Tacolicious Festive Recipes for Tacos, Snacks, Cocktails, and More [A Cookbook]

A collection of recipes for fun, accessible taqueria fare—including colorful salsas, tasty snacks, irresistible cocktails, and of course tacos galore—from the wildly popular San Francisco restaurants and acclaimed Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market food stand, Tacolicious.

Tacos may be the most universally loved, happy-making food on earth. After all, who can say no to a juicy, spicy Chile verde taco; a decadently deep-fried Baja-style fish taco; or a gloriously porky Carnitas taco? At Tacolicious, the San Francisco Bay Area’s most popular Mexican restaurant, tacos are a way of life. And now, in this hotly anticipated cookbook, co-owner Sara Deseran shares all of the restaurant’s tortilla-wrapped secrets. Whether you’re seeking quick and easy weeknight meals or inspiration for a fabulous fiesta, Tacolicious has you covered. With recipes for showstopping salsas, crave-worthy snacks, cocktails and mocktails, and, of course, tacos galore, this festive collection is chock-full of real Mexican flavor—with a delicious California twist.

Sara Deseran is the co-owner of Tacolicious with her husband, Joe Hargrave, and the editor-at-large at San Francisco magazine. A longtime food writer and author of three previous cookbooks, Deseran lives with Hargrave and their kids in San Francisco.

Joe Hargrave has been working in Bay Area restaurants since the 1990s, first as the head of operations at Restaurant Lulu, Rose Pistola, Azie, and Frisson; then as the owner of Laïola, which he closed in 2009 to make way for Tacolicious.

Antelmo Faria is the executive chef of Tacolicious.

Mike Barrow is the restaurant’s COO and former beverage director.

Tacolicious has five locations in the San Francisco Bay area. Visit www.tacolicious.com.

Gracias
Introduction
How to cook from this book

Salsas, Pickles + More    
Roasted tomato–mint salsa  
Tomatillo-avocado salsa   
Just-hot-enough habanero salsa   
Lazy salsa, two ways   
Smoky chipotle–tomatillo salsa   
Grilled tomato–habanero salsa  
Guajillo chile salsa  
The legendary orange sauce  
Cal-Mex corn salsa with tomatoes and basil  
Cumin-lime crema   
El Jefe’s glove-box recado   
Tamarind-habanero glaze  
Pickled red onions   
Pickled cauliflower, carrots, and jalapeños   
Lime-cured cucumber, habanero, and onion   


Snacks + Sides     
Mexican party mix   
Chile con queso   
Classic guacamole  
Melon, mango, and cucumber with chile, salt, and lime   
Grilled corn on the cob with glove-box recado   
Donnie’s halibut crudo with citrus and capers   
A summer’s night shrimp cocktail  
Aquachile with avocado and cucumber  
Shrimp cakes with corn-basil salsa  
The ultimate torta 
Tuna tostadas, Contramar style   
Cheater’s panucho   
Quesadillas with squash blossoms, sweet peppers, and goat cheese   
Flaky potato-and-greens empanadas with salsa verde   
Ms. Reyes’s most awesome tamales   
Albóndigas in tomato-chipotle sauce   
Spicy tamarind-glazed pork ribs with jicama salad  
La hamburguesa, DF style   
Bacon-wrapped hot dogs with jalapeño-cucumber relish  
Rice-o-licious   
Not really refried beans   
Frijoles borrachos   
Cebollitas  


Tacos, Tacos + Tacos    
Guajillo-braised beef short rib taco   
Telmo’s taco de lengua   
Potato and homemade chorizo taco   
Everything you need to know about corn tortillas   
Three-chile bistec adobado taco with cebollitas   
Old-school taco   
Birria de chivo taco   
Lamb adobo taco with spices and orange   
Off-the-spit pork al pastor taco   
Carnitas taco   
Cochinita pibil taco   
Mama Virginia’s chile verde taco   
Shot-and-a-beer braised chicken taco   
Spring booty taco  
Tangy achiote-rubbed grilled chicken taco  
Baja-style fish taco   
Puerto Nuevo–style lobster taco   
Lone Star breakfast taco   
Butternut squash, kale, and crunchy pepitas taco   
Nopal, egg, and tomato taco   
La Taquiza   
Twenty 20-minute (max) tacos del día  


Cocktails, Aguas Frescas + More    
Syrups, salts, and infusions  
 
Agave syrup  
Cinnamon-and-chile agave syrup   
Pink peppercorn salt   
Chile salt   
Toasted-coconut salt   
Chile vinegar   
Apple-ginger cocktail salsa   
Cucumber juice   
Hibiscus tea   

Infused tequilas   
Habanero-infused tequila   
Pineapple-infused tequila   

Cocktails   
The Tacolicious margarita   
Margarita picante   
Paloma 
Pasión   
Lolita squeeze   
Mucho gusto  
If Honey could drink   
La siesta   
Mexican traitor   
Flor de Jamaica  
El sangre   
Michelada   
Bucanero   
Sangrita    
Bloody Maria  
Tequila: the CliffsNotes   

Agua frescas and other G-rated drinks   
Cantaloupe-ginger agua fresca   
Cucumber-mint agua fresca   
Mango agua fresca   
Pineapple-coconut agua fresca   
Kiwi agua fresca   
White nectarine–blueberry agua fresca   
Homemade  horchata   
Mia  
Silas   
Moss  

Ingredients glossary  
Mail-order sources  
Restaurants we love  
Index