Migo Makes Vegetarian Taco Magic

Louisville has no shortage of taco joints these days with different presentation styles and fusions of cuisines. One of the first locals of the new era of You Can Put Anything In A Taco is Migo, which uses local produce to create flavors from south of the border and plenty of gluten-free, veggie goodness. Migo also has an incredible serving staff, unique beers and craft cocktails.

On a recent weekly taco pilgrimage, it was a day cool enough for Migo to keep the doors open, but warm enough to keep the overhead fans on high. We were seated in the front dining room, which has painted murals on the walls and trolley art positioned all around. Shipping pallets line the ceiling for noise dampening as well as a hella-cool aesthetic. Ceiling fans throughout keep the deliciousness wafting out into street, taco-piper-like luring in innocent passersby.

We started our American taco journey with two of my wife’s favorites (in her words, because I forgot to take the trash can out this week, and I owe her) “because I’m whipped, and she is awesome, and I should remember my chores.”

Queen Hope’s appetizer selections were the Guacamole with Chips ($10) and Crispy Yuca Tots ($10). The Tots usually come smothered and covered, but we get all the sauces on the side so that people can mix and match the taste of each bite. This includes dipping them in the guacamole, which is highly recommended.

(Fun fact: We could not get my niece to eat yuca tots until we started calling them giant square french fries. Now she craves them fortnightly.)

The inaugural wine for the night was Marques de Caceres, a Spanish verdejo that pairs wonderfully with a low blood alcohol content. The wine list is small but has a good variety of Spanish and South American wines. The bar boasts a solid array of spirits as well as craft beers on tap. Migo offers daily app, entrée and drink specials.

As we worked our way through the enormous plates of appetizers, we got the greatest news our server could possibly give us:

The Grilled Mushroom and Sweet Corn Taco ($6) was back.

For a brief, few months (which we call the Dark Days), this dish had given way to a crispy mushroom taco with a cream sauce. Good, but not the medley of flavors held inside of the beauty and simplicity of mushrooms, corn, pepitas, goat cheese and a drizzle of jalapeño-lemon aioli on a corn tortilla. Though my wife is a meat eater (during a normal meal, I will ring my “Game of Thrones” shame bell), she was enticed enough by the mushroom redux to order the same. I rounded out my husky-boy meal with the Black Bean and Sweet Potato Taco ($5) with a decent amount of spicy punch to it that can be cured by a healthy gulp of icy wine.

Veggies might also like to try the Crispy Brussel Sprouts ($8) or Curry Cauliflower Quesadilla ($9) as a starter or one of the other veggie tacos such as the Jamaican Jerk Plantain ($5) or the Buffalo Cauliflower ($5).

Also, all of their side dishes are vegetarian, usually with specials every night.

Our wonderful server made the misstep of trying to take the three-quarter eaten bowl of guacamole off the table that Hope had encumbered for her taco bliss. I won’t say she made a scene devouring it, but small children were rushed out of the main dining room. There was crying, but, in full disclosure, that might have been me. As I worked on the final bites of my mushroom taco, I did reach over and grab a generous spoonful of the remaining guacamole (I just pray that my wife does not read about this betrayal).

As Hope took the last generous pour of wine, I decided to burn my dessert calories on a dealer’s choice cocktail, whatever is the specialty of the house. One of Migo’s artisan bartenders, Katrina, used two fingers of Old Forester Rye, sweet vermouth and rich Luxardo cherries for a proper Migo Manhattan ($11), served up.

It was dessert-ilicious.