The restaurant:  The best way to get to know Charlotte as a whole is to cruise its neighborhoods with wide eyes, an open mind, and an empty stomach. If you find yourself looking to explore a new part of the city, head west on Albemarle Road. Just before you cross over W.T. Harris Boulevard, look right, and you’ll see the bold red letters of the Taqueria Express sign. Pull into the parking lot immediately and head inside. If you’re in a rush, you can order tacos to go in the little room at the front door. If not, follow the server into the dining area. With any luck your meal will be bathed in the soothing vocals of Selena. (And no, I don’t mean Selena Gomez.)

The cuisine: Jonathan Gold, one of my favorite food writers, once said: “My theory is that taco eating is … it’s almost a verb. Taco should be a verb. The tortilla’s hot. The meat’s hot. They combine. The sauce is sloshed on it. And then you’re almost eating it in one continuous motion, from the way it comes from the grill, to the guy, to the counter.” He’s right. Predating the Spanish conquista of Mexico, tortillas have been stuffed with yummy edibles for millenia. Even Hernán Cortés, the great plunderer and murderer of the Aztecs, enjoyed them at a feast thrown for him in Coyoacan on the outskirts of the awe-inspiring Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. Since then, they have become a perennial favorite across the planet because tortillas are an ideal canvas for any culinary creation. Stiff enough to hold up under an avalanche of toppings, yet soft enough to yield to a hungry mouth, tacos live or die based on their tortillas. 

Our must order: With tacos, the old ways are often the best ways. If you like to pile high tortillas with all kinds of condiments, vegetables, and less traditional proteins, go right ahead. But for me, cilantro, onions, a squirt of lime, and a good homemade salsa on top of pork or beef that has been cooked crispy on a grill top, or turned slowly on a spit, will never disappoint. At Taqueria Express, the tortillas are made in house and you can taste the extra effort. Warm, with a slight shimmer of oil and sprinkle of salt that accentuates the aromatic perfume of roasted corn, these tortillas are substantial enough to stay intact as you devour them. Protein must-orders are the tripa, campechano, al pastor, and lengua. To top off your tacos, ask for nopales — cooked and pickled cactus — for an extra kick of earthy flavor.

Why we go: Charlotte’s new Major League Soccer team will be building its headquarters on the concrete expanse that was once Eastland Mall. This news was greeted with enthusiastic cheers by most. I’m happy, too, though I cringe when I hear the word “revitalize” used in conjunction with a neighborhood that already has a lively and culturally-rich community. I worry that once the headquarters are built, the neighborhood’s rent and property taxes will go through the roof, forcing the dozens of excellent Latino, Middle Eastern, and Asian restaurants and grocery stores in that area to close or move even farther out from the city center. Taqueria Express isn’t too far from that Eastland site. It would be a shame to see it close its doors. How to prevent that? Eat more of some of the city’s best tacos. —Travis Mullis

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