A first taste of Pata Roja, Downtown's newest taqueria

Keith Pandolfi, Cincinnati Enquirer
·3 min read
Tacos at Pata Roja, a new taqueria on Court Street, Downtown
Tacos at Pata Roja, a new taqueria on Court Street, Downtown

At 2 p.m. on its first full day of operation, Pata Roja was packed with customers feasting on tacos, tortilla chips and tortas then washing them down with ice-cold glass bottles of Mexican Coke.

Arriving for lunch, I ran into Kayla Robison, the local celebrity chef who is serving as a consultant to owner Derrick Braziel as he tries to recreate the magic of his former food truck behind Pendleton's Bar Saeso. The new brick-and-mortar location is now open on a newly remodeled Court Street. So far, so good.

Within its white tile and red-mortared walls, the dining room feels like an authentic – albeit slightly polished – example of the kind of taquerias you see throughout Mexico and parts of Southern California. Reds memorabilia can be seen throughout – Braziel, an avid fan, named the restaurant Pata Roja because it roughly translates to "red paw."

The menu is printed on white poster boards with colorful artwork, all of them attached to a portion of chain-link fence above the counter. As I stood in line waiting to order, I couldn't help but think that it had already delivered a kind of weekday energy to Court Street that you don't often find in Greater Cincinnati.

Derrick Braziel, the owner of Pata Roja Taqueria on Court Street, Downtown.
Derrick Braziel, the owner of Pata Roja Taqueria on Court Street, Downtown.

That might be music to the ears of the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp., which leased the property to Braziel as part of its ongoing $5.5 million revitalization of Court Street Plaza that's coming to fruition with the taqueria's opening – as well as the recent openings of Court Street Kitchen, Onolicious Hawaii and Hideki Haruda's new Japanese-style grab-and-go spot, Daruma, which is scheduled to open this week.

A first taste of the Pata Roja menu

I went with three tacos for my inaugural order: an al pastor (Braziel is known for perfecting his recipe at taquerias in Mexico), a birria (his is made with braised beef, instead of the traditional goat), and a Campechano (Braziel's riff on a classic Mexico City street taco, this one filled with chorizo, pork shoulder and brisket with added texture provided by ground chicharrones). The tacos are wrapped in blistered corn tortillas that aren't made in-house but sure taste like they are. Tacos are priced between $4.50 and $6 (or three for $14) and a sweet potato taco provides at least one vegetarian option.

The loaded torta (left) and tacos from Pata Roja, on Court Street, Downtown.
The loaded torta (left) and tacos from Pata Roja, on Court Street, Downtown.

On Robison's recommendation, I also tried the "loaded torta." You can find good tortas at several Mexican restaurants around town, most notably La Torta Loca, in Florence. Pata Roja's are made with hollowed-out baguettes from Tribeca Oven, in New York, so they aren't what you would call "authentic," but after trying one, I doubt anyone will complain. The sandwich is filled with the protein of your choice (I went with chicken), black bean puree, guacamole, pico de gallo, cilantro and cheese. It's one of those perfectly constructed and balanced sandwiches that I could eat just about every day, and I'm already craving another one.

52 E. Court St., Downtown, patarojatacos.com, 11-8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: A first taste of Pata Roja, Cincinnati's newest taqueria