Photos by Caitlin Abrams
Mexican dish
Sonora Mexican Kitchen and Bar
Conrado Badilla has run his shop in Longfellow for a few years, but when he decided to head downtown and open another location off of Loring Park, he brought new game. Elevated Mexican dishes and strong cocktails come out of the dark and sultry spot. Crush your peppers in the tiny handcrafted grinders on each table. sonoramexicankitchenandbar.com
Nixta
Did you know you can now get these heirloom corn tortillas in the co-ops?? Gustavo Romero makes his house tortillas from heritage heirloom corn, and you can tell the difference right away. Grab one of the dinner meal kits and you’ll get a pack of tortillas with some manner of braised meat, salsas, some kind of kicky slaw, and rice and beans. It all changes weekly. nixtampls.com
Órale Mexican Eats
Tangletown’s favorite launched a bar last year that gave us tamarind margaritas. This is the place to grab fish tacos and sopes, and it’s this bright and friendly spot in a strip mall. It recently added a full bar menu with killer margaritas and mojitos to go with those tasty tostadas de tinga. oralemexicaneats.com
El Travieso Taqueria
Hector Ruiz, the king of the casual Mexican eatery, ventured into Minnetonka with great Pillin Discadas from the state of Chihuahua. This fresh foray into the suburbs for is not just tacos and burritos, but saucy dipped torta ahogada sandwiches and tostadas all made with richly braised meats and the best ingredients. eltraviesotaqueria.com
MB Foodhouse
Breakfast tacos have landed in the North Loop Galley food hall. Freshly added to the food hall mix, this food stall has a mission: Make breakfast tacos a thing. Check them out, along with breakfast bowls during weekend brunch, or grab tacos (some vegan) and fresh bowls for dinner. mbfoodhouse.com
Server with Wet Tacos tee shirt
Wet Tacos
Xaviera Estrada has been running one of the best taco trucks around and finally landed a semi-solid kitchen at the Pourhouse in Uptown. Not for the prudish, her street food is about permissive indulgence and sloppy good times. This woman with knives for nails celebrates life with sizzle, and that’s clear in every bite of birria pizza, a smothered chimmy, or asada fries. wettacos.com
El Norte Kitchen
Launched last year, this food truck brings a bit of Tucson to our streets. It’s often parked outside of taverns and taprooms, smartly, selling a rotation of carne asada fries, quesadillas, and jalapeño smash burgers, among other street food eats. elnortekitchen.com
Xai The Corn Guy
More elote! How do you not love an elote truck using Hmong spices? This food truck isn’t shy about heaping your corn elote with Hmong spices to create a unique and delicious way to eat it. They grow and grind their own peppers, which makes the dishes sing. facebook.com/XaiTheCornGuy
La Michoacana Purepecha
Paletas everywhere! The popsicle shop is expanding all over the metro, from the Cities to Richfield, Eagan, and more. Not only can you find over 50 kinds of paleta popsicles in flavors like horchata and avocado, but you can score spicy fruit cups and dorilocos, which are like the best version of a walking taco dumped into a chip bag ever. lamichoacanapurepecha.com
Las Cuatro Milpas
Birria in Bloomington! The suburban location of East Lake’s favorite birria makers is built for a good hang with a full bar and more seating. How do you not get the quesabirria and just sit and dip? facebook.com/taqueriabirrieriacuatromilpas
