One Taco Two Taco’s secret is in the sauce

The sauces that go into the dishes prepared at One Taco Two Taco don’t come out of a can or a jar.

They come from recipes that date back three generations in owner-operator Arif Rizvi’s family.

“One of the things that makes the food here so awesome is that each item is matched perfectly with the homemade sauces, and it is all made daily with fresh ingredients,” Rizvi said. “The right sauce creates a fusion explosion for the palate.”

Opening last year in the small shopping center located across Sunset Boulevard from Lexington Square – the shopping center that soon will be home to one of Lexington’s two new Lowes Foods grocery stores – One Taco Two Taco serves up what Rizvi calls “West Coast fusion foods with a hint of Pacific Latin cuisine.”

Two of the eatery’s most highly requested tacos thus far have been the El Jefe brisket taco and the Bangkok shrimp taco.

“For the El Jefe, the brisket is cooked for 12 hours and then sits in the refrigerator for a day before being shredded and served,” Rizvi said. The brisket is then served on a double flour tortilla with pico and a homemade cilantro Gremolata sauce – a chopped herb sauce made of lemon zest, garlic and parsley.

The Bangkok shrimp taco is served with fried crispy shrimp topped with a cabbage mix and a house-made sweet and spicy sauce.

The chimichanga is also a popular choice, prepared with steak, chicken, beef or shrimp on a 12-inch flour tortilla with homemade pinto beans and a six-cheese blend queso. Another type of chimichanga, the Xango cheesecake dessert served with fresh fruit, is also a “huge seller,” Rizvi said.

Rizvi also has recently unveiled several new menu items, including a blackened salmon taco, a sweet chili shrimp taco and a grilled Mahi Mahi taco served with habanero aioli sauce and mango salsa.

Be sure to ask for the new margarita chicken platter, served with Indian basmati rice cooked Spanish-style, and the mongoose bowl – grilled steak tossed with cabbage and sweet chili sauce and served over rice.

How did One Taco Two Taco get its start?

Rizvi is no stranger to the restaurant business. He opened and previously owned Rue 77 on Assembly Street in Columbia.

His business partner at One Taco Two Taco, Jeff Zona, is not a novice either. Zona, manager of Belk at Columbiana Centre, opened and owned Buddy’s Sauce Dogs, which was located in the same Sunset Boulevard location.

When Zona decided to make a change in the theme of his eatery, Rizvi stepped in with the idea for One Taco Two Taco, a Mexican eatery with an à la carte, chef-inspired menu with choices of tacos and tortas.

Who eats here?

While a casual eatery that appeals to area professionals at lunch, in the evening, One Taco Two Taco certainly draws in its share of families. But it’s also a hot spot for a date night and for group gatherings, thanks to the cozy ambiance created by Lexington designer Cindy Priselac.

This story was originally published March 29, 2017 at 10:08 AM with the headline "One Taco Two Taco’s secret is in the sauce."