#David nassar maya taqueria full#

He asked about spice levels and for salsa to be left off his orders, but the salsa and heat were included. One of my dining companions was extra sensitive to heat. The kitchen also missed a few special requests. The outdoor space, looking out on Broadway but fenced in, has a gritty charm – until darkness falls and the over-bright fluorescent lights come on they feel more operating-room than restaurant. The whole effect of the restaurant is one of haphazard charm, amplified when you step inside to find fresco paintings in between the roof beams, TVs showing soccer and a patio for warmer weather. Prior to becoming Taqueria Maya, the space housed Camino Real Restaurant. (Maya, the manager, said an elderly couple told him they used to frequent the restaurant in its original incarnation as a pancake house.) The Maya family has cleverly used that steep-pitched red roof to add to their signage, painting “tortillas hechas a mano,” “menudo” and other advertisements on the side. Randall Benton web page devoted entirely to the architecture and history of ’60s-era A-frame restaurant chains (there really is something on the internet for everyone) posits that this particular building might originally have been built as a Lodge Coffee Shop, though I couldn’t confirm the hypothesis. Taqueria Maya stands out for its odd architecture, featuring a vertiginous roof more often associated with Nordic ski lodges than with taquerias and one of those mid-century rock walls that reminds one of the Flintstones and down-at-heel roller rinks.įrom left, Frank Reynosa, Eliana Reynosa (age 1), Berenice Munoz and Yancy Reynosa have lunch Tuesday at Taqueria Maya on Broadway in Sacramento. (I’m coming back for the molcajete – a bubbling cauldron of meat I saw other patrons enjoying – just as soon as I can rustle up 10 or so like-minded friends.)Įven if you haven’t been to the restaurant, you’ve probably seen it if you frequent Broadway – probably the most diverse street in Sacramento in terms of cuisine. On each of my visits to Taqueria Maya, I wished I would have come in sooner, because I wanted to try more dishes than I had room for. The chile relleno – a dish that can often be disappointingly bland and greasy – was well made too, rich with cheese and chile and smothered in zingy sauce. Similarly, the chile colorado was smoky, complex, yet cleanly flavored.

#David nassar maya taqueria full#

The chile verde was some of the best I’ve found, with the green tang of tomatillos and the full spark of green chiles evening out the richness of the pork. In fact, I had: I went for dinner, but earlier in the day on Sunday the restaurant features mariachi music.Ī large, well-lit electronic menu screen makes it easy to see Taqueria Maya’s wide range of choices, but I already knew what I wanted: the huaraches being made a few feet from me.

An eager crowd thronged at the register, and I got in line, feeling like I had arrived a little late to a party.

To do so, they took scoops from what looked like a mountain of masa (the corn dough that’s the base of tortillas and many other dishes) and formed them into little paddles and bowls, which were then shuttled to the kitchen nearly as fast as they were made. It was packed, and to the left of the door, a table was set up where two women were busily turning out fresh huaraches and sopes. Randall I stepped into Taqueria Maya on a recent Sunday evening, I immediately realized why I have been hearing buzz about the place. A Huaraches with al pastor at Taqueria Maya on Broadway in Sacramento on Tuesday, Nov.