A post pops up on Tacos a la Madre’s Instagram hashtag, quickly becoming lost in the sea of pictures professing love for their food. The Mexican-inspired taqueria held their first walk-in day for their soft-opened College Park location on October 16th. Purchasing their new permanent location was spurred by the high demand for their tacos since their start in June 2020, evidenced by the weekly selling out of the preorders available at www.tacosalamadre.com.

Tacos a la Madre’s building is the previous site of FishNet, 5010 Berwyn Rd., which has been vacant since 2015. Prior to this location, the restaurant operated out of the College Park Holiday Inn, but is now only a 12 minute drive from ERHS.

The family of owners hope to bring the unique flavors and cuisine of California, Texas, and Florida that one of them experienced while traveling with the Marine Corps to the DMV, saying that “you couldn’t really find [those flavors] on the east coast.” Their many positive reviews are contributed to by the fact the family “works with authentic ingredients from local butcher shops, [and] buys produce from small businesses.” Don’t discount their range for that, because options on their menu include birria (goat) tacos, and the recently added cangrejo (crab) tacos. Additionally, they “experiment with their recipes often,” to produce the best tasting results. 

A sophomore whose father owns a business located two blocks from the restaurant, Ashley Gonzalez, spoke to me about the restaurant. She described her excitement for the opening, saying that “I haven’t had their tacos, but I mean, I drive by it and see the [Fall 2021] sign every day.”

Ginger Wilkerson, a customer and sophomore who lives a block from the restaurant, recalled her experiences eating at Tacos a la Madre. “The tacos were really good. The meat was great, but the chorizo was like really really really greasy. The fried zucchini taco is good, it tastes like their shrimp taco.” She hadn’t tried their food before, but has ordered from them three times since this location opened, rating her experiences “an 8/10”.

On their first soft open day, I ordered a carne asada taco, a pork and pineapple taco, and a chicken taco for dinner, totaling about $10. The service was very fast, especially for a Saturday, and I truly appreciate their use of local ingredients despite their focus on Southwestern flavors. Their pork and pineapple taco was what I enjoyed the most, although I couldn’t taste the pineapple, and I appreciated the low amount of spice. I would recommend three or four tacos for a dinner sized meal.

Overall, I’m excited to see how Tacos a la Madre develops their options and holds up against other great taquerias in the area, such as Taqueria Habanero! In addition to their website, Tacos a la Madre is active on Instagram @tacosalamadre.D