Photography by Kathy Tran
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Gabriel Amaya learned how to cook after he and his husband, Charlie Gonzalez, opened their restaurant, Frida’s Tacolandia, in 2018.
“I love Frida Kahlo,” Amaya says. “I wanted to do the decorating, and he wanted to do the cooking.”
Gonzalez wasn’t a chef either, but growing up, he worked in his family’s restaurant in Mexico. All the restaurant’s food is based on their recipes.
“I just wanted to open a business,” Gonzalez says.
It was rough going at first in their original location, which is still open, on Polk at Kiest. Businesses at that intersection have had problems with crime, although Amaya says that’s improving. But it’s still off the beaten path for foodies in our neighborhood.
Friends and family helped them spread the word via social media, and their venture had enough success that they opened a second location, Frida’s Tacolandia No. 2, on Singleton Boulevard about one block west of Sylvan, in January.
[Editor’s note: Don’t confuse this location for the similarly named Frida’s Tacos, which is still open in the 1400 block of Singleton but whose original owners have moved to Cedar Hill.]
The No. 1 seller is birria tacos, “the best in Dallas,” they say. They come three to an order for $11, served with consommé on earthenware dishes from Mexico.
Costilla en salsa verde, pork ribs in spicy green sauce, cost $12 and are also among the restaurant’s most popular dishes. They’re served with handmade corn or flour tortillas.
A 2-pound burrito comes filled with your choice of meat and grilled veggies. It costs $13 and is enough for two people.
Thick tortilla chips come with spicy, addictive green salsa.
“The food is very authentic Mexican,” Amaya says. “A lot of older couples come in, and they’ll say, ‘This tastes just like my hometown.’”
Amaya and Gonzalez both cook now, since they have to be able to fill in for any job in the restaurants. But Amaya’s gifts are in hospitality. He loves talking to people, and he is the interior designer, drawing inspiration from his hometown of Durango and the timelessness of Frida Kahlo.
Copies of her paintings hang over the tables, which are sheathed in oilcloth purchased in Mexico.
In one corner of the Singleton location is a rocking chair with a crocheted pillow that Amaya’s mother made. It’s a reminder of the owners’ roots and the women who raised them.
“You’d be surprised how many people take pictures there,” Amaya says.
The Singleton location hosts a drag show every other Friday, featuring Catharaita Cavalli y Sus Diamantes.
Both locations serve breakfast every day. Various egg dishes or chilaquiles cost $8. A small breakfast burrito costs $2, and a stack of three pancakes is $6.
The owners are working to get a liquor license as well as outside seating at the Singleton location, and they expect to have both sometime this summer.
“We appreciate people for their support,” Amaya says. “Our customers were so eager for us to open a second spot.”
Amaya grew up in Oak Cliff, graduated from Kimball High School and worked at a bank for 12 years. Gonzalez grew up in Pleasant Grove. They met about eight years ago and have been married for two years. They both have entrepreneurial spirit, but Amaya credits his husband for the restaurant’s culinary success.
“This wouldn’t be possible without his sazón,” he says.
