Mission accomplished: An ambitious goat taco
Upping the taco game In its most recent last iteration, the 150-seat space above the Oyster House on Sansom Street was Nodding Head Brewery, a heavy-lidded pub, seemingly allergic to sunlight. It's latest occupant has whipped a U-ey. Head up the stairs now and you emerge into
In its last iteration, the 150-seat space above the Oyster House on Sansom Street was Nodding Head Brewery, a heavy-lidded pub, seemingly allergic to sunlight.
Its latest occupant has whipped a U-ey. Head up the stairs now and you emerge into an airy, indoor beer garden, all bulging bay windows, whitewashed picnic tables, a clacking, eight-person foosball table - and aglow in a grotto beneath an old air shaft, is a statue of the Blessed Virgin crowned with a violet, neon halo.
This is Mission Taqueria and it takes its mission seriously, grinding the corn for the masa dough that the Mexican kitchen staff presses into tortillas - and freshly griddles - for the menu's revolving list of tacos.
Chef Andrew Sabin offers the crowd-pleasers: pineapple-topped pork al pastor, fish, and skirt steak. But one outlier hints at the more ambitious repertoire up his sleeve - cabrito suadero, a braised local goat taco dotted with black currants and creamy dabs of Bulgarian feta.
The goat has a dark, ropa-vieja richness, the result of a 14-hour braise with pasilla chilies, habanero, allspice, and banana leaf. The currants add a sweet accent, plumped up from pickling in sherry vinegar, sugar, and salt. And the feta provides a soothing finish, quieter and smoother than its tangy Greek cousin.
Yes, some juice can squirt out upon your first bite. But this is a street food stepped up: No one's going to notice the stain.
- Rick Nichols
Cabrito suadero, $13 for three tacos, Mission Taqueria, 1516 Sansom St., 215-383-1200.