Crystal Wise
Nopalitos Tacos
One thing I’ve learned in my many culinary travels is that no two tacos are made the same. Some restaurants serve them in hard crunchy shells, that crack as an explosion of ingredients fall on the plate. Others are served in greasy soft tortillas filled with everything from chorizo to heavily seasoned chunks of steak. The taco in essence is a blank canvas that allows the artist to use the food they enjoy as the paint.
And although the concept for this style of food is pretty simple, I know for a fact that North Texans don’t mince words when it comes to this subject. That’s why when one of our own local restaurants gets it right it’s such a big deal. So, when I read the name Don Artemio Mexican Heritage in the November issue of Texas Monthly, I was excited and surprised. In a cover story titled, “The 50 Best Tacos in Texas,” I immediately perused the article to see if there were any names I recognized. And wouldn’t you know it, Don Artemio popped up.
Inspired by traditional northern Mexican cuisine, Don Artemio is overseen by celebrity chef Jaun Ramón Cárdenas. Cárdenas and his staff are constantly trying out different culinary techniques and ingredients to push the boundaries on tradition. For example, the Nopalitos Fritos, which is made with julienned strips of cactus pads deep fried to the consistency of french fries, with a touch of bacon, accompanied with heirloom maiz nixtamal tortillas, that made the list.
And no, this isn’t your typical style of taco either. Instead, this surprisingly gluten free appetizer was said to have, “stolen the heart and stomach” of the articles’ author José R. Ralat.
“Diners are offered tongs to pluck the crispy strings from a pyramid-shaped heap and nestle them into nixtamalized corn tortillas,” Ralat writes. “The environs add a lot to the experience, giving a feel of northern Mexico, with more than 20,000 bricks imported from Saltillo in the dining rooms.”
It's rich that Ralat references the atmosphere in Don Artemio since it's as far away from a typical taqueria as you can get. In fact, Don Artemio is more of a high-end steakhouse and cabrito restaurant, complemented by an exceptional selection of tequila. There's no food cart present, because Don Artemio doesn’t sell street food. Yet, this local fave was mentioned in an article about tacos, which normally conjures images of street vendors filling tortillas with ingredients.
The juxtaposition of this image lies within the menu and architectural design, which is high-end. The cuisine on the menu itself, is created with local ingredients from Fort Worth as well as northeastern Mexico.
Don Artemio was the only restaurant from Fort Worth-proper mentioned in the article with shout outs to Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Que in Grapevine for its Tlaquepaque taco, and Zavala’s Barbecue in Grand Prairie for its Sloppy Jaun Taco. Again, like I said, no two tacos are made the same.
