Approximately ten years ago, gourmet food trucks piqued my interest in discovering new food finds. One was Taco Maria, a gourmet food truck hosting a Michelin-starred chef preparing selections such as bone marrow quesadillas and mole de pollo tacos. The truck frequently made stops on Saturday at the SOCO Farmers Market in Costa Mesa.
Chef / Owner Carlos Salgado transitioned from his truck and opened a brick and mortar in the same SOCO location. He then searched for the perfect tortillas and discovered a supplier of heirloom maize from small-batch farmers in Mexico. He nixtamalizes this maize in-house to create superior-tasting tortillas, which frequently serve as the base. Best of all, it’s non-GMO.
During the height of the pandemic, Taco Maria primarily featured take-out service, and I periodically checked their website, waiting for them to restore full indoor dining service. I wasn’t about to make the drive south and have to reheat everything once I returned home.
The kitchen is wide open, and we sat overlooking the action and were happy we did. From our perch, we watched Salgado oversee all aspects of the kitchen operation. His assistant chefs worked like ballet dancers, silently creating beautiful dishes such as tamal or the callo gratinado, made with scallops, uni cream, and squid ink crumbs.
Taco Maria is presently open Tue through Fri for dinner service. Their customers already know that they only offer a four-course pre-fixe menu. It was a surprise at $95 per person with an additional $55 for wine paring; we liked that there was a choice of two dishes for each offering, so we told our server we’d like to try everything!
The menu reflects Salgado’s desire to honor his family’s culture by preparing Alta California cuisine with well-sourced ingredients and applying the techniques and values he learned in Michelin-starred restaurants. An example is the callo gratinado topped with bubbly uni cream.
For us, the highlight of the evening was the two delicious mains which are meant to be enjoyed as tacos with their blue corn tortillas, cilantro, and chile ancho. One was the Gallina Pintada, a guinea hen with leafy spigarello, gooseberries, and smoked habanero. The buttery citrus sauce placed this dish over the top.
The other main, Tocino, or cured pork belly, is prepared over a wood-fired grill. A piloncillo brown sugar glaze is applied, giving the pork a sweet and smoky flavor. The taste of the beans and nopales nicely complemented the sauce. After placing this into a tortilla with the taco fixings, I immensely enjoyed the intense flavors.
While we didn’t opt for the paired wines, they provided an interesting curated list from France, Italy, and California. They featured a 20-year Tawny Port from Portugal and a prestigious German Riesling to pair with the desserts.
Should you visit Taco Maria, go with someone other than someone that expects an authentic Mexican food experience. While Sagaldo’s family operated a Mexican restaurant, his cooking reflects the knowledge gained from the importance of sourcing quality ingredients and understanding global cuisine. His food reflects genuine Alta California fare.
Taco Maria, 3313 Hyland Ave, Costa Mesa; 714.538.8444; tacomaria.com