Previously sited in the South County border town of San Ysidro, Tuetano Taqueria has opened within Old Town Urban Market, bringing its Michelin-recognized birria tacos and tortas to central San Diego.
Chef Priscilla Curiel opened her quaint taco shop Tuetano Taqueria in San Diego's South County border town of San Ysidro just three years ago. A graduate of the culinary program at the Art Institute of San Diego, Chef Curiel was raised to be a restaurateur. She grew up working in all facets of the industry at her family's restaurants on both sides of the border - Talavera Azul in Chula Vista and La Espadaña in Tijuana.
Chef Priscilla closed her San Ysidro location of Tuetano Taqueria last month to relocate the concept to central San Diego within the under-development Old Town Urban Market. Once completed, Old Town Urban Market will be a combined retail area, event space and dining destination. The modern food hall will include a variety of curated boutiques, food vendors, and an onsite wine & beer bar. The outdoor area has been designed to include several large scale murals, including a portrait of Frida Kahlo painted by Guillermo "Memuco" Munro on the wall enclosing the space.
Tuetano Taqueria offers a menu centered around slow-cooked, fall-apart beef birria de res, with the option to add the restaurant's namesake tuetano, or roasted beef bone marrow, to compliment any taco, torta or dish. Expected to unveil in the coming months, Mujer Divina will be a traditional Mexican Coffee Shop offering an array of Mexican-inspired coffee drinks and lattes, including the famous Cafe de Olla cinnamon coffee. There will also be a concise menu of burritos "Hilera-style", the traditional burrito preparation with a fresh flour tortilla folded around slow cooked, stewed meats. Mar Rustica is Curiel's newest concept that will offer Baja-inspired Mexican mariscos, including seafood tacos, seafood cocktails, ceviches, soups and more.
Old Town Urban Market will also house a Barrio Donas: The Missing Hole, which will offer a wide selection of donut holes, as well as other Mexican pastries like conchas and orejas, as well as Oaxacan-style tamales and savory empanadas. There will also be a new branch of Por Vida, an artsy cafe & galería founded in Barrio Logan in 2015 by husband and wife Carolina & Milo Lorenzana. Like the original outpost, the new Por Vida will serve locally roasted, fair trade and organic coffee with a Mexican twist.
