One More Taco brings new flavor to town

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Nearly half of all Johnstonians identify themselves as being of Italian heritage, the highest percentage of any municipality in the country. That has, in turn, made the town famous for its authentic Italian cuisine.

Now, Johnston is the place to go for authentic Mexican cooking with fresh, local, and smoked ingredients.

Opened in October of last year, One More Taco at 751 Hartford Ave. near the corner of Killingly Street is bringing a new culinary flair to Johnston that’s getting some serious attention.

Lauren Pinto, 34, grew up in Johnston until her family moved to South Kingston just before she entered high school. She went on to Roger William’s University and earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees there in criminal justice. After completing her studies, she then moved to Washington, D.C., for about eight years. Looking for a change her last year there, she began to study integrative nutrition, where she learned about diets, types of cooking, and different styles of food. She decided to go into business for herself.

“Tacos were always a staple in my house; we wanted a way to make them healthy and fun and try to come up with something very different than what people are used to eating in a taco,” Pinto said.

Her father owned the familiar property that now houses Domino’s, the taco shop and Mike and T’s Italian eatery. According to Pinto, the property has been in her family for decades, probably back to the 1900s.

At one point in time, there was a club on the property called the One More Club, an Italian gentleman’s club, which is where Pinto got the inspiration for the new taco shop name. Getting the shop up and running was challenging, as she had to gut and remodel the entire building. It once was also a sausage shop, and had never gone through any type of remodeling, so Pinto started from square one.

“We have people who come in who used to go to the club and now come in to order tacos, which is really cool,” Pinto said. “But we still have people who come in and ask for a sausage and pepper sandwich.”

Pinto’s suffered through one of the roughest winters in recent memory during her first year, but she’s excited for the summer and the opportunities it brings.

“The town was fantastic through the whole process, and we did hear horror stories from different people about opening a business, but everything’s been great with Johnston,” Pinto said. “The reception in town has been fantastic, we have a lot of locals come in, but we also have people coming in from Coventry, Smithfield and Scituate. I love Johnston, I grew up around here. It’s nice to be in a place where there’s some history.”

Though the restaurant is small, the flavors in each dish are big. Counter seating is available inside the shop, with six spaces to sit. They’ve also opened up their outside patio for the season with three picnic tables. Considered both an eat-in and take-out establishment, they’re looking to expand their menu over the next year so that customers will want to try new items while coming back for old favorites.

The most important ingredient to Pinto’s success, however, is staying local.

“It’s a local spot so we try to use as many local ingredients as we possibly can through the community,” Pinto said. “Our focus is local; we used local contractors, local artists, and local designers when establishing, and we’ll continue to do so. Our chicken comes from Baffoni farms, we use Narragansett Creamery cheese, we use Narragansett beer to braise our pork. But we also hickory smoke our meats in house, and as far as we know no one else is doing that in Johnston, especially not for tacos.”

Their top selling taco is their Carne Asada, with marinated steak, Narragansett Creamery queso fresco, house-made pico de gallo and cilantro.

“As part of our new summer menu, which we’re really excited about, we now have ‘Street Style’ corn,” added Pinto. “It’s corn on the cob with mayonnaise, Narragansett Creamery cheese and paprika. Along with our blackened fish taco, they’ve been huge, they’re really fresh.”

Chef Ramon Martinez, originally from California, has been cooking his entire life. According to Pinto, he brings an international style to the kitchen, infusing each dish with an experienced flavor. The establishment employs four, and catering for corporate and in-home events is available with 24-hour notice. Tacos range in price from $2.75 to $3.50, and there are multiple taco deals, such as the three tacos for $7.75 offering. Burritos are $7 and $9 with carne.

“We know there are other options,” Pinto said. “We know there are big chain restaurants, but we like to go local and we know that we bring something different to the table.”

One More Taco is open from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. More information may be found at www.onemoretacori.com or by calling 401-280-6815.

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