The story below is a preview from our May/June 2017 issue. For the full story Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
When you don’t want to be “just a taco joint,” and you don’t want to be “just a bar,” you could come up with something as inviting as Tuco’s Taqueria Garaje.
John Park
I have read before that all great stories contain within them an element of irony or paradox: Boo Radley in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” the hero hobbits in “Lord of the Rings” (especially Samwise Gamgee), David and Goliath, Tom and Jerry. But it isn’t just great stories where we see irony bring out the best in things. Head over to Tuco’s Taqueria Garaje where you can hang out in an old garage warehouse decorated inside with fantastical Aztec mural art, sipping high-end tequila cocktails and eating three dollar tacos that taste like they should cost a whole lot more. It’s a myriad of little paradoxes married together, creating one smashing fun dining destination in Roanoke.
Danielle Gonzalez, Tuco’s general manager, describes Tuco’s as a “meeting of the minds;” a harmony of passions, so to speak. Bill Chapman, real estate developer out of Richmond, has a passion for reviving urban spaces using locally sourced materials and making them sustainable. He had just this idea for an old garage on Salem Ave. In turn, he teamed up with the Parry Restaurant Group, a Virginia-based restaurant consulting, concept development and operations company. Together they found Gonzalez, a hip, creative Roanoke bartender with Mexican-Italian roots and a passion for cooking, gardening, making shrub cocktails and all things downtown Roanoke.
Gonzalez, a San Antonio native, says her introduction to Mr. Chapman was random…and perfect. The tequila-taco concept was an easy fit for her, as it is the world from where she comes. But it’s not just tequila and tacos that drew Gonzalez to Tuco’s. It was Chapman’s entire 416 MicroFarms project—Roanoke’s first sustainable living spaces—that had her excited. Chapman took a 100-year-old garage warehouse and repurposed it into a small restaurant space with seven studio apartments attached off the back end. Each unit (including Tuco’s) has its own garden plot, rain barrel and a horticultural specialist who comes once a month to educate tenants on growing their garden.
For Gonzalez, the garden offers her the opportunity to dive even deeper into the world of shrubs: cocktails created from syrups made the old fashioned way—with a sugar source, a fruit or vegetable source and a vinegar source. Gonzalez calls it “farm to bar,” and sees her Tuco’s garden as an endless source of inspiration.
It was important to Gonzalez that Tuco’s be unique among Roanoke restaurants; not just a taco joint, and not just a bar, but rather an authentic southwest experience. As such, choosing a staff for Tuco’s became incredibly important. She needed people knowledgeable of the food and drink options, who could attend to customers well, and still maintain the kind of fun, high-energy, low-stress feel to the place.
“I find that when people go out, they don’t want to have to make a lot of decisions,” says Gonzalez. “They want to be guided.” With her years of experience in Roanoke’s restaurant scene, Gonzalez knew exactly who she wanted, beginning with bar manager, Matt Allen.
“Matt is amazing. He’s my right hand man,” says Gonzalez, describing the time and effort the two of them took to become experts in tequila production and expression (similar to that of wine) and creating just the right cocktail menu for Roanokers to experience tequila in new surprising ways.
“We don’t want to be just another margarita bar,” says Gonzalez. “We are passionate about tequila and we want other people to see tequila isn’t just for margaritas.”
With all this focus on the booze, you’d think Tuco’s food would just be mediocre. Not so. Gonzalez has hired great cooks who use fresh ingredients brought in daily and sourced locally where possible (right outside their door once the growing season hits). The menu is simple: nine taco options served “traditional” or “gringo,” three “not taco” options, and three different desserts. Tuco’s chefs create daily specials—sometimes tacos, sometimes not—but always delicious. In fact, I like Tuco’s specials the most. It’s here where I think Tuco’s food shines. The rest of the menu is set and it’s very good, but in the specials, I see the chefs’ creative skills come to play.
There isn’t a taco on Tuco’s menu not worth eating. I prefer all mine “traditional;” something I learned after my first visit. As much as I enjoy cheese (especially with burgers or wine), Tuco’s helped me see that it’s unnecessary with tacos. It takes away from the other ingredients already providing a fully orbed, fresh experience with each bite. Their chips and salsa is a must-have starter; add guacamole and queso for a trifecta of lively, satisfying food fare. The servers are fantastic, too. They truly understand Tuco’s unique food and drink offerings; even on a packed Friday night, I get their smart and careful attention.
And their tequila? Well, I know not all my Roanoker readers are imbibers, but for those of you who are: I always thought I hated (yes, hated) tequila until I had tequila-based cocktails at Tuco’s. Quality makes all the difference. As do experienced bartenders who understand, appreciate and love to educate guests on the complexity of their product. It makes Tuco’s not just a neat place to “throw a few back,” but a classroom where you can get lessons in history, horticulture, chemistry and cooking; all while having a darn good drink.
How ironic is that?
... for more from our May/June 2017 issue, Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!