Adam and Jason Tilford opened their new restaurant, Mission Taco Joint, on Thursday. It’s located in the Delmar Loop and serves burritos, tacos, and tortas. Being a fan of Milagro, I made a point of stopping in for the opening.
A lot of people think it is uncool to review a restaurant on opening night. I tend to agree, but I also know a lack of available information on new places can deter people from taking a chance. So hopefully this post will help give a little information on a new place from some already successful restaurateurs.
I started with the wild mushroom huarache. This was a crisped corn masa boat topped with refried black beans, mushrooms, huitlacoche, goat cheese, arugula, and Mexican crema. If you love mushrooms like I do, you need to try this dish.
- Roasted duck (left) – shredded chile roasted duck, crispy pork belly, avocado serrano sauce.
- Yucatan chicken (middle) – achiote marinate chicken, pickled onion, fiery arbol salsa, and queso fresco.
- Cochinita pibil (right) – achiote marinated pork shoulder that was slow roasted in a banana leaf with pickled onion and ancho BBQ sauce
My favorite was the duck but closely followed by the pork shoulder. If smokey flavors are your thing, then go for the chicken.
Last but not least… the street corn. When I go to Milagro, I always order this side. I can never bring myself to order anything else. Street corn is a drug and I’m addicted to it. Mission Taco Joint offers some well thought out versions of typically simple Mexican food items. It reminds me of the great tacos I used to enjoy when I lived in the Southwest. Only thing missing for me would be cow’s tongue as a meat option for one of the tacos.
Dive 2 Five Scale – 3. They have a huge bar area with a nice selection of cocktails and craft beers. Mission Taco Joint can satisfy that late night craving when in the loop. For an opening night, they had the place over staffed to make sure things went smoothly. Riverfront Times has some scans of the menu as part of their article.