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Taco Bamba
NEIGHBORHOOD FOCUS DOESN’T DETER GROWTH | BY ED AVIS | When a
Chef Victor Albisu The Greek gyros-inspired Pork Chopolopolous: gyros-spiced pork, black olive salsa macha, garlic mint cucumber yogurt
James Beard Award-level chef launches a fast-casual concept, customers probably expect a simplified version of the chef’s typical cuisine. That’s hardly the case with Taco Bamba, an expanding chain of taquerias helmed by Chef Victor Albisu. “Most restaurants offer you three of any taco, meaning you have to get three of the same thing. I never understood that – what if I want this or that taco?” says Albisu, who launched the chain in 2013. “So, not only did we decide to go individual on all levels, but we doubled down on how elaborate and unique the tacos are. We treat them as if they were important little dishes in an important little restaurant.” The menu at each Taco Bamba location is tailored for the community. Some standard tacos such as carne asada and chicken tinga are
made at each location, but other menu items reflect the environment or the culinary teams’ passions. The location in Landmark, Virginia, for example, offers the Hi-Ribster taco (bbq pork shoulder, morita slaw, pickled onion, jalapeño, cilantro), which pays homage to a beloved local restaurant. The Fairfax, Virginia location has the Robinson Ramen taco (noodles, shoyu carnitas, salsa Machado, canned corn, scallions, togarashi tartar), which takes its name from a nearby high school and the ramen noodle idea from Albisu’s alma mater, George Mason University, which is across the street. “Most of the menu is dedicated to honoring the neighborhood,” says Albisu, a semi-finalist for James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef – Mid Atlantic award in 2016. “We like to have the people in the neighbor-
“Most of the menu is dedicated to honoring the neighborhood. We like to have the people in the neighborhood understand that we write the menu for them, but it also has to be something challenging and new and creative.” – CHEF VICTOR ALBISU
