Tacos El Franc, a MICHELIN Guide taquería beloved in Tijuana since it first sprang up there as a street cart more than 50 years ago, is set to expand into the United States for the first time later this month.
The new location – a roomy space with seats for 200 just across the border in San Diego – will be “practically a clone” of its Mexican counterpart, an owner of the business, Roberto Kelly, said in an interview, down to the glossy blue and white tiles and charcoal-powered grill.
“No one’s been able to bring over the Tijuana taco with the same flavor and the same quality, in my opinion,” Kelly says. “It’s a very big responsibility.”
With its arrival in the United States, we decided to take another look at the Mexican original.
Started by Javier Valadez in 1974, the restaurant has grown into a brick and mortar landmark, stuffed with counter stools and picnic-style benches that spill out onto the sidewalk to fit the crowds. Its inclusion in The MICHELIN Guide’s inaugural Mexico selection last year felt fated: a tire shop flying MICHELIN signage operates just across the street.
The menu in both countries will be the same: Tijuana-style tacos, so distinguished by their smoky grilled meats and layer of neon avocado sauce. Tortillas are hand-pressed to order, and each type of taco has its own corresponding salsa that’s prepared fresh daily.
There are all of the taco shop standards, including a tour of the cow’s physique: suadero, tripa, cabeza, lengua.
And then there are the standouts: the adobado, a regional variation on pork pastor carved off a massive twirling trompo, and the carne asada, from the finest cuts of top sirloin. Both are best topped with the avocado sauce, a creamy dressing of avocados with lime and slight seasoning, mixed by hand each morning to get the texture just right.
“Many people actually ask for little cups of the avocado on the side so they can keep adding more onto the taco,” Kelly says.
Kelly, who was born in Tijuana and raised between there and the U.S., has been working toward this continental expansion for 20 years, since he first tried one of El Franc’s tacos as a teenager.
“The first time that I tried one, I didn’t understand why we couldn’t have the same thing on the other side of the border,” he says.
A number of additional locations are being finished for openings later this year, including a second in San Diego and others in Los Angeles and Fresno.
As he planned for the San Diego opening, Kelly scrutinized everything from the kitchen construction to the produce to ensure it matched up with the components that had won the restaurant so much acclaim in Mexico.
Specialized equipment was brought in to build an indoor charcoal grill, even as a gas-powered griddle was the norm. Meat suppliers were run through a rigorous inspection process.
“It didn’t seem fair to our longtime, loyal fans to come and offer an inferior product here,” Kelly shares.
And just like in Tijuana, success of the new stateside venture will be measured foremost in that customer loyalty, hard-earned over time, he adds.
“Something Don Javier has instilled in me is that success isn't measured by sales. Success is really measured by seeing the same families, the same faces, returning over the years," Kelly says.
All images courtesy of Tacos El Franc
