Enrique Reyes – Memphis Flyer

Ah, tacos. Who doesn’t love ’em? A hard shell or a soft corn or flour tortilla can be the perfect, handheld vessel for any number of fillings. With the simplest of ingredients (black beans, lettuce, tomatoes) to the more unique (lamb, goat), local restaurants are making some damn-good, flavor-packed delights. We’ve asked a few folks to share their favorites. Read on, and you’ll see why every day can be Taco Tuesday in Memphis.

Fried Fish and Shrimp Tacos at Elena’s Taco Shop

Kim Vodicka — poet

This is tough because, though I love the tacos at pretty much any hole-in-the-wall restaurant or busted-ass taco truck on Summer Avenue, I wanna say Elena’s is my fave just because it stands out the most. It’s a totally different thing because it’s beach tacos, but like wow the fried fish and shrimp are excellent, especially if you get decadent and combine the two on one taco.

Jesse Davis

Their tacos remind me of the ones I had on tour in San Diego a few years ago, which were exceptional.

Maybe the best part of the whole thing is they have, like, 17,000 sauces to choose from. Pre-virus, they would set the sauces out on their own little buffet-like setup, and that’s really what made me fall madly in love. I am a fool for some sauce.

Elena’s Taco Shop is at 6105 Summer Avenue; 417-7915

Justin Fox Burks

Juan’s Tacos with Black Beans at Global Café

Justin Fox Burks — cookbook author, food blogger, photographer

There’s no magic tricks, no smoke, and no mirrors involved in this straightforward dish, and with just five ingredients, there’s nowhere to hide. Juan’s Tacos ($8.95 for four vegan tacos) feature perfectly seasoned vegan black beans inside a double layer of super-soft corn tortillas. These stellar tacos are topped with spicy house-made tomatillo salsa, red onion, and fresh cilantro. Ask them to add avocado because … avocado.

Don’t sleep on the fried plantains and a side of rice to round out your meal. If you want something “wow” to wash it all down, you can’t beat The Messy MangoRita (also a Juan specialty), which features a whole dang mango doused in hot sauce as a garnish. And hey, it’s all vegan, too!

I’m the Chubby Vegetarian, and I approve this taco.

Global Café is at 1350 Concourse Avenue, Suite 157; 512-6890

El Mero Taco/Facebook

Fried Chicken Taco at El Mero Taco

Cristina McCarter — owner, City Tasting Tours

My favorite taco is the fried chicken taco from El Mero Taco. It’s the combo of juicy fried chicken and that damn queso with that pop of fresh jalapeño pepper for me. It’s tacos like that that I will randomly crave. You know it’s good if you drive to the ‘Dova for it. But they are in my neighborhood a lot, too. So I’ll grab a six pack of beer while picking up my tacos and brisket quesadilla. Now I want a taco!

El Mero Taco is at 8100 Macon Station #102, Cordova, or elmerotaco.com/foodtruck; 308-1661

Enrique Reyes with the asada taco from La Guadalupana

Asada Taco at La Guadalupana

Enrique Reyes — Mexican wrestling promoter

The asada taco at La Guadalupana Mexican restaurant is Enrique Reyes’ favorite taco when he and his wife go out to eat.

“La Guadalapuna is my favorite restaurant,” says Reyes, who organizes La Lucha Libre wrestling matches in Memphis, as well as makes the colorful masks worn by wrestlers. “The food is so delicious there.”

He likes to eat at home. “My girl cooks for me, but when she doesn’t cook, I go straight to La Guadalupana … once a week, something like that.”

Carne asada, Mexican steak, is his favorite dish there, but if Reyes orders a taco, it’s the asada taco, which is “just steak and onions and cilantro.” He puts guacamole on top, “’cause that makes the difference in the flavor.”

Asked how many he eats at a time, Reyes says, “Really, only four. You order with guacamole, it makes it a little bigger. I don’t eat too much. I’m good with four tacos.”

