Opening in the former La Salsa space on California and Fillmore will be ~TACOBAR~, another new taqueria featuring items made with quality ingredients, but still keeping affordability in mind. Owner Jack Schwartz was born in Mexico City, and after doing the circuit in upscale restaurant kitchens (Maya, Citron and À Côté in Oakland) and managing/developing projects like La Calaca Loca taqueria in Oakland, he is excited to finally have his own restaurant. (Schwartz also lives in the Fillmore neighborhood, and wants to do what he can to serve the locals.)
His culinary training will be evident in the preparations of the various dishes, but he still wants to keep things simple, and true to being like a Mission-style taqueria. Look for potential dishes like a jicama salad with avocado and grapefruit, tortilla soup, classic tacos like carne asada and carnitas plus a Baja-style fish taco with line-caught fish (the same fillings are also available as burros—a relative to the burrito), and there will be four kinds of quesadillas. He is planning to introduce daily specials as well. There will also be a kid’s menu, seasonal aguas frescas, and coconut flan. The space is tiny (about 20 or so seats, plus some outdoor seating), but is going to feature a lot of custom touches by Geremia Design. Take-out and catering are both available. Hours will be Sun-Thu 11am-10pm, and Fri-Sat 11am-11pm, with breakfast possibly opening later. The plan is to open in mid-March.
