“…this all sounds like a taco Fyre Festival”.

Some people would say that all you have to do is, work a Fyre Festival reference into your story, and you have me.

There may be some truth to that.

But I think this is entertaining.

There is a taqueria in Mexico City, Taquería El Califa de León, that has a Michelin star. It is the only Michelin starred taqueria in the world.

Taquería El Califa de León announced that they were doing a pop-up for two weeks in Dallas.

It lasted one week.

On Tuesday, just one week into the pop-up, El Califa pulled the plug. In a statement to Chron, the taqueria said it was ending its collaboration with [some app] after the project “did not meet the agreed standards of quality, space, and raw materials required to represent the Michelin-starred taqueria.”

The pop-up is still running according to reports, but without Taquería El Califa de León’s participation.

Influencer @cowgirlseat posted a video to TikTok and Instagram about her experience with a pre-booked “chef’s table,” a fully pre-paid six-course meal, $340 for four people. Her table waited more than three hours for one drink and two tacos per person. A restaurant employee told her the kitchen was experiencing a gas leak, as that employee smoked a cigarette.

…

If you’re thinking this all sounds like a taco Fyre Festival, I have one irresistible piece of gossip for you, from a firsthand witness who handled the packaging: the “chef’s table” dessert was from Costco.

And allegedly the owner and chef wasn’t even there: he was at Formula 1 in Austin this past weekend, “cooking for celebrities like Chace Crawford”. (Who?)

The Chron article I think has a little less editorializing. The D magazine article contains much more opinion, including bashing the restaurant (“…many food lovers whispered that El Califa’s reputation in Mexico City is nothing special”), the Michelin Guide (“Even if Michelin had chosen the very best taquería on earth, it would still be a token.”), influencers (“…egged on by influencers who skipped the lines, we got Fyre’d by somebody who said the word “Michelin” and charged $12 for a food group that we already have on almost every street corner”), the customers (“At what point in a five-hour wait does “curious” become “gullible”?”), and the app that co-sponsored the pop-up (which I choose not to name here, though it is named in the articles).

“I go to a taco truck. I order three tacos. They cost three dollars. My Fiesta name is Pendejo.”