Tacos El Metro, a Mexico City-style taqueria, opened April 9, on the southeast corner of Walnut Hill and Marsh Lane. The restaurant serves authentic, casual Mexico City-style fare including tacos, quesadillas, tostadas, and traditional desserts.
Created by Sergio Quijano, a familiar face for long-time Nonna diners where he was the beverage director, Tacos El Metro is a love letter to Mexico City where Sergio grew up.
“When I was little, I sold Chiclets on the street,” Sergio told me over lunch. “The name of the candy store was ‘El Metro,’” which was also its location. He worked hard as a young man, still does, and mentioned that he’s come a long way, getting a little misty eyed while he looked around at his restaurant. Then, he told me about the raw salsa that I ate with a spoon as if it was soup, but is really just salsa. Don’t judge.
“I’ve been making it since I was 14. I’d buy the raw vegetables, tomatillos, onion, lime, cilantro, jalapeños and grab the molcajete and make the salsa and bring it to my dad’s construction site. These are recipes I’ve been eating and making since I was a child.” There’s so much love and passion in this food.
Diners should discover huesitos, a dish you’re unlikely to find on any local Mexican restaurant menus. Sergio relies heavily on his fond memories of eating with his family and recalls how he and his dad would eat a pile of huesitos, the braised-then-fried pork ribs covered in cilantro, onion, and sauce.
Tacos El Metro also serves a showstopping whole hog which can be purchased by the pound with tortillas and sides or sold whole for offsite catering.
Sides include borracho beans, rice, marinated nopales, chips, guac, queso, and elotes served as easy-to-eat riblets of corn. Sergio’s own flan recipe is on the menu, and it’s a beautiful, creamy and not-too-sweet cloud of cream. The buñuelos are super light and crispy with just the right amount of cinnamon and sugar.
PHOTO: Courtesy
Quijano brought Chef Michael Garcia over from Fachini, another Barsotti concept, to bring his recipes to life.
“I’m so happy that Sergio had faith in me to run his kitchen,” Garcia said. “I’m very happy to be here.”
Chef Garcia and Sergio have known each other for many years and eventually decided to leave Barsotti’s restaurants to start their own. Garcia is a perfectionist and, together, he and Sergio spent thousands of hours getting each recipe just right, testing them at pop-up dinners at the home of two of El Metro’s investors, Janna and Alan Russell, before opening Tacos El Metro.
The results are pure perfection. Pure, in that the recipes use only top-quality ingredients and techniques. The proteins are carefully sourced and prepared. Sergio’s crispy pork skin technique is painstakingly slow so diners can experience the light, crispiness of the skin without the slightest hint of greasiness. Perfection in that the flavors are perfectly balanced. The chicken tinga, for example, is precisely balanced with smokey, sweet, and spicy flavors.
The restaurant currently serves Mexican beer, tequila, margaritas, and all kinds of Mexican sodas. During Sergio’s time as beverage director for Barsotti’s concepts, he became exceptionally knowledgeable about wines and will leverage that knowledge, as well as his relationships in the industry, to create and source El Metro’s wines.
Tacos El Metro is backed by industry veterans who know how to operate a restaurant and source and prepare exceptional food. The service is friendly, it should be since Sergio’s daughter and son, Francisco, who also designed the restaurant’s clever logo, also work there. Sergio is the quintessential host and sets a friendly tone for the restaurant.
Fortunately, the parking lot has many spaces because it’s going to be a popular place. Since it’s been open fewer than 48 hours, the team is still smoothing out the operation. If you visit in the next couple of weeks, give them some grace.
Tacos El Metro: 3720 Walnut Hill Lane, #117, Dallas 75229. IG @tacoselmetro.