And Reyes doesn’t use any utensils when he eats tacos. “Just pick it up like a real Mexican. You never eat tacos with a fork.” — Michael Donahue

La Guadalupana is at 4818 Summer Avenue; 685-6857

Colin Butler

Al Pastor Taco at Picosos

Colin Butler — DJ for Big Ass Truck, radio DJ on WYXR at Crosstown Concourse

I’m partial to the tacos al pastor at Picosos. Pastor, I think it means “shepherd’s style.” Basically, they grill that pork on a spit, like gyro meat, and they slice it off. It’s based on lamb shawarma brought by Lebanese immigrants to Mexico. So some of the spices used in al pastor include coriander, hot pepper corns, cumin, chiles, garlic. They marinate the meat in that and then they pile it up on a spit and it rotates and cooks.

They hand-make their own corn tortillas there. And they use double tortillas. They stuff that full of meat, and then use chopped onion, cilantro, and jalapeño, which is typical for street tacos.

Between the homemade tortillas, doubled, the flavor of the meat, and the fresh toppings, to me, they’re the best tacos in town. It comes with your typical red salsa, a badass salsa verde, and more of a smoky, kind of chili-based sauce. They’ll give you all three if you ask for them.

It’s super simple. They’ll give you a small bowl of limes, too. And I always ask for crema, like sour cream but different. I like the way the sour cream contrasts with the more acidic stuff.

Picosos is at 3937 Summer Avenue; 323-7003

Katrina Coleman

Chorizo Taco at Tacos El Gordo

Katrina Coleman — comedian

I haven’t left my house much, lately. Working from home, I depend on my husband to bring treasures from the Outside. One day, he came home with five street tacos from Tacos El Gordo. The beef and chicken were good, but Memphis, THE CHORIZO.

On Madison, the lot of the Marathon has an orange box on wheels. I been sleepin’ on it.

Grilled corn tortillas filled with meat, onions, and cilantro. Served with cucumber and carrot slices that are pickled so lightly, it seems as if they heard of the concept once in a dream. The red chile sauce is good, but the green will light you up like Montag himself decided you were obscene. The sausage inside is perfectly seasoned. Tossed on the grill with the onions, the texture of the tortilla and minimal crisp of the meat makes such a delightful chewing experience that one might consider that no other food has ever been good.

If you haven’t been, I have to say: WAKE UP, SHEEPLE. Treat yourself to the only chorizo ever to be perfect.

Tacos El Gordo is at 1675 Madison Avenue; 801-0936

Bianca Phillips

Black Bean Tacos at Evelyn & Olive

Bianca Phillips — communications coordinator, Crosstown Arts

This year has been a wild one, and if there was ever a time to make sure you’re putting the cleanest, most wholesome food into your body, it’s now. Greasy comfort food may be calling, but whole-food, plant-based options will provide the nutrition you need to keep your immune system strong.

Lucky for you, the black bean tacos at Evelyn & Olive are both healthy and comforting. They’re like the taco equivalent of a grandma hug, which you can’t get right now thanks to social distancing, so accept a hug in the form of a vegan taco instead. Two crispy taco shells are generously stuffed with seasoned black beans, sautéed tofu, crunchy cabbage slaw, and sweet-and-tangy kiwi salsa. They’re served with sides of fluffy Jamaican rice and peas and cool, refreshing cucumber-tomato salad.

Evelyn & Olive is open for dine-in or takeout, and when you order to-go, they thoughtfully package all the taco components separately so you can avoid the dreaded soggy takeout taco. Build your own tacos at home, queue up Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds,” and enjoy with a stiff Jamaican rum punch for maximum comfort effect.

Evelyn & Olive is at 630 Madison Avenue; 748-5422

Julie Ray

Goat Taco at La Guadalupana

Noelia Garcia — associate artistic director at New Ballet Ensemble and School

Happy goats perform dramatic joyous dances to the glee of onlookers — much like the fancy footwork of a Spanish dancer. Perhaps the secret to Noelia Garcia’s dance superpowers is the $2.75 goat taco at La Guadalupana.

Garcia is the associate artistic director at New Ballet Ensemble and School who studied Spanish dance and flamenco at the Institut del Theatre i Dansa de Barcelona. She lived and worked in Spain, performed throughout Europe, in China, Israel, and the Philippines, and was a founding member of Barcelona’s Increpacion Danza company before landing in Memphis nearly 20 years ago. Her favorite taco is a heaping pile of perfectly seasoned goat meat on two soft corn tortillas topped with onions and cilantro. The meat of this beast has the tender juicy texture of a pot roast with a delightful tangy taste.

