Join Modern Luxury and Tres Generaciones Tequila as we highlight Dallas’ diverse restauranteurs, chefs, bartenders and business owners who’ve shown resilience and proven they have What It Takes.
The restaurant business is nothing new to brothers Luis and Javi Villalva, who grew up at their family’s taco shops in Mexico City. They have always dreamed of opening up their own, and after a combined 35 years of experience in the Dallas restaurant scene, they decided to create something the city was missing: a clean, cool place to eat good tacos. “A Taqueria doesn’t have to be in a gas station, with sombreros and Ranchero music,” they share. “We wanted to do something original, not to copy paste a concept that already existed—we looked around and and asked ourselves ‘okay, what is Dallas missing.'” The result was El Come Taco, an East Dallas hotspot opened in 2013 that serves up beautifully simple Mexico City flavors in an attractive, vibrant dining room. Classics like the tacos al pastor come right off the fired up trompo, immediately transporting you to the streets of Mexico, while lengua and cabeza will excite the true street style taco fans. As for the cocktail menu, Javi wanted the cocktails and the food to go together—to be cohesive. You’ll find the flavors of Mexico City in each drink, such as the El Peje, a take on a cucumber margarita with fresh watermelon and Tajín in it. “It’s not about a fancy drink, it’s about representing our culture—in Mexico we eat everything with Tajín and lime, and we enjoy refreshing summer drinks,” he says. “We didn’t open a Mexican restaurant just make money, we opened something that represents us.” You can also visit the brothers Villalva next door at La Viuda Negra, their speakeasy disguised as a bridal boutique, where you can get a lesson in the differences in Oaxacan mezcal while indulging in “the best kind of food you’d only find in the hood in Mexico City.”
EL PEJE
Tequila blanco Tres GENERACIONES® PLATA, cucumber juice, Serrano syrup, orange liqueur, lime juice
TRADICIONAL MARGARITA
Tres GENERACIONES® AÑEJO, orange liqueur, lime juice, agave nectar
ADELA (named after their niece, who was born as they opened Le Come Taco)
Tres GENERACIONES® REPOSADO, Watermelon juice, Punt du mes, lime juice, orange liqueur, simple syrup
Photography by: Tres Generaciones Tequila