Dotty Griffith Recipe Special Tasting Event

Breakfast tacos and Austin have been linked for at least 20 years. Although not the first taco temple, Tacodeli has long been high profile and synonymous with Austin’s claim to fame as the Vatican for breakfast tacos.

In recent years, the high priest of tacos, Tacodeli founder Robert Espinosa, established the brand in Houston and Plano. Dallas’ Lake Highlands and Sylvan Thirty neighborhoods also have Tacodeli missions.

Tacodeli opened in 1999 at the original red and slightly ramshackle location on Spyglass and Barton Skyway in Austin. Soon after Eric Wilkerson joined Tacodeli as a Partner and Owner. Together, Espinosa and Wilkerson found a devoted following and are now taco evangelists with 11 locations in Dallas, Plano, Houston and Austin.

While many first ate a taco at a drive-through or on a combo plate, Espinosa grew up eating street tacos in Mexico City. His experience as an apprentice chef in the Yucatan, travel in Central Mexico and many of Mexico's coastal regions profoundly impacted his approach to food. Those influences are reflected throughout the Tacodeli menu.

Texas Monthly marked the 20th anniversary of Tacodeli last fall with an interview of Espinosa and Wilkerson. Writer Jose R. Ralat noted, “While items have come and gone from the menu, the selections at Tacodeli have always been rooted in Mexican culinary traditions, especially in the food that Espinosa grew up with in his native Mexico City. This includes Tacodeli’s signature potato preparation and the home-style tacos de guisados. In a way, Tacodeli gave customers a glimpse of what was to come in modern Mexican cuisine, right down to the organic corn masa from Fiesta Tortillas used at the Austin locations. The Dallas and Houston branches use tortillas from Tortilleria la Norteña, in Dallas.” That ably sums up the story of Tacodeli. The farm-to-table menu includes far more than breakfast tacos. If you frequent a Tacodeli, you have favorites. But you also pay close attention to the Specials of the Moment that change monthly.

In February, that includes a breakfast taco, El Costillero made with Vital Farms pasture-raised scrambled eggs, topped with braised Heartbrand Beef and seasoned rajas. The February lunch special is an order of short rib tacos made with Heartbrand Beef short ribs braised in guajillo-pasilla adobo and garnished with a bright jalapeño escabeche.

Seasonal chipotle sweet potato soup made with Thomas Kindle sweet potatoes from Grand Saline, pork belly, chipotle, cream, jack cheese and cilantro remains on the menu this month. Get it while the soup is hot and the weather is cold.

While you may love the ever-changing specials, salsa consistency is a major attraction at Tacodeli. Especially the beautiful, light green salsa Dona. Made with jalapenos and garlic, salsa Dona is hot but so well-balanced that I want to sip it like a soup. Other equally well-crafted salsas include the mild verde, made with tomatillos and medium roja with roasted tomatoes and serrano chiles. The habanera chile salsa is “Hot! Hot! Hot!” Many like it that way.

Tacodeli is legendary for a lot of good reasons. By Dotty Griffith dotty.griffith@yahoo.com TACO DELI The Loco and Eggs Breakfast Tacos at Tacodeli.

TACODELI-DALLAS 1878 Sylvan Ave. Dallas, 75208 214-760-1930

THE HILL 8031 Walnut Hill Lane Dallas, 75231 214-206-8980 tacodeli.com

A trio of recipes come together to create Tacodeli Tenderloin Tacos. To execute the dish, get a head start by making Choco-Piloncillo Dry Rub. Store it in an airtight container in the pantry for up to one month. Make the mole up to a week ahead.

Tacodeli’s chile-forward mole doesn’t have sugar or Mexican chocolate as do many versions of this classic sauce. Instead, Tacodeli chefs add a touch of sweet to the beef using piloncillo and Mexican chocolate as a rub on the tenderloin. Cones of piloncillo are available in some supermarkets and Hispanic groceries; brown sugar won’t substitute for piloncillo in this instance. Use leftover mole on enchiladas or as a sauce for chicken, beef or pork. Keep the rub around for steaks and chops.

