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During the construction of Takoba, Owner Jose de Loera and former Chef Tracy Young regularly ate coconut paletas (Mexican popsicles) from street vendors. And so the Nube de Coco, which means “coconut cloud” was born. The light, fluffy mix of coconut milk, shredded coconut and vanilla is frozen and turned out onto a plate, capped with whipped cream and served with pineapple. It’s simply heavenly.

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How has the mess of construction on East Seventh affected Takoba?
So when we opened — it didn’t affect us in a way that we weren’t open before it happened, so it didn’t really change things. We opened that way.

So do you find that most of your customers are from the neighborhood, or are people from farther away braving the construction?
Definitely it’s all over. One thing is when we set up our credit card machines, usually they give you statistics or numbers, like well the East Side is, I don’t know, 30% credit card users and the rest use cash. So we open and we get like 95% credit cards. So what it says is that — and I know on the West Side it’s mostly credit cards — we know we get people from the West Side.

And we get the community, they’re in a lot. I’ve been on the East Side for about ten years. So I know the East Side and they come here all the time. In general we get a great mix: we get the hipsters, we get the yuppies, families, and a little bit of the bar scene. So it’s a great mix.

I live in the area. Actually, that’s one of the reasons I opened the restaurant here, is I live in the area and we would always complain about there’s no places to go eat. I eat a lot here, not because I’m working but because I live a block away.

How will the construction ending affect business do you think?
When construction is done, that’s going to be huge. Everybody right now, with Seventh Street, they kind of avoid it. Like I said, I’ve been on the East Side for the last ten years, and I remember when East Seventh was just you go to the airport, you come from the airport. It was pretty much access-only.

How will it affect the neighborhood?
This area has a lot of potential. It’s just going to happen, it’s just going to get bigger and bigger. We still need a lot more restaurants on the East Side. Probably with the construction ending there’s going to be a lot more restaurants opening. Actually, a lot of businesses went out, a lot of restaurants just went out of business. It’s been really difficult.

You definitely see a lot of for lease signs along this stretch.
Yeah. So I think that’s going to change. It’s good for everybody, restaurants compete with each other but I think it’s just good for everybody. Because it makes it a destination. It’s like oh, let’s go to the East Side and see what we find. Instead of just one place and oh, let’s go to that place, it just makes it more difficult.

And I know the bar scene is big on the East Side. In general, I think there will be more restaurants opening on the East Side. When I first moved here, there was just nothing. Now it’s just…there’s a lot of good walking. Especially in this area.

Find out more about Takoba in this edition of “Off the Plate.” Watch the video to check it out.

It’s all in the way it is handmade, from the rim-rubbing with real lime, carefully coating with a shaking of salt, a dash of house-made mix and an ice-cold beer. Bring it on, Austin summer!

More mod than Mex, with concrete floors and a glass-wrapped dining room; the most appealing tables are under pecan trees out front, and bands occasionally entertain in the picnic-table-equipped backyard. The menu trends downscale, though chef Nidxia Lopez throws in surprises like chile en nogada; in this case, the poblano is filled with ground beef and dotted with nibbles of pineapple, apricot, and raisins.

According to Takoba general manager Tracey Young, the word sprang from De Loera’s imagination as something easier to say than ‘El Tacorrido,’ the name of his two small Austin taquerias.

‘But it actually turns out to be a Japanese sword,’ Young said. ‘People come in, and they’re like, “Why would you name your Mexican restaurant after a Japanese sword?” But he named it that about 10 years ago, before anyone had an iPhone and they could just look it up right away and tell you you were wrong.’

Mexican restaurant, Japanese sword. No problem. The bigger issue for De Loera was finding enough parking to support the kind of place he wanted Takoba to be. So for 10 years he sublet the property on East Seventh Street to other restaurants, including the late Colombian place Doña Emilia’s. Then he snagged a parking lot around the corner and set in motion plans for 170 seats across several patios, a sprawling courtyard, a bar and a dining room. And in the middle of World Cup soccer and lane-choking construction on East Seventh Street, Takoba opened in June.

