Michelin Tacos

Earlier this year, Michelin, for the first time, awarded its prestigious stars to restaurants in Mexico.  Most of them went to fancy, gourmet restaurants where you pay a couple hundred dollars for little plates of food... the kind of pretentious places that I avoid.  However, one of the places awarded a Michelin star was an unassuming taco joint that doesn't accept credit cards, has only four kinds of tacos on the menu, and doesn't even have tables where you can sit down to eat.

The "taquería" in question is a hole-in-the-wall place called "El Califa del León".  It is located on a busy avenue some distance from the usual tourist route.  Because it is not far from the headquarters of the political party PRI, it has long been a favorite of politicians to grab a bite to eat.  The place was opened in 1968 by the father of the present owner.   One of the father's best friends was a well-known bullfighter, Rodolfo Gaona. who went by the nickname of "El Califa de León" (the Caliph of León) ... hence the name of the place.

Many question why this place, out of the more than 11,000 registered "taquerías" in Mexico City, won a star.  Michelin praised the quality of the meat and the hand-made tortillas.

After the announcement of the award, the business skyrocketed with tourists from all over the world lining up for tacos.  The wait for a taco went from about ten minutes to over an hour.

Although I did not plan on eating there, I wanted to see just where this newly famous taco joint was located.   I took the Metrobus from my apartment and got off at the "Revolución" station.  I walked down Ribera de San Cosme Avenue about four blocks, and there it was, across the street.  As you can see in the photo, there was a long line, although at that moment I don't think that the wait was an hour.

I'm sure that the tacos are very good, but there is no way that I am going to stand in line when there are countless places in this city where I can be seated immediately and have very tasty tacos.  Maybe, just maybe, I will give it a try in a few months after the hubbub over its award has died down.