“Where are the best tacos in Naples?” I asked. The bartender leaned in and looked suspiciously from side to side (I did not insert that just for dramatic effect. He actually did it). “Don’t tell anyone I told you,” he followed. “You need to find Oaxacaqueña.” I felt like Indiana Jones being launched on an expedition. At the bar I set about simultaneously googling what I could only guess to be the spelling and wondering why he looked suspicious. I found it. I turned the screen of my phone to show him. “That’s it!”, he said. Pointing at me, he added seriously: “Don’t tell anyone I told you.” Do I need a password to get in, I enquired, laughing. “No.” was his only answer. I suddenly wondered if he had just been dismissive of my jest. Regardless, the name of both bar and barman shall remain untold.
The next day, shortly after noon… hoping to avoid the lunch rush… I set out to find it. A few minutes drive from the Naples Beach Club (which I also learned at the same bar is soon to be torn down) I found it at the end of a strip mall. When you walk in you walk into the side of a silver cooler. A register sits on the right and beyond it a small Mexican grocery. Venture into the back of the narrow store and you will find brightly colored, lacquered tables and the friendliest staff you would ever want to meet.
I told the waitress that I had been told the best tacos in Naples were served here. “They are,” she agreed. She was clearly already a believer. She handed me a menu and offered me an Agua Fresca: Pineapple, passion fruit, or hibiscus tea. I agreed to try the pineapple which turned out to be an excellent choice. This pineapple was no ordinary water. It was sweet enough but not saccharine in nature. The perfect complement for the spice that was to follow. Having had a great horchata at a Mexican restaurant in Anaheim last summer I vowed to learn to make these… look for that post to follow at some point.
As for tacos, the waitress recommended the campechano (steak and chorizo), the pastor (pork), or the lengua (beef tongue). Well, I usually don’t eat much meat, but there was no way I was going to have the tongue. I asked if there were fish tacos and was told that there were not, but learned that there were shrimp tacos that were not on the menu. I settled on one pastor, one campechano, and one shrimp taco with a side of rice. They brought two squeeze bottles of salsa out with them, and the tacos were served with crisp radish and a charred pepper.
As I often do I struck up a conversation with the wait staff, and what followed took me down an unfamiliar cultural path. The staff appeared with another plate. A tortilla, beautiful perfectly ripe avocado, and chapolín…. fried grasshoppers. Cooked in lime. To say that I hesitated would be an understatement, but eventually… I ate the grasshopper, and honestly it was quite delicious. A mix of salt and lime and the perfect balance of crunchy and chewy. It makes me consider what I have done just to see those words on the page. The chapolín are not on the menu yet, but, when they are, you too should take the culinary road less traveled and give them a try.
Regardless of your willingness to up your chapolín game, the tacos here are seriously amazing. Not since I ate at Tacos Navarro in Pueblo Colorado have I had authentic street tacos in homemade tortillas this good. I also learned that there is a sister taqueria Oaxacaqueña in Charlotte, NC. Both the tacos and the people are amazing here. I didn’t want to leave. And if you can’t get enough chapolín, they sell them in the store in the front. While always happy for a new experience, in case you are wondering, I left empty handed, my chapolín quota for the year complete.