Rock and Roll Tacos rebooting kitchen at LaGrange in Dallas

While the kitchen is undergoing a makeover, the truck will be selling tacos in front of the club.

LaGrange

James Quiñonez is a tireless taquero. One of the founders of the DFW Food Truck Group events coalition, the owner of Rock and Roll Tacos, a printer, the victim of the recent tornadoes that tore through DFW and now restaurateur. Quiñonez is partnering with the owners of Deep Ellum music venue LaGrange to fix what co-owner Stephanie Schumacher said just wasn’t working.

“We were operating at a loss but didn’t want to nix the kitchen,” she told me from across the LaGrange bar, while workers were covering the windows with paper. “So, we began looking for a taco place to come in and revamp the program.”

When Quiñonez, at last Saturday’s Ciclovia de Dallas, mentioned to Schumacher that Rock and Roll Tacos was looking for a kitchen in Deep Ellum, the club owner knew that she had found her taco place.

As Schumacher and I talked, Quiñonez walked into LaGrange and shared more details. He explained that while the kitchen is undergoing a makeover, the truck will be selling tacos in front of the club. He hopes to be serving food out of the LaGrange by early next week. The initial menu will consist of the same selection available from Rock and Roll Tacos now. “But we’ll be tinkering and adding new items, like tostadas and ceviches, until it's a full-service restaurant,” she said.

This is all happening as Quiñonez preps for participation in Dos Equis’ Feast of the Brave food truck promotion. The re-wrapped Rock and Roll Tacos rig will debut Wednesday, April 25. The slate of beastly tacos created by a chef team led by Michael Brown, owner of the LittleVessel Grill truck, will include shark with pineapple salsa and an alligator-iguana combination with pecans. The first stop will be 1910 Main Street at St. Paul Street (Main Street Garden), from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. From there, they’ll move to 177 N. Harwood Street at Ross until 2 p.m.