A taco to remember
Apparently, there are several Taco Days. Mexico marks it on March 31, while the US celebrates it on the first Tuesday of October—tomorrow, Oct. 6. But I have my own—it was the day I tasted chef Gerardo Gallegos Bautista’s ribeye taco at La Única, my favorite restaurant in Polanco, Mexico City.
Let’s taco about it
I still remember that taco. It was everything I dream a good taco to be—rich, smoky, beefy, and full of flavor yet somehow balanced and light. The meat was quickly seared, then tucked into a freshly made, warm corn tortilla with its bright, flavorful salsas, lots of onions, and cilantro.
It sounds simple enough. In fact, it sounds like any other taco. But it wasn’t.
There was something about the way everything came together—the richness of the beef, the heat of the salsa, the acidity, the freshness of the onions and cilantro.
That, I would later realize, is very much the way Bautista cooks. Everything seems to be done with intention. His gift is the ability to make something so simple taste so complete.
In many ways, that taco is a reflection of Bautista’s entire menu at La Única.
Memories around the grill
I remember him taking me around his kitchen in Polanco—the fire, the smoke, the aromas coming from the grill. And when he later told me about growing up around the fire in Monterrey, I understood exactly what he meant. “My first food memories are with my father,” he shares. “Weekends beside the fire, around the grill.”
In Nuevo León, lighting the charcoal and grilling meat is almost a ritual. The fire gets going, the meat goes on, family and friends gather around. It was simply part of growing up.
I loved hearing about his taco memories. At his grandmother’s house in Anáhuac, he remembers the smell of freshly made flour tortillas coming off the comal. He would eat one while it was still hot, with nothing more than butter.
His father made asado de puerco—cubes of pork cooked in lard and an adobo of guajillo chile, bay leaf, cumin, and spices, eaten with warm corn tortillas. Even the tacos his father made for him to take to school sounded good: refried beans wrapped in flour tortillas.
Then there were the taquerías of his youth—tacos de trompo at Popo’s and steak tacos at El Primo in Monterrey, both of which are still open to this day.
“As a Mexican and a northerner, it’s always a good time for a taco,” he tells me.
Breakfast could be beef barbacoa or tacos de guisado filled with egg, potato, or meat. Later came trompo, carne asada, or steak. “You can have a taco for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It’s Mexican comfort food.”
A good taco
Talking to Bautista made me realize that we sometimes make tacos much more complicated than they need to be. For him, a good taco starts with the tortilla. “You can have an extraordinary filling, but if the tortilla is bad or badly heated, the taco loses its soul,” he says simply.
Being from the north, flour tortillas are Bautista’s go-to. A good one should be soft and flexible, slightly buttery, with little brown freckles from the comal. Meanwhile, a good corn tortilla should smell and taste of corn and puff when heated.
For meat tacos, you need to begin with good meat, fire, a fresh tortilla, and the right salsa. The salsa should never cover the flavor of the meat. It should make it taste better.
Which brought me back to that ribeye taco at La Única. Bautista told me it was inspired by the famous Taco Gaonera of El Califa de León, which he greatly admires. At La Única, they made their own version using ribeye—the king of the grill in northern Mexico.
The ribeye is sliced thinly, quickly seared in beef fat, then laid over a hot corn tortilla. One salsa is fresh and green, made with tomatillos and avocado. The other has more fire—serrano chiles charred over an open flame and finished with lime.
Letting the ingredients speak for themselves
Now, I understand my taco. The richness of the beef, the smoke, the warm tortilla, the heat of the serrano, the acidity of the lime, and the freshness of the onions and cilantro… enhanced with salsas.
Bautista says knowing when to stop comes with experience. If you have a beautiful piece of meat, there is no reason to disguise it. “When a bite tells you the whole story—fire, freshness, memory—and makes you want another without feeling heavy, it is perfect,” he explains. “Anything extra would only get in the way.”
There was the answer to why I had remembered that taco. And there was something else that Bautista intimated that I loved. Food, for him, can be “a little time machine.” The smell of charcoal takes him straight back to Monterrey, to Sundays with his family around the grill. A warm tortilla with carne asada brings back his parents, his friends, and his childhood.
Food does that to all of us. I wish my own little time machine could take me back to La Única in Polanco to savor that ribeye taco once again.
Gerardo Gallegos Bautista’s ribeye tacos
Makes 2 tacos
Chef Bautista generously shared the recipe with us. If only for one meal, let’s cook his ribeye tacos. One bite will transport you to Mexico, with no plane ticket required! Buen provecho. ¡Feliz Día del Taco!
Ingredients
4 thin slices of ribeye, about 35 g each, sliced 2 to 2.5 mm thick
1 Tbsp beef fat or tallow
2 yellow corn tortillas
15 g white onion, finely chopped
10 g cilantro, chopped
Fleur de sel and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp green avocado salsa
2 Tbsp charred serrano salsa
Procedures
1. Heat the tortillas on a very hot comal or griddle until they puff slightly and develop a little color. Keep warm.
2. Heat a griddle or heavy pan over high heat and add the beef fat. Season the ribeye with salt and pepper and sear quickly on both sides.
3. Place two slices of ribeye on each warm tortilla. Top with chopped onion and cilantro. Serve immediately with both salsas.
Green avocado salsa
Makes approximately 200 g
Ingredients
125 g tomatillos, halved
125 g avocado flesh
40 g white onion
25 g serrano chiles, stems removed
18 g cilantro leaves
6 g garlic
4 g fleur de sel
¾ tsp vegetable oil
Procedures
1. Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, serrano chiles, and tomatillos and cook until softened and lightly browned.
2. Transfer to a blender with the avocado and cilantro. Pulse until slightly coarse and season with salt.
Charred serrano salsa
Makes approximately 250 ml
Ingredients
125 g serrano chiles, stems removed
125 ml freshly squeezed lime juice
50 ml Maggi liquid seasoning
13 g lemon pepper
3 g fine salt
Procedures
1. Char the serrano chiles directly over an open flame until blistered and blackened. Let cool.
2. Blend with the Maggi seasoning, lemon pepper, and salt until smooth.
3. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the lime juice.
