Some cities have wine trails or art trails. In Concord, where one out of every three residents is Latino, there’s a Taco Trail.
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Designated in 2020, the Taco Trail includes nearly 40 taquerias and other eateries that serve Mexican food including, yes, tacos. Most of them are small, family-run operations — “hole in the wall” is a good descriptor — though some get quite fancy with lobster and Mexican wine.
The city’s annual Taco Trail Challenge dares people to visit as many taquerias as possible each fall, with winners receiving a Golden Taco Trophy. But for newbies, where to begin? Which kitchen serves the best birria and which excels at carnitas or lengua or vegetarian tacos? How do you say en Español, “Please no, if I eat one more taco, I will surely perish”?
Here are five excellent stop-offs on the Taco Trail. And while you’re exploring, you’ll no doubt stumble on other great places to try. Buen provecho!
Papi Clary’s Kitchen
One of the best renditions of birria in the East Bay comes from a young cook, Claryzza Abille, who actually specializes in Filipino cuisine. The chef ran a buzzy backyard pop-up before opening a restaurant with a pared-down menu of slow-cooked beef, spicy fried chicken and specials like lumpia nachos and pork-belly sisig fries.
The birria taco is deeply spiced, meltingly tender and doused in a savory broth that dyes the corn tortilla brick-red ($3.50). For $1.50 more, you can add Monterey Jack pressed into a crispy wafer on the grill – it’s an umami bomb. Even better than the taco is the mulita, a little sandwich of birria, guacamole and soft white cheese between two crunchy tortillas. Sprinkle it with the tomatillo salsa, an orange concoction that packs heat, and wash everything down with purple-ube horchata.
Details: Open 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday at 2186 Solano Way, Concord; 925-222-7786, instagram.com/papiclaryskitchen
Mercado del Sol
Chef Jose Luis Romero carries a container full of chicharron or fried pork skin recently cooked for lunch hour customers at Mercado Del Sol in Concord, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
The first thing that hits you upon entering this strip-mall eatery is a cloud of piquant wood smoke. They cook their own barbecue here, and it’s like a factory line of wonderful meats pouring from the kitchen – mahogany baby-back ribs, whole chickens with lacquered skins and the restaurant’s specialty, lamb barbacoa.
That slow-cooked lamb piled onto a taco ($4.25) is a luscious, juicy bite, made all the better when spiked with the kicked-up salsa roja or milder tomatillo salsa verde. Lamb isn’t something you often find at Bay Area taquerias, and if you keep following the unconventional path, you’ll be rewarded. Mercado del Sol does a variety of offal, and it’s invariably delicious.
Waitress Francis Rosas delivers food for customers Carlos Lomeli, left, and Eduardo Zuno of Oakland, during lunch hour at Mercado Del Sol in Concord, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
The buche or pig stomach ($3.50) is tender and deeply porky, and you can order pig skin in two forms – the crispier chicharron or the superior cueritos, gelatinous pork rinds both chewy and satisfying. For a dessert as stick-to-your-ribs as these tacos, try the champurrado, which is like a comforting hot chocolate made from masa and spices.
Details: Open daily for lunch and dinner at 1450 Monument Blvd., Concord; 925-676-8837
Tortilleria el Molino
Cashier Melissa Urias helps a customer with an order at Tortilleria el Molino in Concord, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Molino is like your everyday taqueria with one difference. They have a large-scale operation for making their own corn tortillas — and a silkier, fresher-tasting tortilla you will not find in the Bay. It’s no wonder they ship them all around to grocery stores, where shoppers snatch them up, still warm and steaming in the bags.
The tortilleria has a second outpost in the grocery store around the corner, which is fine but not as popular as the restaurant. You’ll know you’re at the right place by the line out the door of people ordering tacos, tortillas and huge bowls of white pozole and chicken soup.
Fabian Enestico puts corn dough in the tortillas machine at Tortilleria el Molino in Concord, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
The tacos are nearly twice the size of most places and anointed simply with onion, cilantro and salsa verde that comes portioned in bags. The cabeza or beef head is tender and nicely spiced, while the carnitas ($3.65) are well-cooked and flecked with tasty bits of pork fat. A surprise hit on the menu are the tacos dorados ($2.69), soft potatoes and ground beef with fresh veggies sandwiched in crispy tortillas. Steak and taters in taco form, who can argue with that?
Details: Open 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday at 1500 Monument Blvd., Concord; tortillaselmolino.com
Puesto
The Filet Mignon, Verduras and Mushroom tacos, from left, are served with a Coconut Margarita at Puesto in Concord, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. The restaurant is part of Concord’s Taco Trail. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Puesto was co-founded by San Diego native Eric Adler, whose parents hail from Guadalajara and Monterrey, Mexico, and the original restaurant has since grown into a major California operation. There are locations in San Diego, La Jolla, Anaheim, Santa Clara and even Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara – and this one in The Veranda shopping complex in Concord.
It feels like an upscale restaurant you’d find in Mexico City, with vibrant murals and fresh-fruit margaritas that are works of art in their own right. One taco is filled with Maine lobster ($17), black-bean sauce and crisp-fried onions, and another with filet mignon ($12) and pistachio-serrano salsa.
Patrons sit at the bar at Puesto in Concord, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. The restaurant is part of Concord’s Taco Trail. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
A fantastic bite – whether you eat meat or not – are the Verduras vegetarian tacos ($9), made with nopales and seasonal veggies like zucchini, which come with a whole squash blossom with the bracing taste of a zesty lime. The tortillas are made with blue corn and made decadent with a layer of melted-to-a-crisp cheese. Pair it with some of the Mexican-terroir wine the restaurant imports, a Straus ice cream horchata or an agua fresca with a cooling slice of watermelon. Pro tip: Tacos and drinks are discounted on Taco Tuesdays.
Details: Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday at 2035 Diamond Blvd., Concord; eatpuesto.com.
Los Tacos de Pancho
This small eatery in the Concord Terminal Shopping Center has multiple options. There are fajitas, grilled-fish plates, tortas, prawn enchiladas, wet burritos and something called a “tamal burrito” – and then tacos, of course, in every flavor of the meat rainbow.
Free chips and salsa are a nice way to begin war against a flotilla of tacos. The specialty at Pancho is the Baja fish ($5.25), with wild-caught cod fried in beer batter so light and sweet, it’s almost like funnel cake. The huge taco is finished with herby crema, shredded red cabbage and pico de gallo. Seafood lovers also have the option of grilled tilapia tacos or shrimp tacos drenched in spicy diabla sauce.
Among the typical street tacos ($3.75), a standout is the lengua or beef tongue, cooked until soft and succulent with flavors of clove and allspice. The al pastor and carnitas tacos are decent, too, and pair well with a Jarritos from the fridge. Bonus: On Saturday evenings, the parking lot fills up with classic cars from the local cruising club.
Details: Open 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday at 2699 Clayton Road, Concord; lostacosdepancho.com.
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