The Taco Stand, the San Diego taqueria built on the street tacos of Tijuana, is now serving in Aventura at 19129 Biscayne Boulevard. It is the chain's fifth South Florida shop and its first in northeast Miami-Dade, open from 9 a.m. every day with outdoor seating and on-site parking.

For Aventura, that means a quick, serious taco a few minutes from the mall. Until now, the closest Taco Stand was a drive south to South Beach or Wynwood, or west to Sunrise.

From La Jolla to Biscayne Boulevard

The Taco Stand opened its first counter in La Jolla in November 2013. Its founders, Aram Baloyan and Julian Hakim, are from Tijuana, and they have said the idea was simple: bring the flavor of the taco stands they grew up with, and the food they ate traveling the Baja Peninsula, north of the border without dressing it up.

The brand is now part of Shōwa Hospitality, the San Diego group the two founders started, and it runs about twenty locations across California, Nevada, Texas and Florida. In South Florida it already operated in Wynwood, on Calle Ocho, in South Beach and in Sunrise before Aventura. A Delray Beach shop is listed as coming next.

What to order

The menu is short and does what it says. The carne asada taco is flame-grilled Angus steak with cilantro, onion, guacamole and a mild salsa. The al pastor is rotisserie-marinated pork with pineapple, the version most people judge a taqueria by. Pollo asado follows the carne asada template with grilled chicken.

From the coast side of Baja, there is a battered fish taco with cabbage and chipotle salsa and a spicy grilled shrimp taco with cheese, avocado and cabbage. Vegetarians get the nopal taco, cured cactus with melted cheese, tomato and avocado.

Then there is the California burrito, the San Diego signature that surprises people the first time: grilled Angus steak, cheese, guacamole, sour cream and French fries rolled inside the tortilla. Carne asada fries put the same idea on a tray. The Mar y Tierra, available as a burrito or over fries, combines the spicy shrimp and steak. Round it out with Mexican street corn dusted in cotija and chile, a bag of the house-made chips, or churros, which come three to an order. The shop also sells locally made, all-natural paletas.

Hours and getting there

The Aventura Taco Stand is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Sunday, and 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The location lists outdoor seating, on-site parking and street parking, which on this stretch of Biscayne is not a small thing. Online ordering and catering are available through the chain's website, thetacostand.com, and the shop lists its phone number as 786-788-7740.

Why it is worth a stop

Aventura's dining is anchored by the mall and its full-service restaurants, where a quick lunch rarely stays quick. A Tijuana-style taqueria with long hours and a parking lot, close to the mall and the condos along the Intracoastal, gives residents a fast, casual option they used to drive to South Beach or Sunrise for. Doors open at 9 every morning, and on Friday and Saturday the kitchen stays open until 11.