Try it. Ewe’ll like it. — Julie Ray

La Guadalupana is at 4818 Summer and 8075 Cordova Road; 685-6857

Laura Jean Hocking

Al Pastor Taco at El Burrito Express

Laura Jean Hocking — filmmaker

“For so long, I thought tacos only had hard shells, and had cheese and sour cream in them,” says filmmaker Laura Jean Hocking. “But a street taco, or a food truck taco, is all about the quality of the protein. It’s this little showcase for meat or chicken or fish with accents, instead of gloppy, Americanized crap all over it.”

Hocking’s favorite Memphis taco truck is El Burrito Express. Ubalto Guzman started the business six years ago. “I used to be a contractor,” he says. “We moved from California to Memphis to get into the food business. This is a family business. It’s me and my wife, son, and daughter.”

Laura Jean Hocking

An El Burrito Express taco plate includes five tacos with your choice of meat. Hocking’s favorite is al pastor, marinated pork said to descend from shawarma brought to Mexico by 19th century Lebanese immigrants.

“I like al pastor because I’m a big pineapple fan. I love the subtleness of the pineapple in pastor. It’s very savory and juicy. It’s a new discovery for me. I had never had pastor until we went to L.A. in September 2019. Generally, I’m a pescatarian, but when I run into meat products that are very good, like a Soul Burger or some Bar-B-Q Shop glazed ribs, I’ll have them. Now, pastor is on the list because life is short.” — Chris McCoy

El Burrito Express is at 1675 Madison Avenue; 428-9626

Samuel X. Cicci

Smoked Brisket Taco at Elwood’s Shack

Cara Greenstein — food and lifestyle blogger

Stretching or, as I would argue, elevating the definition of a “taco,” Elwood’s Shack delivers a singular sensation you simply can’t miss on its menu: the smoked brisket taco.

Upon placing in the pizza oven, a single flour tortilla puffs into a pillowy yet crispy foundation for an unconventional combination of delicate field greens (no shredded iceberg to be found here), sliced avocado, pico de gallo, shredded mozzarella, and creamy horseradish. A generous portion of smoked brisket, a perfected in-house recipe that takes center stage across Elwood’s menu, brings this open-faced phenomenon back to its barbecue Memphis roots.

If you ask how many tacos come in an order at the counter, don’t be underwhelmed when they tell you “one.” One taco from the Shack is just right.

Elwood’s Shack is at 4523 Summer Avenue; 761-9898

Jon W. Sparks

Barbacoa Lamb Taco at Tortilleria La Unica

The workers of R.E. Michel Company — HVAC distributors

Tortilleria La Unica recently moved across the street to its new home at 5015 Summer in a one-time Wendy’s. It still has the Mexican fare that made it popular, particularly among the working people out in that area. Among those is the crew at R.E. Michel Company, a distributor of HVAC equipment. One of the bunch is Dave Godbout, a self-described Destroyer of Tacos who is particularly fond of La Unica’s offerings. A recent lunch spread at the warehouse had half a dozen varieties from chicken to beef to lamb to pork.

“It’s a perfect combination of food,” Godbout says. “You’ve got salsa with tomatoes that has lycopene in it. You’ve got cilantro, which is good for detoxifying. You got a little bit of fat, a little bit of protein, a lot of carbs. It’s the perfect street food, and especially in our area, it’s the most readily available food you can get.”

“I love tacos, Americanized, authentic, it doesn’t matter,” says manager James Hoffman. “I didn’t even like cilantro until I got older and now I love it more and more. And we do a lot of business in the Hispanic community and they send us tacos from their local taco truck all the time. Man, this lamb taco is really good!” — Jon W. Sparks

Tortilleria La Unica is at 5015 Summer Avenue; 685-0097

When he’s not stitching up car seats at Reyes Customs, Enrique Reyes is busy stitching up colorful lucha libre Mexican wrestler masks. Reyes, 39, also puts together la lucha libre matches in Memphis.

