EVERYTHING'S COMING UP TACOS By Kim Ranjbar
Everywhere you look, there's yet another taco joint. Whether it be a new brick and mortar, market vendor, food truck, or pop-up, everything is indeed coming up tacos. Not that we're complaining! Variety is the spice of life, after all, and though there are an abundance of taco spots around lately, there's always something a little different on offer. Well-known local restaurateurs Laurie Casebonne and Chef Ian Schnoebelen stepped away from the food scene in late 2017 when they sold Mariza, an Italian eatery in Bywater, but it seems they just couldn't stay away. Less than a year later they launched Rosalita's Backyard Tacos, a regular weekend pop-up that drew taco fans far and wide to Rosalie Alley off N. Rampart. Two years later, or this past January, the dynamic duo acquired their own digs in a space on St. Claude formerly occupied by Shake Sugary. Now folks are still lining up for their tacos, only they have an actual backyard (or patio) in which to eat them. Along with the usual suspects, guest can enjoy a few special items like the “lengua” or beef tongue tacos with pickled onion and radish, as well as crispy pork belly tacos offered on corn or flour (a.k.a. gringa) tortillas. Adding a fruit empanada and one of their homemade juices, like watermelon lemonade or pineapple cilantro, is highly recommended. Only a few months before the pandemic hit, Galaxie Tacos opened inside a restored 1940s gas station originally designed by Walter Teague. For a few months, aficionados jumped at the chance to hang out on their extensive driveway, or inside purple-hued interior, drink mezcal margaritas, and munch on Chef Hank Shackelford's Oaxacainfluenced, tortilla-wrapped flavors. Speaking of tortillas, one particular aspect that makes Galaxie's tacos stand out are their fresh, made-daily-from-scratch corn tortillas. Aside from their signature “en trompo” (rotisserie), Home Place Pastures pork al pastor tacos, it would be inadvisable to go without tasting the “barbacoa” with smoked beef brisket, as well as their grilled queso. Yet another service station has turned taco, this time on Freret Street. In the midst of pandemic chaos, the Cure & Co. folks launched Vals inside what was once a former Coneco station. Like Galaxie, there's a huge patio area under a shady awning, plus they added the convenience of a walk-up
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Best of the Big Easy | Where Y'at Magazine
ALL PHOTOS BY KIM RANJBAR
Despite the fact that tacos have long been available in New Orleans, lately they seem to be as prolific as our beloved po-boy, and understandably so. Like the venerable po-boy, tacos have a lot to offer. They're easy to prepare, almost infinite in their variety, relatively inexpensive, and hold up well to the rigors of takeout, an attribute which has become rather valuable considering recent events.
