Tacolicious

Tacolicious is by no means a traditional taqueria—you won’t find burritos here. What started out in the summer of 2009 as a little taco stand at the Thursday Ferry Plaza Farmers Market with a fittingly frivolous name, has become a sit-down, cocktail-driven restaurant, 120 tequilas strong. Tacos anchor a menu that extends to dishes such as beet salad with grapefruit and pumpkin seeds, tuna tostadas, grilled squid served Veracruz-style, albondigas, shrimp a la diabla, and toasted coconut flan.

Like many native Californians, Mexican food is in us. Though we grew up traveling to Mexico regularly (and still do), it took a trip to Mexico City—where the food is served in settings as sophisticated and urban as you’ll find anywhere in the world—for us to realize that tacos don’t have to be relegated to street food or a corner mom-’n’-pop. See Califa and Contramar for a couple of our inspirations.