Lucha libre, which means “free fight,” is the Mexican version of professional wrestling. “It started back in the 1930s,” Reyes says. “The difference is all the Spanish wrestlers use masks, like back in the days of the Aztecs, who also wore masks.”

The Mexican wrestling technique is different from American professional wrestling, Reyes says. “The Mexican wrestlers, they fly a lot. They don’t do like the American wrestlers. They do a lot of high-flying air moves.”

Photographs by Justin Fox Burks

Hijo de Fishman and Blue Angel

During a recent lucha libre event in Hickory Ridge Mall, enthralled members of the audience munched snack bar chicharrones between cheers, as masked wrestlers did back flips off the ropes and front flips off the mat. The obvious favorite was bare-chested Blue Angel, who wore blue tights and a blue mask with wings made by Reyes.

Asked what draws people to lucha libre, the Dallas-based Blue Angel, 30, says, “I believe it’s the pace. The flexibility of the match. The match can be either comedic — jokes and laughs — or it can be fast-paced and serious, very acrobatic. It’s always fun to watch.”

Blue Angel says he has a “very traditional style. I’ve incorporated some of the new-school with strong styles — little flips here, a little flip there — but I always keep it very basic old-school: a little ground work, a little air, a little bit of everything, just to keep it interesting.”

Blue Angel’s father wrestled in Mexico. “He came to the United States and started wrestling under ‘Blue Angel.’ So I grew up going and watching him wrestle with other great wrestlers. I’ve gotten to train with each one of them. And taking the good out of each one just by watching them and practicing with them in my father’s gym. I’ve been on the ring since I was 3 years old. And I think that’s one of the advantages that I have. That really helps me draw the crowd when I wrestle.”

His mask was one of several Reyes has made for him. “I started off with one of the local mask-makers down in Texas. The first time I came out to Memphis, Reyes took a liking to my mask. Then he designed a better mask, added a little of his style to it, and this is the result.”

Blue Angel says he likes the stitching in a Reyes mask. “It fits really well. It hugs my chin really tight. It’s a very clean, well-made mask.”

Reyes’ office and workshop at Reyes Customs — where his work ranges from window tinting to making car upholstery — is a shrine to lucha libre. About 100 masks line shelves on all four walls. Some are masks Reyes has made himself, and others are masks he has collected or been given.

Reyes’ interest in Mexican wrestling began when he was a child in Mexico City, watching lucha libre matches on Saturday morning TV. “The real heroes in those days — you’re talking about El Santo, Blue Demon, Rayo de Jalisco,” he says.

He bought comic books based on his wrestling heroes, but he couldn’t afford to go to live matches, which were a couple of hours from his home. “We didn’t have that type of money to go all the way to watch those types of shows,” Reyes says.

Blue Angel poses with a fan at a recent MLLW event.

His interest in lucha libre was rekindled when he began going to American wrestling matches after he moved to Memphis in 2001. “When I saw this, I said, ‘Damn. I need to start doing something.’ That was my dream when I was a kid — meet one of the big wrestlers like the Mexican luchadores.”

Tattoo, an American wrestler/promoter, helped Reyes get into wrestling promotion, but Atlantis, “one of the legends from Mexico,” was the first luchador Reyes contacted. “I found him on Facebook,” he says.

When Reyes told the wrestler he wanted to start doing some lucha libre shows, Atlantis said he’d come to Memphis to wrestle, but Reyes would have to pay for his flight and hotel room. It cost more than $1,500 to bring Atlantis to Memphis, but he told Reyes, ”You’ll make your money back.” He almost did.

Enrique Reyes is hard at work on a colorful lucha libre mask at his business, Reyes Customs.

Reyes held his first lucha libre event — a match between Atlantis and Tattoo — in November 2013 at Porter Junior High School. Atlantis was the victor at the event, which drew around 300 people. “I didn’t make money,” Reyes says, “but I didn’t lose money.”

His next match, held in May 2015, featured “little people” wrestlers from Mexico, as well as wrestlers from around the country, including Memphis wrestlers Precious and American Gladiator.

Reyes, who spent around $4,000 for his professional wrestling ring, now presents his Memphis Lucha Libre Wrestling (MLLW) events once or twice a year at 3766 Ridgeway Road next to El Mercadito, a Mexican grocery store.

