not necessarily a dime-a-dozen because that's being too nonchalant about it, but if you need a plate of tacos, you shouldn't have to travel very far in the Dallas area to find a suitable option.

Every now and then, however, a taco tackles us on the couch and sings an Anne Murray song to us, and we feel seen. This story is about that kind of a taco.

Perched next door to the Toyota Music Factory in Las Colinas, Pacheco Taco Bar seems like the typical cantina: It's probably good, unlikely bad. The color palate is vibrant.
Outside the orange- and blue-hued restaurant, there are a few tables and a bar that opens into the dining room, weather permitting. Inside is another bar, more seating and a large, open kitchen.

Owner Elias Pacheco hails from Mexico City and has worked in the food industry since he was 17. He opened his first restaurant, Taco Pacheco, in Sherman four years ago and opened this small taco bar just before the pandemic. He and his family had to make some serious sacrifices to pull this restaurant through that tumultuous time.

"The pandemic hit hard at our Las Colinas location because the concert venue was closed for about two years at that time," Pacheco says. "My oldest daughter was doing her senior year at Texas Tech, so I had asked her to put her college aside to come and work with all family members to keep this restaurant running, and that’s what we did."

Thankfully, her effort was worth it.

"She got back to school and graduated last year," he says. "I mention this because it makes me really proud. I have a very supportive family and am proud to say this is a family-owned business."

And there's more to be proud of. The menu is a treasure trove. Pacheco says many of his dishes are based on the food found in Mexico City. His top sellers are the Chilango tacos made with carnitas, nopal salad and queso fresco, and the Cecina taco with sautéed beef and onions mingled with queso panela.

"At our two locations, we serve micheladas that are made just like if you were in Mexico City, chamoy rimmed, shrimp or carne seca as topping with chips, cucumbers and mixed nuts," Pacheco says.

We didn't know all that on approach. My eyes only made it to the chile relleno taco and then stopped.

It feels ostentatious: a taco stuffed with a deep-fried pepper, which is stuffed with cheese. It was also covered in queso. Would CPR be involved at some point? I was willing to find out. The big, buzzing kitchen gave me some sort of comfort, like a weighted blanket, that they could pull this off.

Restraint was what made this work so beautifully. It starts with a warm tortilla dotted with light brown spots from a tan on the grill. It's wrapped around a poblano pepper that has a perfectly thin crust with a touch of snap. White cheese inside the pepper oozes but doesn't gush, as that would be too much. It's warm and soft with a touch of crunch, and it's gooey in the middle. This is a taco that gets embedded in your mind. At midday, you'll find yourself wondering who would be game for a quick road trip out to Las Colinas. Or maybe you just go alone. Who needs people when there are chile relleno tacos?


In case the taco was too much — as if — for the other half of my two-taco plate, I went with the grilled shrimp with a house slaw, the antithesis of fried cheese wrapped in a tortilla. This, too, was a delightful surprise. Tall, like a happy taco mountain, it had a snappy freshness and shrimp that were not even a smidge overcooked. A cool drizzle of chipotle sauce added a touch of heat. The accompanying beans and rice were good too.


We also got an order of capitalist-style chicken nachos, the workhorse of so many menus but, here again, done with a touch of panache. A generous amount of diced chicken and thin queso lies on a mountain of chips topped with fresh pico de gallo (lots of cilantro) and a scoop of guacamole.

We haven't been back; we tried once, but that's a story for another day (there's another Pacheco in Grand Prairie). We will for go certain though. There's so much on the menu to work through here. It could take a year. Thankfully.

310 W. Las Colinas Blvd., Irving. Sunday – Thursday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Friday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.