It’s ambitious and humble at the same time, meticulously layered outside with stone, glass and glowing wood, a plot of high urban design bordered by a gas station, a palm reader and the melancholy grandeur of the State Cemetery. Inside, it’s more like a jazz supper club, with regal black-and-white prints and soft light.

The bistro-Mex alarm bells start ringing. Here on the cocktail menu is the Coconut, sort of a White Russian with horchata instead of cream. How would Señor Lebowski say it? ‘El Güey abides.’ A side salad with goat cheese and pecans? Not another hybrid. But then Mom steps in.

‘The owner’s mom, a lot of the recipes were hers,’ said Young, who helped develop the menu and has by her own account cooked in five states and two islands in 15 years. ‘Anyone who cooks, it’s so great to be able to cook with someone’s mom. A French woman’s mom, an Italian woman’s mom. That would work for me. I could go around cooking with anyone’s mom.’

Young’s collaboration with Maria De Loera is a menu of Mexican standards: ceviche with shrimp and avocado, simple guacamole, tortas with eggs and escabeche or pork al pastor, a chile relleno dish as sweet and cinnamon-scented as a sweet roll, fish in mojo de ajo, tacos. This place with planter-box landscaping and the latest shades of brown, aqua and green is at heart a taqueria, with two tacos and two sides running about $8. Ambitious and humble at the same time.

One taco tells most of the story: pork carnitas ‘Don Alberto style,’ named for Jose De Loera’s father, Alberto.

‘We’ve been doing this for 40 years, my dad and I, since I was a little kid,’ Jose De Loera said. That would be 40 of his 44 years. ‘He just cooked the pork and put it on his truck and went to sell it. It took off. The demand for my dad’s carnitas was so huge that we built some taco stands.’

But city regulations pushed them to put up the first El Tacorrido building where North Lamar Boulevard meets Rundberg Lane. Takoba would follow a decade later.

In a city where family matters, where Mexican food is a birthright regardless of heritage and where a sense of style always counts for something, Takoba brings together all three at populist prices, an easy choice for Newcomer of the Year.

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Takoba’s hours are 11am-midnight Monday-Friday, 9am-1am on Saturday and 9am-midnight on Sunday. They’ll have a big bash for the World Cup final this Sunday, and you can learn more about that, keep an eye on specials, and see pics of the full menu at their Facebook page.

The dimly lit interior evokes a sociable-but-relaxed atmosphere, with tables spread out to the far corners, a private event room and higher pub tables up near the bar, while out back you’ll find a sand-and-beach chair patio, a foosball table and an enormous Mexican flag. It’s as nice a date spot as it is a soccer-watching one. Another thing we like: parking on the east side can sometimes be a hassle, but Takoba has its own lot around the corner at 6th and Navasota.

The menu is extensive and unique. Platos de tacos include the de pescado (crispy fried tilapia, diced pineapple, shredded cabbage & carrot escabeche slaw, creamy chipotle mayo), the wonderful vegetarian taco de verduras (grilled zucchini, caramelized sweet potatoes, roasted corn, green chiles, queso fresco, salsa secreta) and the de carnitas estilo don Alberto (slow-braised pork shoulder served with cilantro, lime, frijoles flor de mayo).

Other menu options include enchiladas de mole con pollo, chile rellenos en nogada (roasted poblano, ground beef, dried fruit, walnut cream sauce, pomegranate), soups, salads (try the salad de la casa, with baby spinach, toasted pecans, jicama, oranges and goat cheese with a vinaigrette dressing), appetizers and ceviche.

There are also two fully-stocked bars, with beers like (512) Pecan Porter, Negra Modelo and Dogfish Head 60 Min IPA on draught, amongst others, and a roving cast of bottles which included Quilmes and Xingu when we stopped by. Cocktails include a michelada made with Salsa Valentina and a mango-habañero margarita.

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