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Jenni Moore
Jenni is an Alaska-born, Oregon-raised writer living in Portland. Read More
Taqueria Mis Tacones: Cultivating Community and Cashew Cheese
A vision of authentic Mexican vegan food and mutual aid comes to life in Portland’s Alberta neighborhood.
Jenni Moore
Jenni is an Alaska-born, Oregon-raised writer living in Portland. Read More
Under a round pink sign — featuring a gender non-conforming character wearing red lips, a collared shirt and a sombrero — rests Portland’s Mis Tacones, a vibrant, warm, queer-centered space welcoming all and slinging 100% vegan, authentic Mexican cuisine.
“I don’t wanna sound super dramatic — but like whatever, I am hella dramatic: It kind of started with pain, with missing home,” says co-owner Carlos Reynoso. “Polo and I moved to Portland and we don’t have a lot of family here … so we just had to draw on each other for family.”
Partners and co-owners Polo Bañuelos (they/them) and Carlos Reynoso (he/him) have each been vegan for over a decade. After more than 20 years of combined experience with veganism and a lifetime’s worth of culinary hustle, it’s no wonder their colorful pop-up turned Northeast Portland brick-and-mortar, Mis Tacones, has garnered a loyal following.
Editor’s Note: Comments from Polo Bañuelos and Carlos Reynoso have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Mis Tacones Vegan Beginnings
Bañuelos remembers being “a nosy kid in the kitchen,” ultimately learning to cook from his mother and aunts. “They were trying to teach me a lesson, but they did teach me a lesson, a really important one: how much I actually love food and love being in the kitchen.” Bañuelos carried their passion for cooking as a hobby, encouraged by their mom, who would take them out to eat and then try to recreate their favorite dishes.
Having struggled with dietary issues in their youth, Bañuelos took to vegetarianism to eat less fast food and incorporate more vegetables into their diet. It wasn’t until meeting their partner, Reynoso, who was already vegan, that Bañuelos eliminated the remaining animal products in their diet. Bañuelos says having a partner who was already vegan made it “a lot easier for me to transition and be able to just enjoy really good vegan food together.”
Reynoso’s passion for cooking was born from an act of rebellion against his family and the traditional household’s rigid rules. Reynoso’s experience as an immigrant also informed his proclivity for food. “Illegally crossing — when I was a kid, the [street] vendors in the border crossing [were] kind of a huge inspiration for me,” he explains. “Seeing what they offered and what we were able to buy from them was a distraction from crossing the border. It felt very dangerous and uncomfortable for the rest of my family. For me as a kid, the food vendors were a fascination for me, [and are] still.”
“Moving from LA to Portland, it was a culture shock. Like, big time,” Bañuelos says. In search of community, the two wanted “to do something for ourselves and start something special.” They got nostalgic and dreamed about all the foods they were homesick for, what they’d like to cook and what they loved to eat.
The couple launched Mis Tacones in the summer of 2016 as a recurring pop-up. Bañuelos cooked up their house-made seitan “meat” while wearing stiletto heels — a fitting choice considering Mis Tacones translates to both “my heels” and “my tacos.”
Later on, the original owners of Food Fight! Grocery, Chad Miller and Emiko Badillo, gave Mis Tacones a platform to vend on the weekends from the mini strip mall’s parking lot. There they sold a trio of tacos to a lengthy line of customers, rain or shine. They also spent a short time as a cart outside of Jet Black Coffee Company before closing to raise money for much-needed repairs. Right as they secured funding, the pandemic forced them back into pop-up mode and they took up residencies at the now-closed Café Reina and gay bar Local Lounge (which reopened in 2023 as Back 2 Earth).
Mis Tacones Finds a Permanent Home
In Fall 2021, Reynoso and Bañuelos met with Tiffin Asha owner, Sheila Bommakanti, to discuss taking over the Indian restaurant’s space. It was mutually important that another BIPOC or queer-owned business carry on the space’s legacy. Mis Tacones took over the spot on Northeast Killingsworth Street in February 2022. First and foremost, the vibrant Mexican food spot serves positive vibes, followed by colorful plates and strong, tasty drinks.
