(Updated at 11:20 a.m.) A fast-casual rock-and-roll themed taco restaurant is now open in Rosslyn.
“Taco Rock,” from chef Mike Cordero of Don Tito and The G.O.A.T. fame, opened last week at 1501 Wilson Blvd in the former Spinfire Pizza space.
The approximately 2,500-square-foot establishment serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Menu highlights include a $4 speciality tacos such as the “Piggy Mac” featuring eight-hour slow roasted pork brisket, topped with mac and cheese and bacon sour cream. The “We Jammin” taco is made with jerk grilled chicken, cabbage, and mango pico de gallo.
All items on the extensive taco menu can be served on house-made “Blue Rock” corn tortillas.
At the bar, Taco Rock offers a variety of tequila-based cocktails and imported Mexican beers. Its michelada, an traditional beer cocktail made with beer, lime juice, and chili, features a serving of shrimp ceviche.
Yvette Irene Design, the same interior firm behind nearby Barley Mac — another Cordero restaurant — and Detour Coffee, designed the Taco Rock space. Special design touches to the restaurant to play into the rock and roll theme, such as a giant guitar hanging from the ceiling and faux-snake skin banquets at the bar.
“We know the Rosslyn community will welcome our new concept as a neighborhood spot for a quick bite or to socialize around our tequila bar,” said Cordero in a press release. The full press release is below, after the jump.
Northern Virginia restaurateur Mike Cordero, announced today that Taco Rock – a 2,467-square-foot fast casual taco restaurant and tequila bar located at 1501 Wilson Boulevard – celebrates its grand opening today with breakfast, lunch and dinner service. Formerly housing Spinfire Pizza, Taco Rock is Chef Mike Cordero’s first fast casual concept and first venture with Team Cordero, a family business group that consists of Chef Mike Cordero, Nick Cordero, Anthony Cordero and Chef Stefano Marzano, of MightyMeals. The refurbished restaurant seats approximately 50 guests with its main bar holding 18 barstools.
Taco Rock’s menu features affordable, gourmet tacos served on homemade Blue Rock Tortillas, an original recipe with blue corn tortillas. Taco Rock offers an extensive tequila bar, offering specialty tequila cocktails and imported Mexican beers. Dessert items include crispy stuffed churros, with your favorite cream filling and gourmet ice cream tacos made to order. Breakfast will also be served at Taco Rock, as Chef Cordero has designed premier breakfast tacos.
Designed by notable DC and New York-area designer Yvette Irene, the Taco Rock interiors pay homage to colorful rock-and-roll pop culture without being too literal. While maintaining a street taco vibe, the restaurant also presents a rustic contemporary palette featuring reclaimed wood, an aged quilted copper bar face and pitted tile. Industrial chandeliers showcasing graffiti street art line the interiors of the metal shades and matching scones adorn the blue tiled columns. Lighting above the bar introduces iron beamed linear pendants. Hints of red and black are featured throughout the space, which are the Taco Rock branding colors, and found in the faux cobra-skin banquets and accent guitar strings that flank the bar. Bathroom wallpaper features blue and white tattoo-style art.
A main focal point in Taco Rock is a colossal guitar jutting out from the ceiling that spans the entire restaurant from front to back and highlights the Taco Rock colors. While viewing the interior space for the first time, Irene noticed a large, plain soffit and had the vision to transform it into an artistic ceiling installation with a highly-stylized guitar.
Standout classic, specialty, vegetarian and breakfast tacos from the menu include:
Classic:
- AL PASTOR Achiote marinated pork shoulder, sliced char-grilled pineapple, jalapeno salsa & red pickled onions
- LENGUA beef tongue braised, salsa verde & fresno peppers
Specialty:
- KEY WEST GROUPER tequila battered, chipotle mayo, diced tomato & granny smith apple slaw
- LAND & SEA skirt steak, tequila battered shrimp, crunchy reddish pickled onions, and horseradish sauce
- AHI TUNA fresh sashimi tuna, seaweed salad, sesame/ginger slaw, crispy ramen, & cucumber wasabi sauce
- THE KOREAN skirt steak, soy, ginger, toasted sesame seeds, Asian slaw, pickled fresno peppers, & furikake spice
- “WE JAMMIN” jerk chicken grilled, cabbage, jerk sauce, mango pico de gallo, & fresno peppers
- PIGGY MAC Eight-hour slow roasted pork brisket, mac cheese, & bacon drizzled sour cream
Vegetarian:
- THE IMPOSSIBLE chopped roasted veggies, lettuce, tomatoes, Monterey jack cheese, BBQ aioli General Tso cauliflower- sesame/ginger slaw, spring onions, Thai chili, toasted sesame seed
- TRUFFLE PORTABELLA & PEPPERS grilled truffle portabella mushrooms, peppers, cotija cheese, cilantro, & red pickled onions
Breakfast:
- HUEVOS RANCHEROS Flour tortillas, charred black beans, melted cheese, egg, pork carnitas, green chili, crema guacamole/ green onions
- BREAKFAST BURRITO SCRAMBLED EGGS, potatoes, fire-roasted peppers, onions, jack cheese on a giant spinach tortilla
“Taco Rock is an epicurean delight giving a nod to street food but includes a gourmet twist with our signature Blue Rock tacos,” says Chef Mike Cordero, owner of Taco Rock. “We know the Rosslyn community will welcome our new concept as a neighborhood spot for a quick bite or to socialize around our tequila bar. I’m thrilled to open Taco Rock as my first fast-casual concept with my newly formed restaurant group Team Cordero that includes my two sons and Chef Stefano Marzano.”
Taco Rock is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. To stay up to date on events and happenings at Taco Rock, please visit www.thetacorock.com or follow them on Instagram, @tacorock_.
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About Mike Cordero
Mike Cordero is a Bronx native with a lifelong passion for food. He started working at his local pizza shop at age 13 and there learned to make New York style pizza. At age 20, Cordero moved to Fairfax, VA to pursue the President of Operations job with Italian Delight (a New York pizza chain). Cordero then launched his own venture, Bravo Cucina Italiana fine dining Italian restaurant, with chef and business partners Victor DiVivo and Chef Sergio Castilloni. After opening five Bravo locations in the greater Washington area, Cordero sold four of the five locations to DiVivo and kept the original Fairfax site to operate himself. Cordero then went on to open Malibu Grill, a Brazilian steakhouse, and eight various restaurants in the Northern Virginia area. He is now the executive chef and owner of Barley Mac, Bronson Bier Hall, Bronx Pizza, Don Tito, Don Taco, Primetime Sports Bar, The G.O.A.T Sports Bar and Rockwood.