I Should've Ordered Another Taco

I should’ve ordered another taco. Who thought a Mexican Coke, a cheese quesadilla, and one fish taco would be enough to satiate a deep hunger? Well, I did — but oh, how wrong I was. Ordering tacos at Tacombi is what I would imagine ordering drinks at a bar must be like — “keep ’em coming.”

Courtesy of Kyra Mehta

Buried in a little corner of SoHo on Elizabeth St. is Tacombi, a quaint, festive restaurant. There were no doors, and the entrance merged with the sidewalk. When I first got there, I was convinced I had accidentally walked into a night flea market, but then I saw the huge Tacombi logo with the parrot in it and knew I had indeed arrived.

With an albeit rustic, charming atmosphere, the roof was undone — one that resembled a factory, not a restaurant. Bare brick walls were covered with cement and artistically masked with zany artwork. One piece that was particularly fascinating was a Frida Kahlo-inspired painting of a monkey on all fours reaching for bananas. The main light source came from fairy lights sprinkled throughout the restaurant, tea lights at each table, and fire from the kitchen. The music was so loud and booming that I almost couldn’t hear the conversation with my friend, which was hard at first but later added to the fun of the evening!

Courtesy of Grace Barter

A clear view of the kitchen was directly in my line of sight, and in moments of boredom, I looked enthusiastically at the chefs hard at work — the chopping and the flambé — producing the food I was waiting to eat. When the waitress arrived at my table, I excitedly ordered a Mexican Coke to start and a cheese quesadilla with a black bean mole.

After 15 minutes, my cheese quesadilla arrived. Looking quite confused at the quesadilla, I took a bite and was pleasantly surprised to taste real, fresh mozzarella cheese. Despite the fact that it was just a simple cheese quesadilla, it was the most flavorful one I had ever eaten. Usually, quesadillas are made with Monterey Jack, Oaxaca, or Chihuahua cheese, but the use of mozzarella added a new meaning to cheese quesadillas for me. The Mexican Coke, of course, hit the spot. I don’t know what makes Mexican Coke so much better than regular Coke, it just is.

Courtesy of Kyra Mehta

The atmosphere was fun and rejuvenating, and I definitely did people-watch a little bit: a woman catching up with her friend from work, an office party, some of the wait staff enjoying their conversation, and a group of people boisterously laughing. Before I realized, I had inhaled my quesadilla and ordered tacos for my second round. It was a fish taco with pickled onion, a cabbage salad with mayonnaise, and pico de gallo. It arrived later than I expected, but it was worth the wait. The cod was a morsel of crispy delight. The fresh cabbage and pickled onion cut through the fish, and the sweet, tangy mayonnaise felt like an explosion of flavor. To top it all off, the sudden heat from the pico de gallo didn't overwhelm the complexity of the dish and instead complemented it. The encasing tortilla added the slightly sweet, earthy flavor of fresh corn that was missing from the rest of the taco.

So, would I try the food again? Yes. Would I order more tacos? Absolutely — one tacos was not enough. But next time, when I am cramming for finals but still craving Tacombi, I am definitely ordering takeout.