BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Have you ever heard the saying "The only bad taco is the one you didn't eat"? Well, if you've been to D.A. Taste in South Buffalo you could easily be convinced that the motto started there.
D.A. Taste is a creative and gourmet taco experience at the corner of Abbott Road and Milford Street that has demanded attention over the last three years. Now the "mom and pop taco shop", which has become a staple in South Buffalo, is expanding to Larkinville.
"It's going to be a whole new experience," says Dominick Buster, who is the "D" in D.A. Taste. He owns and operates the business with his wife Azrael Essex, who is the "A" in the name.
"D.A. Taste is all about consistency, gourmet tacos, and great community," added Essex, who says the new location at 864 Seneca Street is perfect for their growing business. "We get to set our full floor plan. We get to take on an 800-square-foot kitchen. We've been building out the bar. We are going to be full sit down, and have a full patio."
The new location in Larkinville, which is currently under construction, is expected to be open later this summer.
It's All About "DA Taste"
The concept for D.A. Taste dates back to 2020, and the early days of the pandemic, when both Dominick and Azrael lost their jobs in the restaurant industry.
"When we were shut out of our jobs, obviously everyone still needed to eat," says Essex, "So together me and Dominick were like 'Hey we know how to cook', so we got on Facebook, we got a smoker, we got some containers, and we were like, 'here's some food for sale, let's go' So eventually we turned that into a taco business."
Low and Slow Approach
Many of D.A. Taste's creations highlight slow-cooked meats, cheeses, and sauces, that spend hours on the smoker right outside the shop.
"We have 22 different types of tacos right now and more that we rotate," says Essex. "We go anywhere from cooking our beef birria down for 16 hours, we smoke all of our pork, our queso and our burnt belly for our Pork House Taco. Our Pork House Taco is amazing. It's pork belly, bacon, cabbage and our smoked bbq sauce."
700 Tacos
Essex and Buster say they crank out an average of 700 tacos a day at D.A. Taste.
Over the last three years, the taco shop has established quite a loyal following. Taco lovers are often seen forming long lines around D.A. Taste to get their hands on a variety of creative options.
"I've worked in a lot of restaurants, but I've never seen anything like it," says Buster, "It's surreal, you know, amazing. You can't help but to be proud to see that we did that."
"It's humbling," added Essex, "We are just people that like making really good recipes, and we are proud of it. It's consistent, and people appreciate us."
Future of D.A. Taste
D.A. Taste survived the pandemic and has no plans of slowing down.
In addition to the new location in Larkinville, future plans include a food truck and continuing to spread the "for the love of tacos" approach.
"I want to be known for happiness, great food, consistency, the lime green container, and creativity," says Essex, "I would like for you to walk into our restaurant and always have that experience with your same taco, cooked the same way."
"I love this business," added Buster, "We've grown, and we will continue to grow."
That is good news for taco lovers in Western New York.
