What do you do when you and a buddy have hit the streets in search of food only to be faced with the dreaded, “I dunno, what do you wanna eat?” conundrum? You default to tacos, in part because you’re New Mexican, but also because you’re a red-blooded human who has a mouth and tastebuds. This is how me and a companion wound up at El Callejón Taqueria & Grill (208 Galisteo St., (505) 983-8378) one recent and glorious summer evening, and I must say it did the trick and then some.
El Callejón flared into existence in the wake of a tragedy following the 2015 death of Matt Chavez, the man who owned El Paseo, the bar that once operated out of what is today my new favorite taco spot. Side note? Chavez was beloved by many, and some of us still fondly recall El Paseo as a great spot for live music, comedy and a drink or two. By fall of 2016, however, the space became El Callejón, and the rest is history.
Like a lot of people, I’d visited the restaurant around the time it first opened roughly a decade ago. I remember enjoying it, but I can’t recall the specifics, nor do I think I fell in love. I mean, obviously I haven’t been back in years, and some diners might like to know that it still has more of a bar vibe than a restaurant vibe. Either way…I mean, I’m sure it was fine nearly 10 years ago. But that was then, though, and this is now, and I most certainly am feeling a certain lust for more tacos. How good is El Callejón? Let me put it this way: On the night we visited, the fryer was not operational, meaning we couldn’t order salsa and chips. OK, no biggie, that’s not the end of the world, but they were also out of barbacoa, one of my favorite beefy taco options. That one-two punch might’ve sunk a restaurant staffed by lesser taco purveyors, or at least been a more annoying situation for a picky diner. Our server René, however, was so honest and chill about it, that we were just kind of like, “Dang, dude, it’s not like you wanted to have a night with no chips—don’t sweat it.”
Instead, we dug in, first with a margarita known as the moneda de plata ($17). This one came with Casa Dragones tequila, a product co-founded and developed by Bertha González Nieves, the first-ever certified lady tequila master. I’ve seen some online hubbub about how Casa Dragones lacks soul and/or was over-engineered to the point it has no discernible identity. Perhaps that’s true for tequila snoots, but my companion instead discovered what they called “an incredibly well-balanced margarita.” They could taste the alcohol, no question, but the drink wasn’t oversweet or over-citrusy. Now, whether that’s due to Casa Dragones or El Callejón bartender, we’ll never know, but I choose to believe they know how to make ‘em there.
Alex De Vore
For our meals, my companion zeroed in on mole enchiladas ($25) without a second thought. That sounded delicious enough on its own, but they also added lechon (that’s pork for the n00bs), which brought the overall taste and texture profiles to another level. Somewhere between the tender and buttery pork and the mildly spicy yet sweet and savory mole, they saw the face of something greater than themselves, and it was beautiful.
I had 100% shown up for tacos however, and the no-barbacoa thing turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I know more than one vegetarian who has touted El Callejón calabacitas and tofu tacos. And though I did select meat for three of the four tacos that come in an order, I might never have sampled the calabacitas version otherwise. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not a person for whom every meal hinges upon meat. Still, I’ve found middling than good takes when it comes to calabacitas in this world. How wrong I was about El Callejón’s version. Not only was the sautéed squash masterfully browned and not-too-soft, but hints of poblano and pickled onion rounded out a series of tastes that unfolded slowly, each better than the last but somehow still complementary. El Callejón sprinkles the perfect amount of queso fresco on that particular taco, and when I dipped it into the sides of red and green salsas that came with the dish…I’m sincerely thinking about leaving work just to get those tacos. The carne asada and pollo asada tacos were also winners, particularly in the way El Callejón did not overuse cilantro. But the only one that came close to the calabacitas version was the al pastor. Why melty pork and grilled pineapple aren’t an option for everything (I’d eat it in cereal form) I’ll never know, but kudos to the kitchen at El Callejón for not slapping down a huge pineapple chunk and calling it a day. When it comes to a taco, I want pineapple to accentuate, not dominate, and the thin slices therein did just that.
El Callejón has numerous other taco varieties that you can order a la carte or mix and match ($4.50-$22), which is really the most civilized way to do tacos. You can also get a burger or a salad or chicken tendies for the kids.
Also? We did eventually get our chips before the night was through, and the house-made salsa was a smoky, earthy delight that emphasized flavor over spice. That last bit should be everyone’s biggest concern salsa-wise, and I’m not entirely sure who decided imperviousness to spice is the hallmark of cool and/or toughness. More impressive, this restaurant also managed to make me want to drive downtown for tacos. Most of the time I’d likely hit up a truck on the Southside or maybe any one of Fusion Tacos’ 275 locations. Both those options are still mega-valid, but El Callejón just made the list in a major way.
