'Instagrammable tacos': Mexican restaurant with diverse menu opens in Palm Beach County
WELLINGTON — Talkin' Tacos, a fast-casual, South Florida restaurant whose fare is as diverse as birria tacos, pizza and ramen, is opening its first Palm Beach County location in Wellington.
The halal-Mexican eatery opened Friday on the outer shell of the Mall at Wellington Green, on the southwest corner of Forest Hills Boulevard and State Road 7.
Co-founders and best friends Omar Al-Massalkhi and Mohammad Farraj started the business with a food truck in Miami during the COVID-19 pandemic and now own five locations across South Florida. Al-Massalkhi, who used to drive his first food truck to Wellington every week, said they wanted to bring the unusual flavors of their Halal-Mexican menu to the western suburb.
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“We’ve been getting lots of buzz ... of everyone in Palm Beach begging us to come up," Al-Massalkhi said. "We are slowly making our way, starting in Wellington.”
Al-Massalkhi and Farraj hosted a grand opening Friday evening in which the first 100 people got a free taco. First responders got free tacos throughout the grand opening.
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Al-Massalkhi and Farraj, both 27, first met in middle school and have been best friends ever since.
They were both born and raised in Miami but Al-Massalkhi's family is Lebanese and Farraj's from Palestine. Al-Massalkhi started in the food service industry at age 15 as a dishwasher and worked his way up to be a server, restaurant manager and cook.
“If you want to make it in this industry, you need to know the kitchen,” Al-Massalkhi said a chef told him.
When restaurants shut down during the pandemic, Al-Massalkhi and Farraj, who worked as a dentist, decided they would create their own menu to open a food truck. They traveled across Florida and to different places around the country tasting food-truck fare and decided to bring birria tacos to South Florida.
Birria, a traditional dish from Jalisco, Mexico, is a meat stew where the beef is first marinated with spices and then cooked and served with its broth.
The first months after opening Talkin' Tacos were tough, Al-Massalkhi said. The food truck wasn't parked in a busy intersection, and it didn't attract enough people to break even. Then one morning, when they opened the truck, there were 25 people lined up to order.
“We were as confused as can be,” Al-Massalkhi said.
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A local social media influencer had posted a video of their "Instagrammable" dishes that went viral. Ever since then, customers from around South Florida started showing up.
A year later, they opened their first location in Miramar and partnered with their childhood friends Mohamad Al-Massalkhi and Hussein Rakine to grow the business. They now have five stores with additional locations in Brickell, Wynwood and Coral Springs.
“It became more than just a side quest,” said Omar Al-Massalkhi. “It ended up becoming our lives.”
What is on the menu at Talkin Tacos?
The restaurant features a wide selection of tacos, burritos, quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches and ramen. It also offers gluten-free and vegetarian protein options.
Birria everything: Talkin' Tacos cooks its beef birria for six hours before serving it on tacos, inside quesadillas — called "quesabirrias" — stuffed in a grilled cheese sandwich, sprinkled on a pizza or submerged in a bowl of ramen with curly noodles.
Caribbean carne: A savory and sweet dish, it is marinated steak topped with sliced plantains, cotija cheese, avocado ranch and cilantro.
Cali burrito: A California-style burrito stuffed with fries, meat, shredded cheese and Takis for an unusual spicy taste.
Desserts: Diners will find fresh churros with toppings such as cookies and creme, dulce de leche and guava and cheese. It also offers cheesecake, tres leches (a sweet, wet milk cake) and gummies spiced with tajin and chamoy, a Mexican treat.
Drinks: Customers can sip on a glass bottle of Coca-Cola from Mexico or Jarritos, a fruit-flavored soda, or "Mangonada," a mango lemonade.
Lack of casual restaurants brings Talkin Tacos to Wellington
Al-Massalkhi was the one who proposed making Wellington the home of their first location in Palm Beach County.
He used to drive his first food truck to the village once a week years ago and knew Talkin' Tacos would be a hit. Al-Massalkhi said the village lacks a wide offering of casual food joints and he wanted to introduce the concept of halal-Mexican cuisine to the area.
“We could offer something unique and different from Miami,” said Al-Massalkhi.
Three years since Al-Massalkhi and Farraj first opened the food truck, the duo said they are already working on opening stores across Florida with hopes of turning Talkin' Tacos into a national brand.
For Al-Massalkhi, the best part has been able to grow the business with his childhood friends.
“All four of us grew up together,” Al-Massalkhi said. “To see it start from basically nothing to being this big is a blessing.
"We want to continue to grow our baby.”
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Talkin' Tacos restaurant in Wellington
Located: 10140 Forest Hill Blvd., Wellington
Opening date: July 14, 2023
More information: Visit Talkin' Tacos website.
Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Loxahatchee and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on Twitter at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: South Florida's Talkin' Taco brings birria, pizza to Palm Beach County
