New MS Coast brewery has killer street tacos inspired by grandma’s recipe from Mexico
One of the newest breweries on the Coast has a great beer selection and even better deck, but they’re also making authentic street tacos on the weekend you don’t want to miss.
Nolan Keith’s Lost Spring Brewing Company has been open in Ocean Springs for about six months and is already making a name for itself.
Lost Spring is small but has a full bar with inside and outside seating. The deck — in my opinion — is by far the coolest on the Coast, with a high ceiling, ivy covered walls, and comfortable chairs and couches. It is hands down the place to hang out with friends and enjoy a pleasant early summer evening.
Nolan is known for crafting amazing beer, and offers eight of them at Lost Spring, which are all brewed on site. Four are seasonal and four are standards. The most popular are the 1699 Pale Ale and the Mississippi Hippy, an IPA. Nolan started brewing beer 10 years ago, even before he enrolled in the University of Colorado and earned degrees in fermentation, food science and business. He has never been one to be satisfied with mediocrity, and his lineup of beer shows it.
So, how does it get better than this? Nolan is a lover of Mexican street tacos and couldn’t find one on the Coast that met his standards.
He developed four taco recipes that are going to blow you away. These recipes have nothing at all to do with the fried ground beef and packages seasoning most places opt for. Here’s an example: the Birria, made with chuck roast that is cubed, seasoned with peppers, tomatoes, red onion and garlic and braised low and slow in a house made porter and beef broth. The result, served on corn tortillas with a killer good homemade hot sauce and salsa, is simply amazing.
The Pibil, a pork taco, is chef Martin Diaze’s grandmother’s recipe (he is from Mexico, by way of Chicago) and is another long-braised recipe, as is the Chicken Tinga. All of the tacos are so good that it is hard to pick a favorite, but I especially loved the carne asada. It’s made with skirt steak, in a house made marinade, onion, lime, garlic and the meat is prepared sous vide style for three hours until it is falling apart tender and amazingly flavorful.
For now, the tacos are only available Friday and Saturday. But Nolan said the menu and hours to expand soon. They are already so popular, Nolan starts with 20-30 pounds of chicken, pork and beef every Thursday, just to satisfy the demand for Friday and Saturday.
I am a huge fan of good tacos and Nolan’s recipes have opened my eyes to how they are supposed to be made. Stop by for a cold beer and enjoy the best tacos around.
Lost Spring Brewery: Address, hours, more
Location: 700 Bellande Ave., Ocean Springs
Hours: Monday and Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 12 p.m. to 12 a.m., and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Phone: 228-215-3238
