Tapas.” The word evokes several memories.
Tapas were the only meal option I could stomach on the red-eye from San Francisco to London—even though plane tapas, truth be told, totally suck.
Tapas were the precursor to my nights out in Barcelona last winter, and the key to my recovery from those nights the next day. They bookended some of the most fun I’ve ever had in my favorite city in the world.
And now, tapas are the reason I stumbled upon the world’s best braised pork belly tacos (and perhaps the only braised pork belly tacos I’ve ever tried, but that’s beside the point).
It all started during one of my perusals of new restaurant openings in Los Alamos. “Tapas” caught my eye on Yelp, and after a few clicks, I learned of Valle Fresh: the new tacos and tapas spot that opened on Bell Street on July 30. I had to try it.
I found the place (eventually) bunking with Babi’s Beer Emporium (whose selection distracted me for a solid 10 minutes before I remembered why I was there). The space is super un-Spain-like but nauseatingly cute nonetheless: distressed paint jobs, walls of endearingly mismatched art, hand-crafted signage—the epitome of “shabby chic.”
When I approached Valle Fresh’s counter, my tapas craving evaporated at the sight of their tacos selection: $12 would get me three tacos of either the smoked mushroom and zucchini, potatoes and Spanish chorizo, braised pork belly, or oakwood barbecue tri-tip variety.
Remembering Valle Fresh’s sole Yelp review, which raved about the pork belly tacos, I sprung for those. And I have no regrets whatsoever.
Firstly, those tacos were beautiful: tastefully arranged with pickled green beans and lime on the side and topped with purple cabbage. I embarrassed the crap out of myself taking a million photos of those tacos before even tasting them, but whatever.
Sidenote: Mid-taco photoshoot, a man entered the shop and ordered the same thing I did, but really excitedly. He then went on about how he’d recently tripped to Wyoming and told all his friends there about the pork belly tacos at Valle Fresh in Los Alamos. After hearing his anecdote, I lost patience and had to cut my photoshoot short and dig in.
My God, Wyoming guy wasn’t lying. The tacos were simple but packed with tons of bold but complementary flavors, and the pork was incredibly tender. I ate all three of my tacos in approximately 38 seconds, which just exacerbated my embarrassment considering how long I spent taking photos of them beforehand. Oops.
Given that I opened this piece with a tapas-centered rave, I feel I should share a little about Valle Fresh’s tapas selection. First off: Tapas are essentially various Spanish finger foods, like cheese and olives or chopitos (baby squid, battered and fried). As for Valle Fresh, their menu offered a naan bread quesadilla, with greens and hummus; blistered padron peppers, with manchego and almonds; and pickled vegetables. The tapas menu rotates on a weekly basis.
[image-4]
On top of serving some bomb pork belly tacos, I’m a fan of Valle Fresh’s mission: to create their food from locally sourced and sustainably grown ingredients, promoting small local growers and good eating habits. Maybe it’s not the most original goal a Los Alamos eatery has ever had, but I like it nonetheless.
All in all: I recommend Valle Fresh. It’s really cute and really good. Two thumbs up.
Brenna Swanston misses Barcelona. Send your travel anecdotes to bswanston@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 11-18, 2016.