Thursday, May 16, 2024 9:18PMThe first Mexican taco stand ever to get a coveted star from the French dining guide is Mexico City's tiny, 10-foot by 10-foot, Tacos El Califa de León.Newly minted Michelin-starred chef Arturo Rivera Martínez stood over an insanely hot grill Wednesday at the first Mexican taco stand ever to get a coveted star from the French dining guide, and did exactly the same thing he's been doing for 20 years: searing meat.
It's actually more complicated than that. El Califa de León is the only taco stand among the 16 Mexican restaurants given one star, as well as two eateries that got two stars. Almost all the rest are pretty darn posh eateries . Thousands of times a day, Rivera Martínez grabs a fresh, thinly sliced filet of beef from a stack and slaps it on the super-hot steel grill; it sizzles violently.
Not that you really would want to eat inside the tiny taco restaurant. The heat on a spring day is overwhelming. Muñoz's son, Alan, who was waiting for a beef taco alongside his father, noted "this is a historic day for Mexican cuisine, and we're witnesses to it."