{"id":315011,"date":"2025-10-19T03:23:24","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T03:23:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/315011\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T03:23:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T03:23:24","slug":"chaos-crowds-and-praise-on-el-califas-first-day-feeding-d-fw-michelin-starred-tacos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/315011\/","title":{"rendered":"Chaos, crowds and praise on El Califa\u2019s first day feeding D-FW Michelin-starred tacos"},"content":{"rendered":"

The visit to Dallas-Fort Worth by the only Michelin-starred<\/a> taquer\u00eda in the world was a mixture of surprises \u2014 and disappointments \u2014 on its first day popping up in University Park.<\/a><\/p>\n

El Califa de Le\u00f3n<\/a>, which hails from Mexico City, is the only taquer\u00eda in the world with a Michelin star. It has now earned the accolade for two consecutive years, and from Oct. 16 to 28, 2025, it is serving its world-famous tacos at a pop-up at 6501 Hillcrest Ave. #130 near Southern Methodist University.<\/p>\n

The opening was scheduled for Oct. 15, but a gas leak delayed the event by one day. And then a lack of inspections by University Park authorities delayed the opening again. <\/p>\n

On Thursday, dozens of people lined up starting at 10:30 a.m. to try what Michelin-starred tacos taste like.<\/p>\n

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First in line was Drew Stephenson, the Michelin man,<\/a> who has visited all 15 Michelin-starred restaurants in Texas.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m here to see what surprises this taco has in store,\u201d Stephenson said. \u201cI\u2019m excited!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Drew<\/p>\n

Drew Stephenson shows of his taco plate at an El Califa de Le\u00f3n taquer\u00eda pop-up, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in University Park. El Califa de Le\u00f3n is located in Mexico City and is the only Michelin-starred taquer\u00eda in the world.<\/p>\n

El\u00edas Valverde II \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

El Califa de Le\u00f3n arrived in North Texas as part of a collaboration with GrinGo<\/a>, a travel and safety app for Americans, which has organized several pop-ups in Arizona and is now entering the Texas market.<\/p>\n

But inside what was formerly restaurant Red Stix, where the tacos would be served, there was no movement. Time passed and the line grew longer and longer as the supposed opening time approached. The El Califa team still hadn\u2019t received the final approvals for its inspection.<\/p>\n

So the team asked their neighbors at D.L. Mack\u2019s<\/a>, a restaurant that makes cracker-crust pizza and items inspired by Chicago neighborhood taverns, for help so they could get started.<\/p>\n

Brian Krupski, founder of GrinGo, had the idea of serving the tacos at the back of D.L. Mack\u2019s, right in front of the back door. The team set up two plastic tables, dressed them with a red tablecloth and placed a traditional Mexican<\/a> doll on them. <\/p>\n

\"Michelin-starred<\/p>\n

Michelin-starred chef Mario Hern\u00e1ndez pictured at an El Califa de Le\u00f3n taquer\u00eda pop-up, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in University Park. El Califa de Le\u00f3n is located in Mexico City and is the only Michelin-starred taquer\u00eda in the world.<\/p>\n

El\u00edas Valverde II \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

Krupski then informed the waiting customers, who now numbered in the dozens, that they would have to move to the back of D.L. Mack\u2019s. And as if Krupski were leading them to the Promised Land, the diners followed him.<\/p>\n

The sun began to beat down on the people waiting patiently. The tacos were taking a long time to come out, and little by little, people began to leave.<\/p>\n

However, there were some who decided to wait to try the famous \u201cgaonera.\u201d This is El Califa de Le\u00f3n\u2019s star taco, a beef fillet taco with a simple lemon and salt marinade, but whose secret lies in the cut of the meat.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinally, after two hours!\u201d said Arturo V\u00e1zquez when he tasted the taco. \u201cI think the best thing about the taco is the salsa. It\u2019s very good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People wait outside to order tacos at an El Califa de Le\u00f3n taquer\u00eda pop-up, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in University Park. El Califa de Le\u00f3n is located in Mexico City and is the only Michelin-starred taquer\u00eda in the world.<\/p>\n

El\u00edas Valverde II \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

After three hours in line, Stephenson received his tacos, and although he said he has tasted better tacos in D-FW, he did like the ones from El Califa.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very simple taco, done really well, but is this the best taco in the world? I don\u2019t think so,\u201d Stephenson said.<\/p>\n

Supervising the preparation of the meat was Mario Hern\u00e1ndez, the owner of El Califa de Le\u00f3n<\/a>, who inherited the business from his father and now proudly bears the Michelin star he first earned in 2024 and reaffirmed in 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was something that changed our lives, not only mine and my family\u2019s, but also my employees\u2019 and my suppliers\u2019. The effect spread,\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cI say it was San Michelin who gave us the star.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chef<\/p>\n

Chef Mario Salda\u00f1a prepares tacos for an El Califa de Le\u00f3n taquer\u00eda pop-up, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in University Park. El Califa de Le\u00f3n is located in Mexico City and is the only Michelin-starred taquer\u00eda in the world.<\/p>\n

El\u00edas Valverde II \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

El Califa de Le\u00f3n is named in honor of Rodolfo Gaona, a Mexican bullfighter who was a friend of Juan Hern\u00e1ndez, Mario\u2019s father, who opened the taquer\u00eda in 1968.<\/p>\n

And the main taco, the \u201cgaonera,\u201d was also named in honor of the bullfighter because, one random day, Hern\u00e1ndez prepared some steaks at Gaona\u2019s house and Gaona praised them highly and encouraged him to offer them for sale.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no secret, there\u2019s no trick to make this taco,\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cThe cut is moistened with lard when cooking, seasoned with salt and a few drops of lemon, and that\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The secret to the cut of the gaonera is the makers aim for the tissue to slip between the teeth when bitten.<\/p>\n

\"Drew<\/p>\n

Drew Stephenson takes a bite of a taco at an El Califa de Le\u00f3n taquer\u00eda pop-up, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in University Park. El Califa de Le\u00f3n is located in Mexico City and is the only Michelin-starred taquer\u00eda in the world.<\/p>\n

El\u00edas Valverde II \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad was a butcher; he was the meat cutter in the butcher shop,\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cFor years that was his trade, and now that legacy is what has brought us to where we are today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Hern\u00e1ndez wants to keep the restaurant\u2019s tradition alive in Mexico City, he also desires to expand to Manhattan soon and possibly to other parts of the United States.<\/p>\n

By the afternoon, service switched back to the original location.<\/p>\n

El Califa de Le\u00f3n\u2019s pop-up will be in University Park until Tuesday, Oct. 28, from 12 to 8 p.m. at 6501 Hillcrest Ave. #130.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The visit to Dallas-Fort Worth by the only Michelin-starred taquer\u00eda in the world was a mixture of surprises…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":315012,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,116804,1596,35347,9065,83453,9733,988,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,48919,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-315011","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-best-restaurants","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-hispanic-dfw","12":"tag-mexican-food","13":"tag-michelin-guide","14":"tag-restaurant-news","15":"tag-restaurants","16":"tag-texas","17":"tag-tx","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-united-states-of-america","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","22":"tag-university-park","23":"tag-us","24":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115398692577625285","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=315011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/315012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=315011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=315011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=315011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}