Most likely, whenever you’re craving Mexican, you end up at the same two or three spots. As it turns out, there’s a reason they’re your go-tos: All nine of these local faves are interconnected through strong, local families that who maintained a huge influence on the city’s Mexican restaurant scene, taking “keeping it in the family” to a whole new level.
IBARRA
El Rodeo Est. 2000 Owners Jose and Joel Ibarra Some people might think El Rodeo is a chain, but the Mexican mainstay is actually a local family affair. It all started with the first El Rodeo location in Durham (nee 1989, but closed after 32 years of business in 2021), eventually expanding to three other locations in the Triangle, including the remaining uber-popular City Market spot. elrodeonc.com
Jose and Sons Est. 2013 Owners Charlie and Hector Ibarra with Oscar Diaz Here, Ibarra brothers and chef Oscar Diaz celebrate their forefathers’ Mexican roots in the form of traditional Mexican comfort food fused with Southern influences. Originally located in The Depot in DTR, Jose and Sons moved to their father Jose’s (hence the resto name) former El Rodeo location on Pleasant Valley Road in 2020, continuing the family’s then-25-year legacy in the building. joseandsons.com
Chido Taco Est. 2019 Owners Salvador Alvarez and Joel Ibarra Despite the fact that Chido is the first fast-casual sup spot for co-owner Alvarez, it doesn’t skimp on flavor—especially when it comes to fan-fave quesabirria tacos, served with a steamy, flavorful broth you’ll want to drink by the cupful. Also not to be missed are the extravagant margs, served in all sorts of color and flavor combos that always hit the spot. chidotaco.com
La Rancherita Est. 2015 Owners Salvador Alvarez and Joel Ibarra You can’t go wrong with anything on La Rancherita’s extensive (five-page!) menu, which this duo (who also own Viva Mexican Kitchen in Morrisville) managed to pack with a diverse range of Mexicellent dishes—from tacos and enchiladas to burritos and quesadillas to casual authentic faves like chimichangas. And, luckily, there are four Triangle locations to get your fiesta on. laranchnc.com
La Buena Vida Est. 2022 Owner Salvador Alvarez The newest la familia of Raleigh Mexican hot spots to splash on the scene is just-bowed La Buena Vida (aka “the good life”). Alvarez—who, fun fact, is married to Sanford’s Fonda Lupita owner Biridiana Frausto—says the upscale menu is inspired by dishes from his hometown of Jalisco. (And menu items from the uberpopular Fonda Lupita made the cut as well!) @labuenavida_oficial
SALAMANCA
ANGELA SALAMANCA
Centro Est. 2007 Owner Angela Salamanca Angela Salamanca was just 17 when she immigrated to the U.S. from Colombia to work at her uncle Carlos’ Dos Taquitos restaurant. Later, when Carlos was looking to open a new Dos Taquitos in DTR, he paired up with Angela—only Carlos left the country to get married, and Salamanca was forced to open what was then dubbed Dos Taquitos Centro on her own. Centro slowly evolved into Angela’s own unique venture, a fresh take on Mexican food inspired by her visits to Oaxaca. centroraleigh.com
Gallo Pelón Est. 2015 Owner Angela Salamanca Mezcal lovers flock to this mezcaleria above Centro, which is the state’s first mezcaleria and is stocked with one of the largest selections of mezcals in the Southeast (!). Over 35 mezcals grace the menu—order a round of shots or spring for the mezcal flight (served with grasshopper salt!)—while Colombian- and Mexican-influenced food offerings include mole tostadas, flauta and burritos. gallopelon.com
CARLOS SALAMANCA
Dos Taquitos Est. 1991 Owner Pamela Salamanca An institution on the Raleigh scene for over 30 years, Dos Taquitos was born from the heart of Carlos Salamanca, who traveled frequently to Mexico to learn more about its food and culture before ultimately deciding to open his own Mexican restaurant that channeled that same flavor and spirit. Although relocated from its original location in 2015 by Salamanca’s daughter, Pamela, Dos Taquitos still upholds its signature vibrant, colorful energy (and oh-so-delicious dishes) that make it a Raleigh fave. dostaquitosraleigh.com
GONZA SALAMANCA
Gonza Tacos y Tequila Est. 2011 Owners Gonza Salamanca and Carlos Rodriguez Cousins Rodriguez and Salamanca (the latter is also the brother of Dos Taquitos’ Carlos Salamanca) opened the original Gonza in North Raleigh with only $10,000 to their name—but it didn’t take long for the Latin-style Mexican resto to rack up a plethora of regulars. Now with four Triangle locations, Gonza is a go-to for tacos and tequila. gonzatacosytequila.com
Raleigh, start your engines—er, electric skateboards! Oak City Onewheel’s Oak City Shred Fest—the only head-to-head Onewheel racing event on the East Coast—is coming to town May 13–15 for a stoke-filled weekend of Onewheel (a self-balancing single-wheel electric board-sport) races, live music, camping and much more. Riders from all over the nation will be flocking to Raleigh to compete in the race, which covers two FloatTracks (aka quarter-mile, dirt, triple-track loops) just outside of Downtown. “As a 100% disabled U.S. Air Force veteran, I am so grateful for the medicinal properties of the Onewheel and the Onewheel Community,” says Oak City Shred Fest and Oak City Onewheel Director and President Josh “Supremo” Christensen. “Thanks to the power and capabilities of the Onewheel and Oak City crew, I’m regularly transported to new incredible places, meeting wonderful new people, and discovering new places and possibilities for the future.” More than just Onewheel, the event also allows off-road electric skateboards, unicycles and bikes on the track—or you can ditch the wheels altogether and enjoy brews, food trucks and stand-up paddleboarding at Lakeside Retreats. No matter how you shred it, it’s bound to be a wheelie good weekend. oakcityshredfest.com
Raleigh Wine Shop’s fave spring wine & cheese pairings
Say (wine and) cheese! Spring is in full effect—and as seasons change so, too, do our palates. So we tapped Raleigh Wine Shop co-owner Seth Hoffman for his fave spring wine and cheese pairings that’ll have you feeling anything but bleu this season. And be sure to check out Raleigh Wine Shop’s newly renovated and expanded DTR space for a glass of vino (or one of the new wine-based cocktails!), a class or some bottles to take home. “You’re the wine that I want…” theraleighwineshop.com
Spring = peak sparkling wine season. According to Hoffman, the fresh and zippy acidity of sparkling wine makes it an ideal pairing for rich and creamy cheeses. A Raleigh Wine Shop fave is Crémant de Loire, which is crisp and zesty and pairs marvelously with a camembert-inspired Carolina Moon from Chapel Hill Creamery.
