Truly Cheap Eats: Tacombi @ Fonda Nolita

Taking a lunch break in the midst of my crazy week (why does everything happen all at once?!), I fondly remembered Sunday night's quiet, chilled out dinner at Tacombi @ Fonda Nolita on Elizabeth Street. I'd walked by the extraordinarily inviting space a few times, and been dying to try the place. Turned out it was the perfect place to hang out on an absolutely frigid January evening.

As we entered, I got my first good look at the place, and it was as of some moment of midwinter magic had happened. The colorful, open space seems as if it was ripped from a small Mexican beach town: metal folding tables, hanging lights, hand-painted signs, and unfinished walls, with a kitchen in the back and Tacombi's VW van taco truck parked smack in the middle. 

And then we tried the tacos ($4 each), and we were in heaven. I went for the pork, followed by the black bean and cactus (Nancy's chicken molé looked pretty great, too). Each pile of goodness is served on two little tortillas, and as there's so much filling you basically end up making two tiny-but-satisfying tacos from each. The flavors were well-balanced yet rich, and everything seemed really fresh. And FYI, the hot sauce on the tables packs some serious heat (and if I'm saying that, it's HOT), but washing it down with the hibiscus iced tea made everything all good again (they also have horchata, which is definitely on my list to try next time I pop in).

Tacombi also serves breakfast burritos all day long, and if the pile of prettily-painted coffee cups says anything, I bet it's a great place for an inexpensive brunch.


Tacombi @ Fonda Nolita, 267 Elizabeth Street south of Houston.