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BROWNSVILLE — Midafternoon has arrived, and the lunch rush hour has passed but several tables continue to serve customers.
There is an energy and a smoothness in the dining room of El Ultimo Taco Taqueria that is unmistakably Mexican.
I do not know how to explain the contradiction of energy and smoothness. The curious pairing of those opposite qualities throughout Mexico always provides a calming and a soothing and a rejuvenating. When I am in Mexico, in Saltillo or Morelia or Guanajuato, the energy is intense but playful. It is not the intimidating energy of pressure and conformity. Rather, it is the spontaneous and refreshing energy of colors and clowns and dancers and wandering musicians.
There are no clowns or dancers or musicians here in El Ultimo Taco Taqueria at 938 N. Expressway 77, but I feel still the presence of Mexican energy and vitality. A sign asks that I wait to be seated, but an employee gestures for me to choose my table.
I at first aim for a table in a corner, but then I think I do not want to sit beneath a big screen TV so I take a table in the middle of the dining area next to a column. My server immediately tends to me, and I ask for a glass of ice water.
Two copies of the same menu lie before me. The server removes one, and I run my eyes over the menu. That is when I first feel I’m back in Mexico. The taco pirata and the taco gringo are popular items at my favorite taco stand in Saltillo in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. The flautas remind me of my favorite place to eat in Patzcuaro in the Mexican state of Michoacan.
The Patzcuaro restaurant is now closed. But there’s no slowing down or closing El Ultimo Taco Taqueria next to the busy expressway.
Some people might say that El Ultimo Taco Taqueria draws on the energy of the expressway and the cars whoosh-whoosh-whooshing on the expressway not many yards away.
That perhaps might play a role in El Ultimo’s success. Someone definitely picked the right spot to open a restaurant. But I think the greater portion of its success lies in the food and the music and the Spanish stations and the staff quickly moving to serve the constant flow of customers.
Yes, a constant flow. Because as I sit here, I see what could be conjectured as a “second lunch rush hour” as new customers fill the tables again, at 2:30 p.m.
And the menu reveals why. The torta listings quickly catch my eye. Tortas always grab my attention because they are so closely related to my Mexico travels. To me, a torta means the long bus rides throughout Mexico and stopping at bus terminals and grabbing a torta at a stand. It means vendors with basketfuls of tortas moving down the aisles of the bus. It means Tortas El Mago in Morelia where I order a giant Torta Hawaiiana with a glass of cold licuado fresa con canela.
It’s the many visits I paid to Super Tortas Homero in Morelia and enjoyed hot tortas with a tall glass of Jamaica. I have been unable to find Super Tortas Homero in Morelia recently. It used to be on a corner of the plaza and the moved to a location along a nearby street, but I can’t find it anywhere now. I am sure it moved to another location; businesses in Morelia open and close and move quite frequently.
However, that’s not an issue at El Ultimo Taco Taqueria on the busy expressway in Brownsville. I can find that restaurant quickly and I don’t believe it will go anywhere anytime soon.
Now I see something I have not seen before, an item called quesatortas. The quesatorta, says the menu, is served with melted cheese, avocado, onion and cilantro. I have a choice of beef, birria, bistec, pastor, barbacoa, shredded beef or pressed pork.
Now that I’m going to be enjoying something new, I pair it with something familiar: pastor meat. I also order a consommé de birria.
I don’t have to wait long for my food to arrive. I notice how servers immediately tend to customers regardless of how quickly they arrive. Everyone in the restaurant moves quickly and I am impressed by their focus.
The consommé de birria is packed with flavor. I eat slowly, enjoying the beef and the broth and the vegetables. Not too many minutes later my quesatorta arrives with meat and avocado slices and cheese and everything is packed with flavor not too mild or intense but at a level easily enjoyed.
I do not want to leave, but I am glad I can come back soon instead of waiting until my next trip south of the border. It’s all right here on the busy expressway in Brownsville.
Hours are 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
