There are some serious advantages to working in downtown Norman. There are some cool coffee and gift shops; parking isn’t terrible; and, most importantly, I’m located directly across the street from Guestroom Records (where, purely coincidentally, a good chunk of my paycheck also winds up). If there’s a chief complaint, it’s that — without hopping into your car — your lunch options feel almost entirely limited what sort of American diner fare you want. The other restaurants within walking distance primarily cater more to bar crowds and the dinner scene, and because I A) don’t have a serious drinking problem and B) am not a professional competitive eater, I had long been hard-pressed to find a lunch option that didn’t come between two buns and topped with a slice of cheese.
Enter Puebla Tacos y Tequileria, located at 305 E. Main in Norman. After opening earlier this summer, it rose out of the ashy shell of the shuttered Tres Cantina and Grille like a fiery, Tex-Mex phoenix. And by embracing the fast-casual vibes that have become more and more popular with diners over the past decade, it packs flavor and options aplenty into your quick, midday fuel-up.
Walls bathed in a vibrant yellow, dotted with sparse but colorful decor, it’s a refreshing enough space. Instruments sit in the front corner, echoing the salsa, flamenco and blues music nights they’ve taken to hosting throughout the week. And while the overall atmosphere isn’t dazzling, it’s comfortable and clean (the bar in the back is an elegant one, though, lined with enough tequila to take down an off-the-wagon Robert Downey Jr.). Walk in and you’ll spot the blackboard menu divided into your choose-your-own-adventure meal.
There are your proteins, which include vegan-friendly choices like the smoky portobello mushrooms and marinated cactus (nopalitos) on top of your expected selections like smoked beef/chicken/pork and carne asada. Not revolutionary but more singular is the tilapia (which comes with queso fresco and mango salsa) and puebla cochinita pibil, a slow-roasted pork simmered with pickled red onions, cilantro, lime, and habanero relish. You can get each of these served in a variety of treatments like tacos (of course), nachos, quesadillas, burritos, ceviche (that’s tilapia only, as you might assume) and tortas. There are some appetizers, too. The creamy queso blanco dip is a subtle exercise in cheesy restraint, evoking the warm, gooey goodness of a good queso without walloping you over the head with a caricature-like overkill of it, the onions and cilantro stepping in to freshen the whole thing up.
My first trip over I selected the carne asada quesadilla — because I’ll forever be a 10-year-old at heart. It’s a solid option, I guess, though I’ve had more flavorful carne asada elsewhere (like Tarahumara’s, from just down the road) and the quesadilla was skimpy, more taco-sized than anything and lacking the molten cheese quality that makes for a good one. But that’sOK, because I found my lunch salvation in thepuebla cochinita pibil torta. I realize the delicious irony that I am describing yet another dish that comes between two buns and topped with a slice of cheese, but that irony is just delicious enough for me to willing to suspend any and all mental incongruences between what I was asking for and what I got.
This recipe, you can tell, is where the chefs spent most of their time, because like a science experiment in mashing all the flavors and textures under the rainbow into one bite, it has everything you could ever want. The grilled, buttered ciabatta bread brings a nice crunch to the outside, soft enough on the inside to not feel like chomping through two oversized Triscuits. Black bean dip coats each inner layer, bringing an earthiness that plays well with the acidic tomato, sour onion and bright cilantro. Mozzarella and avocado come in to smooth the whole thing out, and the dripping-with-flavor pulled pork shines bright in the middle to become the most delightful twist on a barbecue sandwich that you could ever ask for. And it comes with battered curly fries, because of course it does.
They’ll offer you up ketchup to go with those fries, but fuck that; you’re in a Mexican restaurant. Puebla thinks highly of its homemade salsas — they’ll bring all four out to you if you don’t grab one yourself — and with good reason … and fries plus salsa equals crazy delicious. They have two variations of red (one hotter, one more mild) and green (again, one hotter and one mild, though the avocado in the hotter variety makes for a great little spread).
This isn’t a transcendental experience, but as a casual lunch spot, you could ask for little more. It has the homey vibes of a mom-and-pop joint that has lingered there for decades prior, all while serving up food that is fresh both in perception and flavor. As an added bonus, there’s not a burger to be found.
