Taco-Yote is the new taqueria in Moorestown from Conshohocken’s Coyote Crossing
Taco-Yote is smaller, bolder, and less expensive, with a menu engineered for takeout and delivery.
In late 1996, Carlos Melendez took a chance on a watering hole off the beaten path in Conshohocken and created Coyote Crossing, still one of the suburbs’ most popular Mexican restaurants. Ten years later, he opened what proved to be a short-lived outpost in West Chester before deciding to double down by expanding the original restaurant.
And that seemed to be enough until one night last year when he and his wife, Steffany, were out to dinner at Maurizio’s Bistro, near their home in Moorestown. Melendez struck up a conversation with owner Maurizio Randazzo.
“He told me, ‘You know what, Carlos? I’m tired. I’m having knee surgery, and I just don’t want to do this anymore. I’d like to sell it,’” Melendez said.
Melendez initially was reluctant to open another restaurant, but his wife urged him to look at it as a creative exercise. “And she was right,” he said.
» READ MORE: At Coyote Crossing, it's life off the beaten path
Taco-Yote — a mashup of “taco” and “coyote” — opened Dec. 12. It’s a deliberate shift from Coyote Crossing. Moorestown is dry, so there is no bar. It’s also much smaller, with a lower price point and a menu engineered for takeout and delivery as much as for dine-in.
The food reflects Melendez’s upbringing in Mexico City and his decades in restaurants — he worked with Tequilas founder David Suro at the Carlos ‘n Charlie’s chain many years ago. The design is bold with hand-painted artwork and an intimate feel.
His mother-in-law, Ada Marina Estela, painted several pieces in the restaurant, including a prominent Frida Kahlo-inspired portrait in the main dining room. Steffany Melendez, a fashion designer, is behind “everything you see — the colors, the artwork, the aesthetic — that’s all her,” Carlos Melendez said.
Central to chef Oscar Velasquez’s menu is a custom grill designed by Melendez and built by a fabricator in Tennessee, similar to one at Coyote Crossing. Fueled by charcoal and wood, it allows for live-fire cooking.
Maurizio’s pizza oven is now pumping out pizzas inspired by Mexican street food: tacos al pastor, mole poblano, shrimp, birria (with consommé on the side), and rajas poblanas.
“One of the biggest challenges with Mexican food is how it travels,” Melendez said. “If you order tacos, no matter where they’re from, by the time they arrive the tortillas are soggy, so we package it differently. We separate the protein from the tortillas. You get the protein, you get the fixings, and you get freshly made corn tortillas. That way, when you assemble the taco yourself, the tortilla hasn’t had time to absorb moisture.”
He said they apply similar thinking to pizza. “If you put sauce directly on the dough, it eventually makes the pizza soggy during transport,” he said. “We put the cheese down first. That way, the sauce isn’t in direct contact with the dough, and the pizza travels much better.
The menu also includes family-style meals — fajitas and similar dishes — where everything is packaged separately so customers can assemble them at home.
And then there is a Cuban sandwich.
“When I was a kid, my father [the actor Carlos Duran] would visit occasionally. My mom would drop me off at this sandwich place in Mexico [Tortas Don Polo] while we waited for him, because he was always one or two hours late. I’d sit at the counter and watch them make Cuban sandwiches for hours. I memorized the whole routine. That sandwich stayed with me. It has American cheese, Oaxaca, queso fresco, and Chihuahua cheese, pulled pork, chipotle dressing, avocado, and — very important — pickled jalapeños.” The bread is lightly buttered and heated so it’s soft.
“We put that sandwich on the menu because it’s personal,” Melendez said. “I’ve been making it for myself for years.”
Taco-Yote, 33 E. Main St., Moorestown, 856-323-5500. Hours: noon to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.