More tacos! Fort Worth to get Bartaco’s first Texas location

You may have seen stories floating around about a petition to Make Tacos the National Food of Texas! Aside from the fact that Texas is not, currently anyway, a nation, the Austin dude who started this petition may have a point.

Think barbecue should be the state food? We understand. Have you noticed how many more taco joints are out there, though? (Some of them even put brisket on their tacos!). When we did out great DFW taco trek recently, we tried tacos at more than 20 places, from fast-food joints to the relatively pricey Revolver Taco Lounge, and we barely scratched the surface of the North Texas taco scene.

But there’s always room for more tacos, right? Entering that scene, Trademark Property Co. announced Thursday, will be Bartaco, which will be in WestBend, Trademark’s mixed-use development along the Trinity River. This will be the Texas debut for Bartaco, run by the slightly confusingly named Barteca Restaurant Group. According to a release, it will offer “inventive tacos, cocktails, and more in a 4,853-square-foot space overlooking the Trinity River.”

Bartaco’s roots are in New York state, but Jeff Carcara, CEO of Barteca Restaurant Group, says in the Trademark release that he has lived in the Fort Worth area for the past four years. ““We’ve spent a lot of time in the neighborhood,” he says in the release. “While there are a lot of great taco places around, we believe we bring something a little different to the table.”

And somehow, unless we’re forgetting something, they’ve managed to find a spot where you have to drive at least a mile to get to another high-profile taco spot.

The restaurant will be next to HG Sply Co., the buzzworthy WestBend restaurant. According to Bartaco’s website, “bartaco is inspired by the beach culture of Brazil, Uruguay and Southern California.” According to the Trademark Property release, “The cuisine is rooted in tradition and pulls from a broad palate of spicy, bold flavors from the Mediterranean, Asia and beyond.” Sounds pretty global to us.

Tacos range from the expected (baja fish, pork pastor) to the sorta-kinda offbeat (falafel, sesame rib eye, duck). They’re street-stylem $2.50-$3.50 depending on the filling. Texans used to complimentary chips and salsa might raise they’re eyebrows at the $3 chips and salsa verde on the “not tacos” part of the menu, which also includes a mushroom mole tamale, plantains and pork posole among other items (this is all based on an online menu). Bowls and rotisserie chicken are also available.

Desserts catch our eye: Among them are a spiced chocolate pudding with crunchy hazelnut topping ($5), Key lime pie in a jar ($6) and four flavors of gelato ($3.50 apiece).

Bartaco has locations in Florida, Connecticut, Georgua, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. ““Bartaco’s concept has been wildly successful at its other locations, and its relaxing, inviting vibe is one that we feel confident Fort Worth will embrace enthusiastically,” Terry Montesi, CEO, Trademark Property Co., says in the release.

For more information, visit bartaco.com or check out #bartacolife on Instagram and Twitter.

This story was originally published February 23, 2017 at 3:45 PM with the headline "More tacos! Fort Worth to get Bartaco’s first Texas location."