Dry brine the beef a day ahead. Or do it all in one day and call the dish Marathon Tacos.

TACODELI TENDERLOIN TACOS

Thin-sliced Tacodeli Tenderloin (see recipe) 12 corn or flour tortillas, heated to soften 1 cup Tacodeli Mole (see recipe), heated 1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco 1/2 cup sliced green onions 1/2 cup lightly toasted sesame seeds

Place three slices of beef on each hot tortilla. Pour a line of mole on top of meat. Lightly sprinkle with queso fresco, green onion and sesame seeds. Makes 12 tacos.

TACODELI CHOCO-PILONCILLO DRY RUB

2 ounces Mexican chocolate 2 ounces piloncillo sugar 2 ounces dried arbol chiles 2 ounces dried chipotle chiles

Rough chop the chocolate and piloncillo sugar. Use a hand grater to grate the chocolate and sugar. Pass grated chocolate and sugar through a fine sifter by hand to create a powder. Do not use a blender as it will melt the sugar and chocolate.

Wipe chiles with a damp paper towel. Remove stems. Scrape out seeds and veins. Tear into pieces and blend in spice grinder until very finely ground into a powder. Combine chocolate-sugar and chile powders in an airtight container at room temperature. Shake to blend well. Makes 1 cup.

TACODELI MOLE

3/4 ounce dried pasilla chiles 1/2 ounce dried chipotle chiles 1 1/4 ounces dried ancho chiles 1/3 ounce dried arbol chiles 1 medium yellow onion 1 medium tomato 1/2 cup garlic cloves, peeled 1 1/4 ounces walnuts 1 1/4 ounces cashews 1 1/4 ounces pecans 1 1/4 ounces sesame seeds 1 clove 1 corn tortilla 1 3/4 cups vegetable, or your favorite, stock 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

Heat oven to 350 F. Heat broiler on high.

Wipe chiles with a damp paper towel. Remove stems. Scrape out seeds and veins. Arrange on baking sheet and toast in oven just until fragrant and puffed, about 6 minutes. Place in a large bowl. Cover with hot water for about 15 minutes or until soft. Drain and set aside. Cut onion and tomato into quarters. In a heavy dry skillet over medium high heat, toast tomatoes, onion and garlic to get a slight char on all sides. Turn frequently. Remove veggies and set aside.

Wipe skillet clean. Return skillet to medium high heat. To hot skillet, add nuts and clove to release oils. Toast just until golden. Do not burn. Work in small batches. Remove nuts and clove from skillet and wipe skillet clean.

Place corn tortilla in skillet under hot broiler. Toast until blackened on both sides. Cool enough to handle and tear into quarters. In blender, combine chiles, onion, tomato, nuts, clove and charred tortilla. Add 1 3/4 cups of stock and salt. Blend until smooth. Blend in batches, if necessary, to process all ingredients into smooth sauce for mole.

Place mole in medium saucepan over low heat. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Store in refrigerator up to 1 week. Makes 1 quart.

Lomo Ahumado Tacos with Tacodeli Mole. TACO DELI

By Amity Thomas amity@amitythomas.com

Meddlesome Moth at 1621 Oak Lawn Ave. in The Design District hosts Peticolas Brewing and Real Ale Brewing for a beer paired dinner on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 5 p.m. Founders of both breweries, Michael Peticolas and Brad Farbstein, will host the six-beer, five-course dinner and beer guided experience featuring unique brews paired with five courses crafted by Chef Suki Otsuki. The beer lineup includes Stay the Course, a collaboration from Peticolas and Real Ale, born from a shared camaraderie. It is an Imperial Golden Ale brewed with Citra hops, lemon drop and Mandarina Bavaria hops, fresh lemon peel and lemon oil that comes in at 10 percent.

The “Meet and Greet” beer pint will be a cask of Golden Opportunity with Axis hop addition. Beers from Peticolas include Irish Goodbye Irish Red Ale and Too Soon IPA. Real Ale will showcase the Grapefruit