Where to Naco Taco, a Central Square taqueria from chef Michael Scelfo of Alden & Harlow.
What for Newfangled takes on traditional Mexican fare, in a setting that feels more like Austin than Boston.
The scene Inside, customers cluster at tables and the horseshoe-shape bar. A mural featuring bright colors and disembodied heads adorns one wall, and exposed ductwork snakes overhead. But the real party is outside, on the crowded three-season patio, where women cling to heat lamps like long-lost friends. A motorbike team pulls up, stashing helmets beneath a table. Inside a blue and orange trailer on premises, cooks prepare tacos and tortas. The sun sets, and a family of three generations — college kids, parents, and grandparents — drinks canned beer together beneath the twinkling lights.
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What you’re eating Snack on chips and a selection of unusual salsas — grilled carrot, burnt pineapple, roasted beet and chipotle. Tacos are filled with anything from crisp chicken thighs with fermented kale to fried smelts with cabbage and avocado-tomatillo crema. Tortas, Mexican-style sandwiches, come on pickled-corn telera bread and contain pig head, lamb belly, egg and shishito peppers, and more. For the table: pig ear chilaquiles.
Care for a drink? There’s a generous selection of beer and wine, as well as an assortment of unusual sangrias and micheladas. The latter, Mexican beer cocktails, might be flavored with carrot and miso, mole, or tomatillo with a rim of nori salt.
Overheard Talk about love, crime, and cooking. “I’m going to do ayahuasca in Mexico,” someone tells a friend over guacamole. “I’ve been doing the responsible thing, focusing on a relationship and putting the work in because I love someone, and I’m like, what’s the next step?” “Explore!,” says the friend with enthusiasm. “I haven’t been excited about any movie in the last five years,” someone complains. “That’s not true! ‘Batman.’ ” A smitten individual raves about a lady love’s cooking: “She made this lemon chicken, and she’s really good at steaming vegetables. Oh, her yams are so colorful.” “I got a DUI,” a woman says with a pout. “I have to do like 40 hours of community service.” At the bar, someone takes a sip of a charred carrot michelada and grimaces: “Oh no! Just no no no!”
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297 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge, 617-945-1548, nacocentral.com
Devra First can be reached at dfirst@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @devrafirst.