The Taco That Became the King of Carmel Market
Not long ago, Mexican food in Israel was something people could only dream about. There were occasional attempts, but most did not last. One fondly remembered example was the wonderful Chimichanga run by Avi Konforti and the Yirziny brothers, which operated from the mid-1990s until 2007 and in practice specialized in a kind of American take on Mexican cuisine. After that, things moved slowly, with a place opening and closing soon after. All of that changed when the Yirziny brothers opened Takeria in 2012 on Levontin Street in Tel Aviv. Tacos and burritos had arrived, and they are here to stay. Jerusalem’s Taco Luis has been serving tacos successfully for years, the excellent La Malaa restaurant in the Melacha complex on Shoken Street in Tel Aviv does a fine job, and there is more. Takeria itself was recently sold to the Nono-Mimi chain for the almost fantastical sum of 35 million shekels for a restaurant with a single branch. The newest and hottest addition to the Mexican scene is Taco de Lolita in Carmel Market. It is not really a restaurant, but a market eatery. Walking up Carmel Market from the parking lots in the evening is a rather dubious pleasure. The stallholders and municipal workers wash down the market, and it turns into an open sewer. But after you make it through the stream, on Malan Street, very close to the corner of Carmel, waits the youngest of Tel Aviv’s taquerias, Lolita. Crowds of young hipsters, of all colors and genders, languages and styles, pack the line, drinking margaritas and beers and snacking on nachos while they wait for tacos. Tacos are the Mexicans’ answer to shawarma, a soft, pleasant round of dough filled with various good things. We ordered all the tacos on the menu and hoped for the best. After a long wait, all four arrived. The first, with raw fish, included bluefin tuna tartare, Greek yogurt aioli, kiwi, za’atar Tabasco, and cucumber “hair.” It sounded too creative and too cluttered, but it was delicious. The lime wedge to squeeze over it added wonderful acidity and made the whole thing superb. Next to each taco is a slice of citrus fruit to squeeze over it, and they change from one dish to the next. It is colorful and beautiful, culinary smart, and adds a lot. The Caesar chicken taco was exactly what it promised, a Caesar salad in a laffa. Chicken cooked in Parmesan stock, Little Gem lettuce, Caesar dressing, Parmesan, charred pickled Padron pepper, and sesame crumble. Again, it sounded like chaos but was very organized and well thought out. Very nice. It was admittedly the least exciting taco, but only because the rest were simply excellent. Next was the beef cheek taco. It was cooked in chicken stock and served with a Thai nam tok salsa of herbs, toasted rice crisps, micro cilantro, and a slice of blood orange to squeeze over it, which made the whole thing even more aesthetic and especially tasty. We finished our taco round with one containing lamb belly in chicken stock and grapes, chili jam aioli, citrus gremolata, thyme leaves, passion fruit, and a slice of orange for squeezing. Again, excellent. We finished with an American sundae ice cream and washed it all down with an excellent Spanish Estrella Damm beer and a glass of frozen margarita decorated with sour ribbons, a sweet, sugar-coated colorful gummy strip. They also hand them out along with frozen margarita chasers that the waiters keep circulating among the revelers. Taco de Lolita is by no means a place to go out for a serious night out, only to stop in for a few minutes and grab fast, cheap, tasty food. But if you are very young, at least in spirit, you will probably enjoy the loose, carefree atmosphere immensely. Taco de Lolita, Malan 43, Tel Aviv
Before the tip, Caesar chicken taco, 24 shekels, beef cheek taco, 24 shekels, lamb belly taco, 32 shekels, raw fish taco, 36 shekels, ice cream, 18 shekels, Estrella beer, 24 shekels, frozen margarita, 38 shekels
