I remember liking whatever I had from a Tacos Sinaloa truck in Fruitvale years ago, though I’m fuzzy on the details. So I was keen to try their bricks-and-mortar location in Berkeley on Telegraph Avenue, a couple of blocks south of campus. We dropped in on Thursday night. It’s a narrow space with a glassed-in kitchen lined with counter space, so we perched in front of the assembly line. This may not have been the wisest move. Industrial corn tortillas are welded together on the grill; fillings are on a steam table (occasionally a clump of carnitas are plucked out and pressed into a crisp cake on the grill). The tortillas are dunked into the juice in the steam table trays, put on paper plates, filling spooned on, and the plate passed to another worker to top with salsa and onion. Audience mostly Cal undergrads who have no idea how to behave in a crowded space. Carnitas taco ($2.00) too crisp; al pastor too soggy and greasy. Decent but unremarkable flavour. Horchata ($2.00) is thin, and they were skimpy on the ice for some reason. Rather a disappointment. There are two better options a short walk from me near Market and Castro, and loads more in the Mission.
Things worked out better at Tacos Cala. The main entrance of Cala, a new upscale Mexican restaurant in Hayes Valley, is on Fell, but there’s a back door onto Hickory which leads to a small counter at the back of the kitchen and one metal standing communal table at waist level. There’s a rotating lunch menu (Cala is not open for lunch) of three or four tacos guisados. Tortillas are made in house (in fact the corn is nixtamalized in house). A taco is $3.50; aguas are $3, and there are bottled beers and wines available. The choices today were cochinita pibil, tinga poblana, rajas y papas (in a cream sauce), and braised greens (vegan, I think; I did not see one). I had the first two, and a jamaica (nice, not too sweet). The tacos are built on rice and black beans; heretical, but the rice soaks up the tasty liquids from the stewed fillings, which are served from attractive enamelled pots on a stove. Still a bit awkward to eat, but good flavours. Owner Gabriela Cámara came to the back to chat with the only other visitors, Tartine head baker Richard Hart and a friend, and I eavesdropped on their conversation heavy with big names while I tried to keep my face and hands relatively clean. I’ll be back to try their horchata and see what else is in the rotation. Tacos Cala isn’t open for dinner, but if you’re at Cala for dinner, you’ll be able to peek at the back space by going past the bathrooms; I did the opposite, sneaking a look at the bright, attractive main space of Cala with all the chairs up on the tables.
