Having passed Flaco’s a million times while taking the BART, I was surprised when Ryan (aka Toast) from the band Ceremony suggested we meet there. From the outside Flaco’s appears to be a very traditional taqueria which… while tasty… are not always very vegetarian friendly (nor should someone expect them to be). Flaco’s is indeed traditional but is entirely vegetarian/vegan friendly.
With a very small menu consisting of half a dozen entrees, a few sides, and a small kitchen Flaco’s keeps it simple.
Having already tried Flaco’s fantastic veggie taquitos at the Berkeley Farmer’s market (although not realizing it was the same restaurant I had passed near the BART station) I decided to give the pozole a shot as well as the banana-leaf wrapped tamale. As someone raised on my mom’s Puerto Rican cooking, the idea of the banana-leaf tamale was appealing due to sounding similar to a dish I was a fan of… but I had to make a conscious effort to not judge the dish based on a Caribbean-style standard.
The pozole, a blend of spices in a deep red broth with large, tender hominy served with a side of onions and a lime wedge was delicious. My only complaint is that it wasn’t as hot (temperature…not spice) as I would have preferred.
The Tamale consisted of corn masa with potatoes, capers, and olives steamed in a banana leaf. Although a little thin, the taste was great. The green sauce on top was also very good with some great contrast to the tamale. I could have used a little less sauce but that is more of a personal preference.
For around $12 I had a great meal and look forward to stopping at the Ashby BART station on my way home from work to eat again in the near future.
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