Exclusive | Worlds first and only Michelin-starred taqueria coming to NYC for a limited time: These tacos are so different
It’s the taco the town.A Mexico City taqueria made history in May when it was awarded the first-ever Michelin star and now the taco stand — still the only one in the world with the coveted award — is coming to the Big Apple for a limited time.The humble family-owned El Califa de León has partnered with Tacombi to bring authentic tacos from the beloved eatery to the US for the first time, with pop-ups at all the New York locations beginning Thursday.“In a perfect world, we would just take people to Mexico,” Tacombi founder Dario Wolos told The Post.Open since 1956 and run by three generations, the unassuming taco joint in the San Rafael neighborhood is perhaps the smallest restaurant ever to receive the award.It consistently draws hourslong lines of people hoping to scarf down one of four menu options: gaonera (thinly sliced beef filet), bistec (beef steak), chuleta (pork chop) and costilla (beef rib).
It’s relatively simple: The slab of meat — never shredded or ground — is served on freshly made corn tortillas, seasoned only with a sprinkle of salt and a squeeze of lime.Diners may drizzle the house-made red or green salsa on top “if anything” — but that’s it, owner Mario Hernández Alonso explained to The Post.No lettuce or cheese.
Sour cream is “blasphemous.” He hopes New Yorkers will be “pleasantly surprised” by his simple yet meticulously made tacos — though he won’t ever share the exact recipe with anyone.“That is my concept and so I have followed it and that’s why Califa de León has that kind of service,” Hernández Alonso, the second-generation owner, said in Spanish.He appreciated how “seriously” Wolos understood his taco stand when the Tacombi founder reached out and proposed the partnership.The taco teams have spent months tracking down the right ingredients and perfect cuts of meat — thanks to meat purveyor Pat LaFrieda himself — to offer a one-night pop-up event at Tacombi Flatiron on Wednesday from ...