SANTA FE BURRO FROM TACOCAT. PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

It’s cold outside; warm up at one of these local taco spots.

Dos Reyes

Last year, while visiting the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, I spied a Dos Reyes logo on a wall filled with thousands of other stickers.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

My stomach rumbled like a John Bonham drum solo as I daydreamed about the Sonoran-style Mexican eats that they proudly serve in Pittsburgh. I wasn’t homesick, I was homestarving!

Dos Reyes’ menu rocks, but they need a little help to get rolling again.

Just as owners Rich and Carlyn “Chuck” Santistevan and Erin and Eddie Lilliock were putting the final touches on their new brick-and-mortar restaurant in Lincoln Place, their workhorse of a truck went belly-up. They’ve set up a GoFundMe account to raise the $11,000 needed for a new transmission that’ll, hopefully, put their mobile kitchen back on the road by National Tamale Day on March 23.

Hungry Pittsburghers have already donated nearly $5,000 to the cause.

This spring, customers can go hog wild at the Lincoln Place place, 5203 Interboro Ave. The former barbecue joint’s been vacant since 2022. The building has all-new kitchen equipment, seating for about 30 people, a patio for al fresco dining and a paved parking lot.

TALKIN’ TACOS AT DOS REYES’ NEW SHOP. PHOTO BY COLIN JONES

The expanded menu will include enchiladas and chilli burros and other traditional recipes that Chuck’s nana, Elvira Manriquez, served at her restaurant in Apache Junction, Arizona.

While the rig is under repair, Dos Reyes will continue to pop up at their usual spots around town, including Back Alley Brewing in Dormont and Oakdale’s Helicon Brewing. The crew also co-hosts a heavy metal-themed Brutal Brunch at Grim Wizard Coffee in Allentown on the second Saturday of every month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

I told you they rocked.

tacOcat/Taqueria Acosta

When Fat Cat, a bar, restaurant and stage closed on East Ohio Street on Pittsburgh’s North Side after a brief, but tasty run, I lamented the loss of a cool space.

Thankfully, Taqueria Acosta moved in last November to heat things up.

Every Thursday through Sunday, Chris and Roberta Acosta take over the North Side kitchen to serve New Mexican-inspired grub under the name tacOcat. Good vibes come free with every meal.

I could live on their chips and queso made with Hatch green chile and bleu cheese, but I suggest you leave room for a tacos or a Bowl Acosta of Love, which the menu describes as “all the goods piled high for maximum scarfability.”

I’m a big fan of the Sunday brunch offerings, from Huevos Rancheros to a gut-busting Las Cruces Burger topped with cheddar, chorizo hash, green chile, eggs, cream and spicy red onion. I chased my Santa Fe Burro with Hot Screw, a breakfast cocktail made with tequila, jalapeno simple syrup and orange juice.

It was worth the heart burn, because a visit to tacOcat is good for the soul.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PITTSBURGH TACO BOYS

Pittsburgh Taco Boys

I read somewhere that Americans consume more than 4.5 billion tacos per year. Now that I’ve discovered Pittsburgh Taco Boys, that number is sure to skyrocket.

Friends Dylan Essig and Jeffrey Stayduhar grew up in microwave-free households, so they learned how to cook for themselves at an early age.

Veterans of Pittsburgh’s high-end service industry, the pair parlayed their DIY-attitude into a pandemic pop-up at Sharpsburg’s Redhawk Coffee.

Since 2022, they’ve called Oakmont’s 319 Maryland Ave.home. The Boys serve my favorite breakfast burrito of all time — a perfect packaging of eggs, cheese, potato, roasted tomato salsa and pickled red onions and jalapenos in a fresh tortilla.

Essig and Stayduhar hope to expand the business into a vacant space next door where Butler Brew Works once ran a bottle shop. Now if you want beer, I suggest heading a few blocks up Allegheny Avenune to check out Local Remedy Brewing, which opened last month.

Beer and tacos? Oh, boy!