Even on a recent Taco Tuesday, and alongside big, hearty burritos like the Cali B (California burrito), and eloté-stuffed empanadas, a share-worthy plate of nachos stands out. Order the simple nachos (refried pinto beans and cheese) or the Papas Nachos with a choice of seitan protein, and marvel at their mastery of plant-based cheese. Carlos Reynoso says the key to their melted quesillo’s oozing cheese-like texture — which is more of a smooth sauce sans the trademark stickiness associated with retail vegan cheese — is that it’s made in-house with fermented cashews. On hand-pressed nixtamal tortillas, Mis Tacones serves up spicy and savory house-made proteins like cilantro-lime marinated seitan and ultra-filling burritos, quesadillas, tortas and a mulita with Soyrizo crumbles and that glorious, melty quesillo.
Credit: Travel Portland
You’ll come for the friendly atmosphere and California Baja- and LA street-style eats, but stay for the margaritas, friendly conversation, and desserts like fried ice cream, flan, peanut butter cheesecake and paletas from Ice Queen PDX. Due to the restaurant’s small space, it can sometimes feel a bit crowded, but it’s always welcoming, energetic and homey nonetheless.
Mis Tacones’ Favorite Vegan Hangs
A taste of Portland from vegan pros and co-owners of Mis Tacones, Polo Bañuelos and Carlos Reynoso.
A Mission to Support the Trans Community
Inspired by West Oakland pop-up Gay4U, the owners of Mis Tacones give back with a pay-it-forward model, providing free meals for trans people of color. “There’s a lot of folks who might not be able to afford the meal because either they just can’t, or they’re transitioning, and they probably have enough bills racked up for their surgeries or … just for whatever reasons, whatever hardships. It’s good to just be able to, at the bare minimum, offer somebody a free meal,” says Reynoso.
Anyone who wants to pay it forward can go into the restaurant and donate to the free meal fund. “There are donations that we track, and then people from the community who identify as a trans POC can come in and we pull from that donation pool to pay for their meals. And since we started providing that resource, a lot of people in the community use it.”
The Future of Mis Tacones
With all the obstacles and adversity they’ve faced during Mis Tacones’ evolution, the two business owners are humble and say Mis Tacones’ success wasn’t just their doing. They give major thanks to their loyal customers and Portland’s small business community, including folks from other vegan, queer- and BIPOC-owned businesses, for allowing Mis Tacones to shine.
“From pop-ups to brick and mortar, it’s a completely different world,” says Bañuelos. “It’s been great to see all of these faces throughout the years, just watching them grow with their families … and then bringing their families to what was once just a little pop-up in a parking lot to having a space for them to bring their entire family and sit down and enjoy a pretty tasty meal. Yeah, that part has been really special.”
The couple also successfully paid off their investors, Justin King (of Black Heart Collective and Ben & Esther’s Vegan Jewish Deli) and Lisa Stanger King (of Black Thorn Mercantile).
When we say that the community is really special out here in Portland … it’s something else. It really is.
Mis Tacones co-owners, Polo Bañuelos and Carlos Reynoso.
“We definitely want to grow right now. I feel like we’ve already kind of outgrown the little space that we have,” says Bañuelos. In the not-so-distant future, the co-owners hope to procure a larger location that could accommodate larger events, and they’d also like to be able to pay forward the support and pave the way for another business the way Portland’s entrepreneurial community did for them.
Portland’s strong small business community, along with its propensity for inclusive dining options outside of vegan fare like gluten-free or sober spots, makes it easy for visitors and locals alike to feel welcome and at home.”When we say that the community is really special out here in Portland … it’s something else. It really is,” say Bañuelos and Reynoso.
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