A Regionally-Inspired Taco-Verse Is Coming Soon to Hubbard Farms #DetroitFood

Vamos a tacos, güey

In Mexican Spanish, güey (pronounced wuey) can take on many meanings. Once considered an insult, it’s synonymous with dude, friend, homie, foo and is commonly used in informal settings between friends. It’s at once a term of endearment and one of annoyance, or disbelief. As in, no mames, güey! No way, dude!

Coming soon to the Hubbard Farms area of Southwest Detroit, güey will take on new meaning as an invitation to all friends of Mexican food to a new taqueria launching sometime in 2025 by local culinary fixture Eddie Vargas. Vargas, alongside his father Jose, hope to open Tacos Wuey Detroit at 3970 West Vernor Highway in March 2025. The location formerly housed a Central American restaurant called El Comal. Vargas will spend the next few months renovating the space, giving it what he describes as a subtle Tulum aesthetic with woven rattan lighting and neutral tones. He’s also parting ways with El Parian, the hospitality group that operates several restaurants and taco trucks in southwest Detroit, Downriver, and Macomb County. Once it’s ready for opening, the taqueria will seat about 40 people.

Vargas tells Eater the name Tacos Wuey Detroit reflects the casual, friendly vibe he hopes to incorporate into the space, offering a not-so-subtle wink to the culture for members of the Mexican community. “Güey is one of those words where I feel that every Mexican person says [it],” Vargas says. “Like, when you’re referring to a dude or a friend, it’s, What’s up? or Que onda, güey? We say güey for everything.” Güey is also commonly spelled phonetically with a W, hence Tacos Wuey Detroit.

The taqueria will feature a rotating taco-verse, taking queues from Mexico’s vast culinary landscape. Sinaloa-style tacos gobernador (a griddled taco-quesadilla combo filled with grilled shrimp and melted cheese), Ensenada-style fried fish tacos, and tacos de chile relleno, to name a few. Vargas tells Eater that he’ll also incorporate ingredients not often found locally, including flor de calabaza when it’s in season and huitlacoche — the fungus otherwise known as “corn smut” or “Mexican truffle” that grows on ears of corn, which is considered a delicacy. In addition, customers will be able to expect snacks like guacamole topped with crispy chicharrones, wings punctuated with salsa macha, elote, and egg rolls with birria de res (sometimes other proteins like goat or lamb) using Vargas’ own family recipe — a nod to one of his previous endeavor at the short-lived Peso in Detroit’s Hubbard Richard neighborhood.

Detroit’s Mexican food offerings have evolved over the years, with the earliest restaurants in the genre opening along Bagley — one of the original strips where the first generations of Mexicans began settling in the city more than a century ago. For decades, Detroiters were more familiar with what is now frequently considered to be Mexican American fare, consisting of cheese-topped platters of enchiladas or wet burritos accented with Spanish rice and refried beans. Thanks to changes in migration patterns over the past half century, the food has become ever more diverse and creative and is more reflective of the regions in Mexico where la gente have migrated from, primarily Jalisco (where Vargas’ family hails from). For the food scene that has meant an influx of taquerias, taco trucks, and restaurants representative of other Mexican diaspora communities such as those from Sinaloa, the coastal region of Nayarit, and Oaxaca. For the most part, these types of regional cuisines can be found further west of Bagley along Vernor Highway, Springwells, and Downriver suburbs.

Tacos Wuey will provide Detroiters living in or around Hubbard Farms with ample opportunities to experience these innovations closer to downtown, where many of the old-school touristy Mexican restaurants continue to dominate the surrounding area.

This is the latest project for Vargas, whose experience in mixology and restaurant operations has also included management of Vertical Detroit wine bar downtown and his own venture, an upscale Mexican catering company, Izquitl. During his tenure with El Parian, he held several pop-up dining experiences at La Palapa El Parian, the group’s flagship location in the city’s Springwells neighborhood, and organized culturally relevant special events like tequila tastings and Lotería nights.

from Eater Detroit - All