A New Taco IN TOWN
TACOCITA WAS THE NEXT LOGICAL STEP FOR THE BICOS BROTHERS BY GIGI MANUKYAN
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hris and John Bicos made a name for themselves with The Original Tops, a circa-1952 quick-serve American diner. With their newest venture, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re headed south of the border. 7DFRFLWD LV D IDVW FDVXDO VWRS IRU WDFRV DQG VPRNHG FKLFNHQ ,WV Ă&#x20AC;DYRUV DUH taken from regions throughout Mexico and California to provide goodness for lunch and dinner. Currently, due to the coronavirus dictates, the food is available for lunch and dinner takeout. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Growing up in Southern California and traveling to Mexico often, we have been lucky enough to eat some of the best tacos in the world,â&#x20AC;? Chris says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For us, they are the ultimate comfort food and will always be our go-to on a good day or a bad day. We have all these different concepts in our restaurant familyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a cocktail lounge, a barbecue restaurant, a 60-year fast-food restaurantâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and we felt that a taco concept was the next logical step to stretch us a bit further, but also aligned with our deep love and respect for the cuisine.â&#x20AC;? Curating the Tacocita menu is executive chef Michael Brown, known for KLV FXOLQDU\ LQĂ&#x20AC;XHQFH RQ WKH 3DWLQD *URXSÂśV IDPHG 3LQRW %LVWUR 'XGOH\ 2SDOLQH :ROIJDQJ 3XFN &DWHULQJ %UDVVHULH 9HUW DQG 5LFN %D\OHVVÂśV 5HG 2 Like the Bicos brothers, Brown is inspired by California and Mexican UHJLRQDO Ă&#x20AC;DYRUV %URZQ KDV OLYHG LQ YDULRXV SDUWV RI WKH <XFDWDQ 3HQLQVXOD between Cancun and Tulum, and has extensively traveled throughout many
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regions, including Mexico City, Oaxaca, Chihuahua, Sonora, Guadalajara and WKH %DMD 3HQLQVXOD 7KH EURWKHUV KDYH QRWKLQJ EXW SUDLVH IRU %URZQ â&#x20AC;&#x153;Michael is so knowledgeable and innovative in his cooking, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s his creativity and technique that really helps set the Tacocita menu apart,â&#x20AC;? Chris says. Brownâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expertise has set Tacocita apart from the typical taco stand, as every item is made from scratch. Brown keeps the Mexican tradition alive at Tacocita. He can be seen picking tiny rocks out of bags of dried black beans and soaking them overnight to prepare them the ancient Mayan way. He roasts all of Tacocitaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tomatoes, tomatillos and vegetables to prepare each of his housemade salsas. For the mole, Brown individually prepares each ingredientâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;which can number in the 30s. Mole can be tedious. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The trick to making a perfect mole that features so many different ingreGLHQWV LV WR EH DEOH WR FRPELQH WKHP DOO LQWR RQH SHUIHFWO\ EDODQFHG Ă&#x20AC;DYRU WKDW doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have one or another ingredient standing out,â&#x20AC;? Brown says. Âł7KLV FDQ EH YHU\ GLIÂżFXOW DV \RX GR QRW ZDQW WR WDVWH WRR PXFK FKRFRODWH RU WRR PXFK FKLOH EXW ZKHQ LWÂśV SUHSDUHG FRUUHFWO\ WKH Ă&#x20AC;DYRU LV VR ZRUWK LW ´ Tacocitaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s menu has something for meat lovers and vegetarians. There are nine signature tacos: grilled adobo chicken ($3.49); chipotle ground turkey ($3.49); drunken carnitas ($3.69); cochinita pibil ($3.69); potato and mush-
