People go to great lengths to enjoy good food. They’ll dole out fifty bucks for a slice of rare imported jamón ibérico. Myself? I’ll walk some two-and-a-half kilometres, round trip, with friends under a scorching sun in mid-August for some tacos on a bustling, yet dusty, street in north-eastern Mexico.

Over the last few years, whenever I’ve visited south Texas, my partner and I always made a foray across the Rio Grande River to visit the border city of Matamoros and enjoy the sights and sounds and to savour authentic food in his homeland.

Our destination was Tacos San Francisco in the heart of Matamoros; after easily crossing the border, we hopped onto a bus and were on our way. Since the restaurant is not on a route that’s accessible from the port of entry, we needed to take a brisk walk from the drop off point on Boulevard Manuel Cavazos Lerma. Being the middle of summer, this would be a test of endurance. I fortified myself with a 1.5 litre bottle of water and an umbrella, we began our trek up Calle Dieciseis through a quiet neighbourhood of low-rise cement houses, the occasional small shop, walls lined with colourful flowers and the odd tree.

Unfortunately for me, the blaring sun and the heat radiating off the pavement proved too much for my pale Canadian skin, so we ducked into a 7-11 for a break to use the bathroom and replace my giant bottle with a new one.

About half-an-hour later, we arrived at our destination: Tacos San Francisco. The general rule of thumb of when eating street food in Mexico is to look for a place that’s busy and well attended by locals; this place checks all those boxes. It’s so active, hungry drivers will stop their cars in the middle of the street to place an order to-go. The restaurant may not look like much, but the outdoor stalls had cooks deftly grilling up ingredients needed for a complete meal. Meat and vegetables all simmering in neat little piles on blackened metal cook tops, stacks of tortillas kept warm next to the grills and an endless parade of staff passing assembled tacos to hungry patrons. Sitting outside under the sheet metal awning, we sipped on ice-cold bottles of Mexican Coca Cola, watching the outdoor kitchen hum, waiting for our meal.

When our plates arrived, they can only be described as the best tacos I’ve ever tasted. My order was a quartet of lightly fried corn tortillas with carved up bistec (beef steak), diced onions, grilled onions, sliced avocado, cilantro, and lime juice, served in a white styrofoam tray with a plastic fork for those last remaining morsels. Four tacos may not seem like much, but they hit the spot, satisfying my appetite following an exhausting walk. Judging by everyone else who were happily enjoying their orders confirmed my conclusion. Coupled with the refreshing pop, this was a welcome late lunch.

After an exhausting afternoon in the hot, humid weather, we walked back to Boulevard Manuel Cavazos Lerma for the return trip to Brownsville. It might sound crazy, but my first visit to Tacos San Fransisco was an adventure I won’t soon forget.

Tacos San Francisco is located on Calle Calixto Ayala and is open late into the evening.

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