If Alberto Pineda and Mariana Reza hadn’t been in the right place at the right time, they might never have opened Tacos El Patrón, the two-year-old Pleasant Hill taqueria whipping up some of the best Tijuana-style quesabirria in the Bay Area. The cheesy, drippy, stew-laden tacos have acquired a cult following.
It was Feb. 4, 2018. Reza needed to wash her car and Pineda knew of a Pleasant Hill car wash that was open on Sundays. The couple, who worked as servers in restaurants around Walnut Creek, drove from their Pittsburg home to the Pro Hand Car Wash on Monument Boulevard. And that’s when they spotted the empty restaurant space next door.
Despite their mutual love of tacos — Reza and Pineda would often road-trip to Bakersfield just to eat at a food truck with epic carne asada — the couple had never discussed opening a restaurant of their own. But they both dreamed about it. Chatting up the car wash owner of the car, they found out that the restaurant building’s owner was looking for a tenant; the former tenant had bailed and left all the kitchen equipment behind.
Pineda and Reza called the landlord immediately. “Just pay me the rent and it’s yours,” she told them.
Ever since, Tacos El Patrón has been drawing long lines for their specialty tacos, from the beef birria with sipping broth, to the delicate shrimp taco with melted cheese and guacamole, and the lightly-battered swai fish taco with cabbage and chipotle salsa.
Last year, they expanded to San Francisco and opened a second location in the Mission district. Between the two locations, they churn out 1,200 birria per day. And last month, they showed San Francisco that they can do more than beef birria by opening a new concept: Los Guisados del Patron offers up to 40 saucy Mexican stews made with pork, chicken, beef and veggies. They’re available as traditional tacos de guisados or as burritos, tostadas or bowls.
We recently caught up with Reza and Pineda to talk about their evolution.
Q: That’s quite an opening story. What do you make of it?
Pineda: Even though we’re not religious people, we do believe in God. This was a present from God. We had no money to start a new restaurant. There was probably $20,000 worth of equipment in the kitchen. We still can’t believe it.
Q: It’s not often that a Pleasant Hill taqueria expands to San Francisco. What inspired you?
Pineda: We went to San Francisco to eat all the time. It’s the dream. If you’re a dancer or actor, you go to Hollywood. If you make food, you go to San Francisco. It’s just an amazing city and a place where you can find authentic regional and gourmet Mexican foods.
Q: Is that why you opened Los Guisados Del Patron there? Tell us about the concept.
Pineda: Los guisados are more likely to come from Mexico City, where Mariana is from. There are a lot of small places called puestos that offer this kind of food. Mariana and I thought about what can we sell that we know how to cook, and guisados came up. Where I come from in Sinaloa, it was also common to eat birria in a bowl with the broth and have the tortillas on the side.
Q: What makes a great birria?
Pineda: It’s tricky. Each time you make it, it is a little different. Chiles are not always ripe or hot. Anyone can make birria but not anyone can make a good one. There are no secrets, just hard work and time to practice — and patience to keep tasting for the right flavors after every single ingredient is added.
Q: Are you surprised by how popular it has become, and how long people wait in line?
Reza: We couldn’t believe it. This is a dish that is very typical of where I come from in Mexico City. Of course, the meat would be in the broth with the tortillas on the side. That’s how we grew up with it. But when we started Tacos El Patron we had no idea it had gotten so big in Los Angeles as a taco.
Q: You offer a very spicy orange habanero sauce at Tacos El Patrón that’s been mistaken for nacho cheese. Any good stories?
Pineda: Yeah, this guy came in a while back bragging about how he can handle the hottest salsa and dumped the whole to-go container on his taco. Oh man, he was in bad shape. He was crying. To be honest, we were worried for him — but at the same time, we were laughing because of how he acted before.
Q: What’s next for Tacos El Patrón?
Pineda: We are working on different recipes. We want to start cooking some of our meats on charcoal. When that happens, I guarantee our carne asada, al pastor and brisket are going to be the best around. My job is to have ideas. Mariana’s job is to land those ideas. Thank God we now have some money to make those dreams come true. COVID-19 is kind of pushing the breaks for us, but we feel so blessed to be here at this point.
If You Go
Tacos El Patron is open for takeout and delivery daily at 2290 Monument Blvd. in Pleasant Hill and S. 1500 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. Los Guisados Del Patron is nearby the latter at 601 S. Van Ness Ave. Peek at the menus at www.tacos-el-patron.com.
