Boulder has a taco bounty coming its way. We all heard that Austin, Texas, breakfast taco legend Torchy’s Tacos is coming to 28th and Pearl Street in Winter 2019.
As this Austin boy can tell you, prepare to become a queso addict. I’m probably not alone in having a bleary vision of Austin as a blur of Barton Springs, Torchy’s food truck queso sessions and an overall freewheeling funk vibe.
But this breakfast taco addict — and the BLDRfly team — is more excited by two new local taquerias and a growing, Boulder favorite: Tierra y Fuego Taqueria, Mojo Taqueria + McDevitt Taco Supply.
Tierra y Fuego Taqueria, the Boulder taqueria name belt-holder, is coming to North Boulder space this fall; Mojo Taqueria just officially launched on June 21 in the shopping center at the northwest corner of 28th and Iris Ave.; and McDevitt Taco Supply, perhaps Boulder’s top taco slinger, aims to turn up the heat.
Tierra y Fuego going bricks and mortar
Besides having the perhaps Boulder’s best taqueria name, Tierra y Fuego may have the best corn tortillas, an absolute key staple of any great taco.
Founder Pepe Diaz searched far and wide for the proper, nixtamalized masa (the corn flour mix used to make fresh tortillas) and found a supplier in Longmont.
Pepe and his family have been building tacos at their Diaz Farm, at 28th Street and Jay Road, since July 2018.
And things have taken off. The family will open a bricks-and-mortar location in North Boulder at 4550 Broadway, just a few blocks north of Violet Avenue, by early October.
Pepe and his wife Victoria moved to Boulder in 2012 to escape hectic Southern California.
They leased their acre-and-a-half farm with the idea of making a living as urban farmers. They began intensive, all-organic farming and started a CSA program, but it didn’t produce enough.
So, both from Mexico and recognizing an opportunity to bring great Mexican food to Boulder, Pepe and Victoria decided to do a taco food truck.
As Pepe says, “It exploded.” A little over a year later, they’ll open their fixed-location restaurant where they’ll expand the menu and serve as an outlet for their evolving farm-to-table taqueria vision.
The taco vision
The corn tortillas, which really are excellent, are one of four key taco elements Pepe and family focus on:
- Fresh corn tortillas.
- Juicy meats, grilled or smoked daily using wood or charcoal.
- Garnish of onion and cilantro.
- Salsa. Victoria makes these from scratch by roasting different types of chiles.
Stay tuned of reviews of Mojo Taqueria and McDevitt Taco Supply.
Feature Image: Pepe Diaz, with son Allan, in front of his family’s Tierra y Fuego food truck in North Boulder. Photo: Paul Hagey
Correction: an earlier version of this article stated Pepe and Veronica owned the land they’re farming. They are leasing; story has been updated.