“For fresh, young cheeses like chèvre and other goat’s milk cheese, citrus-driven light white wines work magically,” says Hoffman. A new fave of Raleigh Wine Shop is Hauswein by Stefan Rosner, whose ripe apricot and lemon flavors pair perfectly with the Smokey Mountain Round by Goat Lady Dairy.
If you’re more of a red wine person (yes, it’s acceptable to still drink red wine in the spring), Hoffman recs a dry yet fruity red wine made from the Prieto Picudo grape by Pedro Gonzalez Mittelbrun. He suggests chilling it down for patio sippin’ and pairing it with Campo by Boxcarr Handmade Cheese.
A new one-stop shop is opening in Raleigh’s Mordecai neighborhood from a local restaurant owner.
There are a lot of different meanings of the word “bodega.” For a New Yorker, it means a convenience store on the corner filled with everything from snacks and beverages to toilet paper and laundry detergent—plus notoriously good breakfast sandwiches prepared by the cashier (BEC, please!). For the Latina community, instead of breakfast sandwiches there’s juicy birria tacos. And for Spaniards, a bodega (which translates to “wine shop”) is a spot where you can enjoy a glass of vino and some tapas.
At the new Brookside Bodega in the Shoppes at Brookside, all three of these meanings collide. A project by Irregardless Cafe owner Lee Robinson and his partners Michelle Robinson, Darrell Brown and Jacob Paramo (fun fact: This is Brown and Paramo’s first experience with ownership!), Brookside Bodega will replace the Falafel & Co. location, which also once housed the popular Brookside Market & Pizza.
“[My partners and I] all come from these very different spots, but we all had these same kinds of markets in our neighborhoods,” says Robinson. “The term bodega is fluid.”
Robinson adds that the Brookside Bodega menu will lean more toward New York-style bodega food—think affordable fare like chopped cheese, birria tacos, and finger foods like buffalo cauliflower and avocado toast—plus a rotating cast of entrees. And, of course, a breakfast sandwich will be available all day. Like at Irregardless, a majority of the menu will also be vegetarian-friendly.
“The goal is to be an affordable spot that everyone in that neighborhood—from the $1.5 million homes to the project four blocks away—everyone’s gonna wanna come and hang out,” says Robinson. It’s also his hope that folks will “come in for one but walk out with three,” meaning if you stop in for a beer and/or lunch, you’ll leave with a bottle of wine or a homemade takeout meal to enjoy for dinner later.
On the market side, Brookside Bodega will carry “the 50 most common things you’d expect a convenience store to have”—aka eggs, dairy, toilet paper… plus lots of candy and ice cream for the kiddos at the elementary school down the street. Toilet paper, breakfast sandwiches and wine all under one roof? What more could you want (?!). @brooksidebodega
The future of Raleigh’s real estate market is looking… small? Just a few months after Raleigh City Council approved the use of tiny homes in city limits, Raleigh-based company Nomad Nation announced its plans to build the city’s first tiny home village—aka a “cottage court”—at 708 Rock Quarry Road. A “place to stay for people who love to move” (hence the term nomad), the community will offer flexible housing (think futuristic, open-concept ~500-square-foot tiny homes, as well as a 3,000-square-foot community mansion designed as a co-living space), car sharing and bikes (the community is located right off the greenway trail). “Most people who want to come here to start a job and don’t know where to live, their only options are an expensive Airbnb or an even more expensive short-term lease they have to figure out how to sublease when they find a permanent home,” says Nomad founder and owner—and NC State alum!—Zach Milburn. This tiny home village will give locals who don’t want to be locked into long-term leases and those who are traveling through the area a more flexible and less expensive option. Raleigh will be the home of Nomad’s first tiny home community, but Milburn eventually wants to create a global network so “you can live wherever you want, whenever you want,” he says, adding: “We think Raleigh has the right ingredients to be the first location.” Seconded!nomadnation.co
