Chef Michael Toscano Pops Up With a Kick-Ass Taco Stand in Charleston

Charleston chef Michael Toscano is well known for his Italian fare at Le Farfalle (15 Beaufain Street), Da Toscano Porchetta Shop (109 President Street), Fugazzi (10 Conroy Street), and Da Toscano in New York. While those restaurants celebrate his father's Italian heritage, Toscano is looking towards his family's matriarchs for his next establishment. Blanca Estrada (164 Market Street) will be a pop-up taco stand in the former UPS store next to Le Farfalle.

The restaurant's name comes from his lineage; his mother’s name is Blanca, and his grandmother’s maiden name is Estrada. Toscano’s mother is from Mexico, and her cooking was an early influence on his culinary journey. “My mother was always consistent with homemade meals, just simply well done,” says Toscano, “It was what we grew to expect from food, so much so that when we ate at friend’s houses, we were like, ‘What the fuck is going on over here?’ I realized what food is supposed to be from my mother.”

Blanca Estrada will be open for lunch and dinner. The kitchen will make its own masa for tortillas, stew various types of meat (carne asada, carnitas, pollo, etc.), and mix up tequila drinks. During the day, customers can order at the shop and take their meals to the Le Farfalle bar room or patio. In the evening, there will be several bar seats in the Blanca Estrada space for dine-in.

The Market Street address is a preview of Toscano’s Mexican cooking while he finalizes a permanent space for Blanca Estrada. When that opens, he will turn the pop-up spot into a New York pizza slice and lasagna joint.

All this comes on the heels of Toscano expanding his reach to Greenville, South Carolina, with a partnership with 3’s Golf and Grill to offer Peruvian chicken wings, shrimp lettuce wraps, fancy sandwiches, and better-than-average golf course fare.

Blanca Estrada will open at the end of October.