Tacos Moreno: Celebrating 40 Years of Mexican Comfort Food

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS SCHMAUCH

Everyone has a story about the place, like the Manhattan- based fan who said, “My parents think I come to Santa Cruz to visit them, but I really come home to eat at Tacos Moreno.”

Or when Austin Swift left for college in Montana and his mother overnighted him three Tacos Moreno al pastor burritos so he wouldn’t get homesick— one for him and one for each roommate. Swift ate all three in ten minutes.

Nicole Baran’s dad introduced her to Tacos Moreno when she visited her grandparents in Santa Cruz as a child, and now when she swings through town on her way to and from meetings in Santa Cruz and Monterey, she stops by the Water Street restaurant and settles into a seat to eat four corn quesadillas pre-meeting and four more post-meeting.

Lines go out the door, looking like a cross section of life in Santa Cruz—lawyers in power suits taking a break from a trial, construction workers in yellow vests, mothers with babies in strollers, hungry high school kids, farm workers, surfers and office workers. The line goes fast, with some people taking orders to go, but hardcore regulars, like Baran, say, “The salsa is so good—you need to sit down with the squeeze bottle in front of you and put a splash of salsa on every single bite.”

Exactly what goes into the salsa is top secret, “but there are tomatillos and some of the peppers are grilled,” says founder/ patriarch Esteban Moreno. “We make 30 gallons at a time.”

“We also use chile Japones in the salsa… and oregano,” adds his wife Maria, who has all the recipes in her head, which makes it easy to keep them private.

“Al pastor is definitely the most popular flavor. We marinate our pork for a minimum of a day and then grill it. The secret is in the marinade.”

Maria immigrated to the US at age 17 from a small village in Michoacán, where her family always had a home garden. She met Esteban in Watsonville, and after he took her to a taco truck for dinner a few times, she told him, “We could do this.” Esteban bought a food truck and they started serving Maria’s version of the food she learned to make in Mexico.

“During the day we’d go park at Plantronics,” at that time one of the biggest employers in the county, says Esteban, “and then we’d go to downtown Watsonville at night.” In 1982 they moved to the restaurant on Water Street in Santa Cruz—so 2022 marks their 40th anniversary.

Ask a Tacos Moreno fanatic what to order and most will say, “Get the al pastor— it’s a religious experience.”

“Al pastor is definitely the most popular flavor,” agrees Esteban. “We marinate our pork for a minimum of a day and then grill it. The secret is in the marinade,” but like the salsa, he won’t give out many details.

Retired Santa Cruz cabinetmaker Bruce Larsen figures he’s eaten well over 2,500 al pastor burritos over the past 40 years—and that number is still climbing. “My shop was a few minutes’ drive from Tacos Moreno, and I’ll bet I’ve had at least one or two burritos every week since they opened. In addition to the world’s best salsa, the burritos are unusual in that they don’t contain rice, only meat, perfectly cooked pinto beans, fresh cabbage, finely chopped onions and tomatoes.”

The flawless texture of the pillowy firm beans is regularly praised by devotees. “We cook an entire bag, 50 pounds, of pinto beans at a time,” says Esteban.

“Maria first washes the beans over and over again,” points out niece Maclovia Gonzales, who works at the restaurant, “and then she knows just how much water and just how much salt to add…she cooks by feel and they turn out perfect every time.”

Maria’s beans even helped their daughter Carina win five women’s world boxing championships in three different weight classes. “When I wanted to drop a weight class, I’d cut out meat and get my protein from my mother’s beans,” she laughs. Today Carina is a member of the International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame and runs her own boxing gym in Watsonville, “but I still help my mother cook at the restaurant when she asks.

“I’ve learned all of my mother’s recipes except for her mole,” says Carina, “because it takes so long to make.”

Maria’s mole is a full-day affair. It contains guajillo chiles, cumin, cloves—and, of course, more ingredients that she won’t reveal. If you want to taste it, order something with chicken to experience its spicy, earthy, complex flavors.

Every year Tacos Moreno closes down for three weeks in December and most people think that Maria and Esteban leave to visit family in Mexico, but it’s not the case. “The first week we strip down the restaurant and clean it from top to bottom. The second week we take a break or maybe a vacation. The third week we put the restaurant back together. Then we’re back to our regular schedule, working seven days a week,” says Maria.

Other family members have opened restaurants, like sons Esteban, who runs the 41st Avenue Tacos Moreno, and Uriel, who operates one in Capitola Village. De La Hacienda Taquería in Santa Cruz is operated by Maria’s sister and brother-in-law, who use many Tacos Moreno recipes. Plenty of family members work or have worked in Tacos Moreno over the years, and patriarch Esteban has a new food truck that is used for parties and special events.

When I asked Maria one last time what makes the salsa so extraordinary, nephew Steven Moreno happened to be passing by our table. He didn’t miss a beat when he shouted out, “Amor!” Santa Cruz native Dexter Simmons calls the salsa, “nectar of the gods” every time he liberally dowses a burrito with it. And yes—the salsa and everything it flavors are divinely delicious symbols of the kind of love that produces good food, a devoted fan club and a legacy that could easily last another 40 years.

TACOS MORENO
1053 Water Street, Santa Cruz