Some of Melbourne's best TexMex is in Collingwood

In Australia, we associate Tex-Mex with chain restaurants and overcooked fajitas. In Texas, it’s a legitimate cuisine, introduced by Tejanos, the descendants of Mexican people who immigrated to the States. Before July 2020, we didn’t have Tex-Mex worth talking about.

That was the date Paul Walcutt and Kady Simkins first rolled up beside the Maribyrnong River in their food truck, Dingo Ate My Taco.

Paul grew up in Austin, where his family ran barbecue restaurants; Kady was raised between California and Alice Springs.

Their white truck is scrawled with black exclamations ranging from ay que rico (Spanish slang for “delicious”) to “put another brisket on la barbie”. Everything here is made from scratch, including the tortillas and four varieties of salsa. The arbol chilli salsa is so spicy that it’s only available upon request.

There are build-your-own breakfast tacos (choose between blue corn or flour tortillas), but the signature is birria quesa tacos. Birria is a soupy Mexican stew from Jalisco, traditionally made with goat. For the birria quesa tacos, the meat is shredded and served in a tortilla, with the broth set aside for dipping.

Dingo Ate My Taco smokes brisket in the truck, separates the fat and broth from the protein, and then fries the tortilla in the fat. It’s stuffed with the brisket, onion and coriander and glued together with melty Oaxacan cheese.

There are other tacos, too. The most interesting are the vegan huitlacoche, a Mexican corn fungus, and the chorizo, made with wallaby, wild boar and pork mince. According to Kady, the wallaby is what makes it taste most like a traditional Mexican chorizo. Top tip: the dirty horcharta, a nutty rice milk beverage spiked with cold-brew coffee, does wonders for a foggy head.

Keep an eye on the @dingoatemytaco Instagram for location changes and specials, such as beef-cheek barbacoa tacos.

What’s nearby?

Collingwood is blessed with Mexican hot spots. On Smith Street, there’s Frankie’s Tortas and Tacos for tacos al pastor, Fonda for frozen margaritas, or Hotel Jesus for brisket with mole de xico. Gertrude Street’s Trippy Taco has an all-vegetarian menu.

Dingo Ate My Taco  is open Friday & Saturday, at 13 Gipps Street, Collingwood, and Sunday, Coulson Gardens, 35-55 Chifley Drive, Maribyrnong.