Taco cart Nora's adds a home on South St.

Dare you to find a harder-working couple than Luis Lorenzo and Nora Portugal, who own Nora's.

They started with a taco cart at 38th and Spruce Streets on the University of Pennsylvania campus, adding a second one recently nearby.

And earlier this month, they not only opened a restaurant - a nothing-fancy taqueria at 248 South St. (267-758-2413) - but had a baby. Mere days after delivering little Nora, Portugal was back at the stove.

Lorenzo, who is from Mexico, has front-of-the-house experience at Capital Grille and Buddakan, while his wife is Peruvian and has been cooking Latin as a caterer (including frat houses at Penn) for a decade. Most recently, she worked in the kitchen at Normandy Farm in Blue Bell.

The Nora's on South Street near Third has a small menu for now, as Portugal is planning to add Peruvian dishes.

Specialties are burritos and burrito bowls ($7, though $8 for steak), grilled chicken over rice or salad ($6), and tacos, most of which are $2.50 each. (I recommend tacos al pastor as well as the fish, which are not fried.)

There are several tables in the front, a few more in the back, and one on the sidewalk.

Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday, till midnight Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.