“A lot of people show up to my shows because this is a family show. The kids, they love it. The adults, they already know who it is because they watched it when they were kids.”

He also brings in women lucha libre wrestlers, including Lady Shani, who gave Reyes one of her complete outfits.

Memphis American-style wrestler Dustin Starr has participated in most of Reyes’ events. Starr and his wife, Maria, co-host Championship Wrestling Presented by Pro Shingle at noon on Saturdays on CW30.

Starr enjoys the Mexican style. “It’s different. Faster paced,” he says. “You see a lot of unique offensive and defensive maneuvers. It’s very colorful, especially the masks and the outfits. Those are always over-the-top and elaborate.”

Starr wrestles luchadores when he participates in Reyes’ lucha libre events. The Mexican wrestler usually is the victor, Starr says. “Whatever we do, people boo us like crazy. It’s an interactive crowd. They want to see the luchadores kick our butts. We’ve tagged up a couple of times, but most of the time, I’m the bad guy who wrestles with the good guy luchadores.

“Let me tell you,” he adds, “they can hit you whether you’re in the ring or out of the ring. You never know where they’re going to come from. Literally, nowhere is safe. If you’re in the ring, they’ll dive on top of you. If you’re out of the ring, they’ll dive on top of you. You’re not safe anywhere with those guys. They’re daredevils.”

Reyes began making masks after he asked Atlantis if he could buy his mask during his first MLLW event. “I said, ‘How much do you want for your mask?’ He says, ‘$300.'” The professional masks Atlantis wore sell for hundreds of dollars, but he also wore semi-professional masks. He sold Reyes one of the semi-professional ones for $50. “When I saw the masks, I thought, ‘I can make these,'” says Reyes.

The first mask Reyes made was called the Rey Mysterio Mask, in honor of the wrestler of the same name. Reyes even got Mysterio to sign it for him. Reyes then began getting requests for masks from other wrestlers.

He told Hijo de Fishman, son of the legendary luchador Fishman, who died in 2017, that he’d make a mask for him. “He says, ‘How much will you charge me?’ I said, ‘Nothing. I’ll make one, and you can use it.’ He gave me one of his masks to get the pattern, and I did the mask.”

Reyes says the vinyl green-and-yellow mask he made for Hijo de Fishman is his favorite. It includes gold lamé, which he attached to the mask with shoe glue and fancy stitches made with his sewing machine.

Every mask means something, Reyes says. Hijo de Fishman was “supposed to look like a fish,” which is why Reyes used green and yellow.

A mask featuring a dragon on top was a copy of one worn by El Ultimo Dragon. A pink and purple-ish mask covered with numerals is a copy of one that belongs to a wrestler named El Matematico.

Reyes has made about 30 masks, which he either keeps or sells to mask collectors for about $150. Many of the masks in his collection are ones he bought from luchadores, including Huracan Ramirez and Aguila Solitaria.

Reyes says he doesn’t want to open a mask business because it’s not cost-efficient. “I take maybe 10 hours to make one. You’re talking about another $30, $40 on material. That’s a lot of time and money. That’s why the wrestlers go to Mexico. Because in Mexico they pay like $40, $50 for the full mask.”

Reyes makes masks when he needs a break during his work day. “When I’m stressed, got a lot of things on my mind, I say, ‘Let me do one of these masks.’ Basically, that’s what I do for a hobby.”

He has also made complete outfits for wrestlers, including Starr, who says he “felt like a kid in a candy shop” the first time he saw the masks lining the walls in Reyes’ office.

“The quality of work, all the colors, the designs he makes, they all look really, really good,” Starr says. “So, he exclusively makes my gear now. He’ll do my kick pads, knee pads, jackets, shorts. He puts the designs on, the whole nine yards. And they look great.”

Asked what his mask would look like if he was a Mexican wrestler, Reyes says, “Maybe some Aztec warrior or something like that.”

Reyes’ passion for lucha libre has rubbed off on his 17-year-old son, Luis, who wants to be a wrestler. “He practices because we have a ring at my house,” says Reyes. There’s probably a nice mask or two in his future.

La Lucha Libre: How Mexican Wrestling Came to Memphis