photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World photo

An asada and an al pastor taco are shown at the new taqueria at 19th and Massachusetts streets in Lawrence.

The pandemic halted the yearly vacations to central Mexico for Lawrence’s Andrade family, and created a new type of craving for the authentic street food they ate while visiting family south of the border. Just what those cravings produced, though, surprised even them: A new Lawrence taqueria.

“During the pandemic, opening a restaurant was an idea we would joke about because we wanted street food from Mexico so bad,” Brisa Andrade said. “Then it all happened one day. My dad has a friend in the business, and that friend took it seriously. He started helping us out.”

Brisa said the family “lucked into” finding a space for the taco stand. It is located at 19th and Massachusetts streets in the building on the southeast corner, which once housed a breakfast burrito place, a barbecue joint and a few other operations over the years.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World photo

The family of Guadalupe Andrade has opened a new taqueria at 19th and Massachusetts streets in Lawrence.

Now, it is home to La Pasadita Taqueria, or at least that is what Brisa told me the name was. To be honest, the sign pretty much just says “Taqueria,” which is fine with the Andrades. Authentic taco shops keep it simple, she said, and the family hopes to give area residents a glimpse of how a shop would operate in Mexico.

“It is pretty darn similar,” she said. “That was the goal — for you to walk in and feel like you are not in Kansas anymore.”

But that doesn’t mean you are going to be in some Tex-Mex restaurant where every-other-wall hanging features either a bullfight or a sombrero. (Or both because I will only fight bulls wearing a sombrero. The bull that is, not me.) The taqueria features a handful of tables and a counter where you also can eat your meal. Brisa thinks the most exciting thing about the restaurant may be who ends up sitting at those tables and counters. The Andrade family has been in Lawrence for more than 15 years and knows large numbers of people in both the Hispanic and non-Hispanic communities in Lawrence, Brisa said

She said the mix of people and the casual nature of a taqueria is what she has always loved best about such shops.

“A lot of time it is at night and you have just finished work, or maybe you have just gotten some groceries,” Brisa said. “You’re tired, you stop by and get some tacos, talk, see people, just relax at the end of the day. We want people to come in and relax.”

The menu is designed to be quick. It is built around four meat options: asada, which is small chunks of grilled beef steak; al pastor, which is small chunks of pork and seasoning; chicken; and birria, which Brisa said is the most special of the offerings.

“It is an authentic Mexican stew meat,” Brisa said. “You slow cook it for hours. It is really juicy and tender. It is my grandfather’s recipe.”

You can have any of those put into a soft shell taco, or you can use them as the filling for a torta — a Mexican sandwich — or a burrito. And then there is something called a “gringa,” which is not as mysterious as it sounds. Brisa said it is a lot like a quesadilla stuffed with meat, but some regions of Mexico use the gringa name. All the dishes come with bottles of red and green sauce.

The menu also includes several Mexican sodas and juices, but also includes what may end up being my most dangerous craving since I took Doritos to bed and then futilely tried to sell the idea that our family quilt always had hues of nacho cheese orange in it. The restaurant sells a pre-packaged dessert called a Gansito. Brisa’s sister — Lizbett, who works the front counter — had me sold on the idea when she told me it “is kind of like a Mexican Twinkie.” She also recommended eating a frozen one. As one man sitting next to me said, “This is better than a Twinkie.” (Although as a proud Kansan — Twinkies are made in Emporia — I feel obligated to eat a certain number of Twinkies per day.)

As for Gansitos, Brisa told me the name basically translates to “little goose.” If you think that is odd, I dare you to translate “Twinkie” into Spanish.

Brisa said the restaurant — which is led by her father, Guadalupe Andrade — does plan to expand the menu some. She said tamales likely will be offered on a seasonal basis in the near future, and the family is exploring some other options too.

I may have more news of tacos and Mexican food to write after Christmas. I do know there is a new taco shop near the convenience store at 31st and Iowa, near Best Buy, that I plan to write about soon. Plus, as we briefly reported, there’s a new taco and tequila offering coming to downtown Lawrence in the spot that used to house Genovese’s Italian restaurant, plus the chain Rusty Taco at 10th and Mass. is still coming soon, according to its website.

I’ll dive into all of that, but for now, it is adios until after Christmas. Town Talk will be taking a few days off and return the last week of December. I hope all of you have a great and peaceful holiday season.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World photo

A chicken burrito at the new taqueria at 19th and Massachusetts streets is shown.