Restaurateur Michal Bay has opened Picasso Taqueria in Mooresville, featuring modern Mexican tacos with a few surprising twists. Now in its soft opening phase, Picasso Taqueria is located at Merino Mill on Mooresville’s Main Street. The menu currently includes these tacos:
The Carolina – Slow cooked pulled pork, jalapeño slaw, smoky BBQ sauce, and white onions
Barbacoa – Braised beef, red sauce, cotija, pickled red onion & cabbage, cilantro
Fried chicken – Panko breaded chicken tenders, jalapeño slaw, chipotle sauce, pickled jalapeño
California shrimp – Grilled shrimp, lettuce, pineapple mango salsa, cilantro lime sauce
Shrimp Too – Grilled Shrimp, poblano tartar sauce, lettuce, salsa verde
el Americano – Ground beef, sour cream, lettuce, tomato, avocado cream
Black bean crumble – Black bean-quinoa crumble, house sauce, jalapeño slaw, pickled red onion & cabbage
All tacos feature fresh flour tortillas made in-house with finely ground Italian flour. The same style of flour gives memorable flavor to pizzas at Aliño Pizzeria, Picasso’s sister restaurant at the Mill.
Tacos are $3.95 apiece. Sides include charro beans with chorizo for $2.95 and Mexican rice for $2.95. For snacks and starters, pick from guacamole and chips for $5.95 or a salsa trio for $3.95. Diners can build their own plates with tacos and sides of their choosing. “During our soft opening, guests can let us know which tacos they like best to keep for our permanent menu,” Bay says in a statement.
Beverages will include 20 beers on tap plus wines and wine cocktails. Picasso seats about 600 diners at long tables with benches plus an outdoor patio in a family-friendly atmosphere. Diners can see their dishes being made in the open kitchen, which is visible through windows on the floor below the restaurant.
Bay sampled tacos in Mexico and major U.S. cities, including New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, to develop ideas for the flavors he imagined.
Merino Mill is also home to Bay’s Aliño Pizzeria and The Barcelona Burger & Beer Garden. Mix-and-match is welcome at Picasso Taqueria. If Mom and Dad want tacos but the kids want burgers, families can stroll over to The Barcelona to order takeout burgers and bring them back to Picasso, where the parents can get their taco fix.
Picasso Taqueria in Merino Mill is located at 500 S. Main Street in Mooresville. Hours are Monday – Thursday 11 am to 8:30 pm, Friday and Saturday 11 am – 9 pm, and Sunday 11 am – 8:30 pm.
