Taste The 518: Tacos Diablo

Hello Capital District, it’s Taco Thursday! Today, we’re taking you to Guilderland for a delish lunch with Dominic Giuliano, executive chef of Tacos Diablo. Plus, get ready for the long weekend with our Top 5 Weekend Picks and more!

—Phat X. Chiem & Karley Sullivan

Taste The 518: Can we get a hell yeah for Tacos Diablo?

Dominic Giuliano is on a mission to introduce authentic Mexican street food to the Capital Region.

We’re talking small corn tortillas stuffed with traditional meats like chorizo, barbacoa, carnitas and pollo verde, then topped with cilantro, pickled onions, escabeche (spicy pickled veggies) and pico de gallo. Add some crema, queso fresco and a squeeze of lime, grab a Mexican soda, and suddenly you’re at a beachside stand in Baja or on a street corner in Mexico City.

If this all sounds a bit intimidating, head to Tacos Diablo, where the menu is simple and the friendly staff takes their time to educate customers on how to order.

“In the Capital Region, Mexican street tacos are harder to find,” Dominic tells The 518 over a lunch of damn-delicious tacos and elote (Mexican street corn). “You have to go to a Mexican deli and know what to order. We’ve made it accessible to the general public.”

Dominic started Tacos Diablo as a pandemic-era experiment out of the now-closed Blue Plate restaurant in Chatham, where he was the chef. That grew into a stand-alone location in Nassau and a taco truck parked outside. The buzz was immediate.

“We opened at 1 o'clock, and we were selling out of food by 5 or 6 almost every day. We had a 45-minute line almost all day long. It was crazy,” he recalls.

Along with his wife, Bonnie, who works the front of the house, and business partner Dan Grunberg, Dominic opened a second location in Guilderland in June. Soon, they plan to open a production kitchen in either Albany or Rensselaer with a take-out window.

What’s the secret to their success? An emphasis on developing a personal connection with customers, a fun brand (“Diablo” refers to their edgy personality, not the spiciness of their food), and authentic flavor profiles.

“We’ve got a mom-and-pop feel. We want you to know who’s cooking your food, and we want to get to know you when you come to the register,” Bonnie says. “It shows the TLC that we put into the business and the food.”

“We've noticed that there are a lot of people from the West Coast who have moved out here,” adds Dominic, who grew up in Southern California. “And these people are coming in and saying, ‘I haven't tasted these flavors since I left California. Oh my gosh, your carne reminds me of my grandmother's in Mexico.’ It’s helped our reputation grow.”

The deets: Tacos Diablo. Locations in Guilderland and Nassau, and a food truck in East Chatham. Menu: 3 street tacos $11.50; burritos and bowlritos $12.25; quesadillas $13.50. Pro tip: Tacos Diablo caters an amazing taco bar for parties. And don’t forget their sweets like churros & chocolate and Mexican brownies. So good!

🍁 WEATHER WATCH

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🗳️ The elections are bringing fresh faces to power: Democrats won state legislative races in Albany as part of a rare shakeup. Assemblywoman Pat Fahy is moving up as the new state senator for New York’s 46th District, while Albany Common Councilor Gabriella Romero will take over as the 109th Assemblywoman. Meanwhile, Democrat Lee Kindlon becomes Albany County’s first new district attorney in two decades, winning a decisive 61% of the vote.

🔴 The Times Union looks at where support for Donald Trump grew across New York State, mirroring a nationwide swing to the right that helped him reclaim the White House [TU gift article].

🍽️ Restaurant Roundup: Mark your calendars for the opening of the fully renovated Washington Tavern, which aims to revive the spirit of this 47-year-old Albany institution. See you there on Friday, Nov. 15 at 250 Western Ave! And Don Tequila Mexican Cantina has arrived at 219 Wolf Road. This is owner Jose Castaneda’s 15th restaurant in New York and his first in the Capital Region.

⭐️ = 518 Staff Picks

⭐️ Troy Glow invites you to view art installations lighting up nightly throughout the downtown area. On Friday, do it with cocktails at the Neon Nights Bar Crawl. Sunday eve is your last chance for this outdoor art fest!

⭐️ The Ringling Bros. is bringing the greatest show on earth to the MVP Arena starting Friday, through Monday. Tix are still available for the big top 🎪 

⭐️ Capital Region Wing Wars: The district’s largest chicken wing competition returns to the Franklin Terrace Ballroom in Troy.

⭐️ Through Sunday, Saratoga Restaurant Week offers $15 prix fixe lunches and $25/$35 dinners. C’mon, 25 bucks for dinner in Saratoga is a steal! Btw, Glens Falls Restaurant Week ends on Saturday.

⭐️ Guess Troy is the place to be this weekend… On Friday, Family STEAM Day is a fun and free evening with hands-on activities and games that explore science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math.

🎟️ MORE NOTABLE EVENTS

TODAY

🎙️ The Magic of Motown comes to Troy Music Hall.

📚️ Former College of St. Rose professor Daniel Nester and former students reflect on the school’s shocking-but-not-surprising closing, at MopCo Schenectady. We wrote about Dan’s story in Tuesday’s newsletter (in which we incorrectly stated St. Rose’s debt load—it’s nearly $50 million not $11 mil 😬 yikes).

FRIDAY

💃 This weekend, Dance Flurry puts on ContraFest, two days of contra dancing and lessons. Also, get to Bar Vegan for Bachata Room Fridays’ 5th anniversary All-White Social.

🐕️ The Hollow Bar + Kitchen in Albany puts on Rockin’ for Rescues, a benefit for the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society featuring music from Close Enough. Woof woof!

🥟 The Egg hosts Asian Occasion 2024, a night of cultural celebration, delicious food & exciting performances.

🍷🍫 A wine and chocolate tasting? Yes, please. The Chapman Museum Wine & Chocolate Tasting at the Queensbury Hotel is the place to taste 150 fine wines with artisan desserts.

🧑‍🎤 Join Sydney Worthley for Femininomenon, a live band sing-a-long at Lost & Found Bar & Kitchen in Albany. For fans of Taylor Swift, Charli XCX, Chappell Roan & Olivia Rodrigo.

SATURDAY

🎃 Adirondack Brewery’s annual Pumpkin Chunkin' in Lake George is your chance to gleefully destroy those leftover Halloween pumpkins. If Smashing Pumpkins isn’t the soundtrack for this event, it’s a missed opportunity.

💼 The 6th annual CNYS Black Expo takes over the Empire State Plaza Convention Center. Explore how to build the Black economy and also attend a job fair.

SUNDAY

🎵 Calling all vinyl lovers: The Albany Record Riot! will showcase 15,000 vinyl records in one room!

🎖️The Voorheesville American Legion will host the 3rd annual Veteran’s Day Ruck March fundraiser. What’s a ruck march? It’s when you hike it while carrying everything you need to survive on your back—up to 85 pounds!

MONDAY

🇺🇲 Yes, it’s a 3-day weekend, but it’s also the day we honor our veterans. Albany’s Veteran’s Day Parade starts at 11a at the corner of Partridge and Central. The USS Slater is also holding a ceremony at 9a, with free tours for all vets.

📿 It’s Free Family Day at the Albany Institute of History and Art, with a free class on ancient Egyptian jewelry-making from 10a-12p.

🎸 LIVE MUSIC & MORE

💌 GET IN TOUCH

Know a cool business, event or local personality we should profile? Reach us directly at [email protected].

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