Phoenix’s newest taqueria takes the high road with superb salsas and terrific tacos.
With taco shops sprouting up across the Valley at a breakneck pace, can we squeeze in one more? Enter Urban Taco, a recently opened Mexi-pub in North Central Phoenix that distinguishes itself by serving a slew of house-made salsas to enhance its crowd-pleasing designer tacos and burritos.
Run by Timothy Perkins, former owner of the shuttered Timothy Michael’s Hideaway, Urban Taco occupies the former Europa Pastry Café location. Perkins has transformed the strip mall space into a casual but chic eatery, spruced up with wooden tables and chairs, a 12-seat bar, red brick walls adorned with knickknacks and a few oil paintings.
Per the name, tacos take center stage, categorized as “gourmet” or “street,” both served on corn tortillas. But it’s the bounty of salsas that gives Urban Taco its real zest, from the expected pico de gallo to exotics like roasted corn and garlic crema. There’s a refreshing cucumber salsa; one made with green chile and cilantro aioli; another with habanero, roasted tomato and poblano. Chimichurri and chipotle, avocado and garlic crema… well, you get the picture. A ton of salsas. (It makes up for the lackluster chips, which surprisingly aren’t made in-house.) Each lip-smacking sauce is better than the next, so you’ll probably want to go back and sample all nine. Order a flight of five salsas with chips ($4.50) or a flight of three with chips ($3.50).
Gourmet tacos can be ordered à la carte ($4.75) or as a two-taco plate with rice and beans ($10.75) and a choice of one salsa. I tried the costilla, a happy marriage of tender shredded short rib meat, grilled onions, poblano, tomatoes, green chile and cilantro aioli, avocado crema and queso fresco; and a vegetable taco layered with sautéed spinach, grilled onions, chunks of fresh tomato, mushrooms, Oaxaca cheese and roasted corn crema. The vegetable taco’s combination of flavors is so divine that even the most die-hard carnivore might agree that this is the most head-turning dish on the menu. The tacos are generous, but the accompanying portion of rice and beans is a tad meager. Also available: crunchy battered shrimp, braised pork, pork belly, octopus and chicken options.
The smaller street tacos come three to an order with rice and beans and a choice of salsa ($9.25) or $2.50 à la carte. Burritos can be ordered the traditional way or as a “bowl,” with no tortilla. I sampled the wrapped pork verde burrito ($9.50), stuffed with tender pulled pork, grilled onions, black beans and rice; and a pork belly and potato burrito bowl ($9.50), both flavorful and filling. The chopped salad (chicken, $9.75 or shrimp, $10.50) is a beautifully composed, heaping plate of mixed greens, chicken or shrimp, corn, tomatoes, avocado and a couple of cheeses.
Urban Taco features a small selection of beer and wine as well as a well-curated smattering of cocktails, including handcrafted “classic” margaritas ($6).
Are there too many taco eateries crowding the Valley dining landscape? Maybe so, but Urban Taco’s sassy salsas, easy neighborhood vibe and friendly service will charm any urbanite in search of taco nirvana.
DETAILS
Urban Taco
Cuisine: Mexican
Contact: 6522 N. 16th St., Phoenix, 602-368-2708, urbantacos.net
Hours: 11 a.m.- 9 p.m. Monday-Wednesday; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Thursday-Saturday
Highlights: Gourmet vegetable taco ($4.75); pork verde burrito ($9.50); flight of five salsas ($4.50)
