Chef Carlos Salgado made a name for himself and for the Orange County food scene with his elevated, Mexican-inspired tasting menu at Taco María. Chef Salgado started cooking out of a food truck before opening his Costa Mesa restaurant, where he uses a combination of Californian and Mexican ingredients. He nixtamalizes blue corn in house to make his tortillas, which serve as the base of a lot of his dishes. Taco María serves food a la carte during weekend lunches and on Tuesday evenings, otherwise only the tasting menu is offered. We tried the a la carte menu, and particularly loved the blue corn quesadilla with mushrooms, Oaxacan cheese, and epazote cream, and the fried black cod tacos with charred scallion aioli, grapes, and cabbage. We can’t wait to try the tasting menu on our next visit!
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