The Best Pork Taco (left) and Carnitas Taco (right) at Yeah Yeah Taco // Photo by James Norton
Bite of the Week is a weekly feature showcasing an exceptional meal or dish, curated by The Growler. We’d like to thank Hop & Barrel Brewing for their underwriting support.
Some of the most enjoyable tacos in town are produced by one of the most intriguing business groups around. The three-person team behind the insurgently weird and excellent Zettas (read our Bite of the Week about their Number Six sandwich) has created a new taco-based business by bringing in a couple new partners and slinging their Mexican-inspired fare out of the same small kitchen as Zetta’s, at 24th and Nicollet in Minneapolis.
Yeah Yeah Taco dishes up bowls, burritos, and tacos in four basic varieties: carnitas, elote and sweet potato, salsa macha chicken, and “best pork.” The carnitas ($3.50) are classic and nicely executed, but the menu really shines with the Best Pork Taco ($4). It brings slow-cooked pork shoulder together with queso fresco, a sweet and savory bacon glaze, and delicate rings of green onion. And while on the grand hierarchy of tacos it may not dethrone a pitch-perfect al pastor from La Hacienda or a lengua from Cuco’s, it truly is a tasty taco. The sweetness of the bacon glaze is offset by a savory saltiness from the meat, and the scallions cut the richness with a bright hit of greenery just when you need it most. Like any good taco, this thing disappears in a flash—you take that experimental first bite, you commit, and then seconds later it’s gone, leaving nothing behind but happiness.
The Dish: Best Pork Taco, $4
The Place: Yeah Yeah Taco, 2424 Nicollet Ave. South, Minneapolis
The Reason: A novel flavor profile with a sweet-meets-meat-meets-allium thing going on makes this a pleasant curiosity for taco fans.
Best Pork Taco at Yeah Yeah Taco // Photo by James Norton
Hop & Barrel Brewing Co., located in downtown Hudson, Wisconsin, takes a modern approach to classic beers. Hop & Barrel is best known for its clean and classic Minnesconsin Helles, its wide variety of IPAs, and the innovative brewing behind its true-to-flavor Lemon Breaker Shandy and Paul & Babe’s Breakfast Ale. Regardless of your taste, Hop & Barrel brews a little something for everyone!
