Taqueria Iris - Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Note: I’ve been informed that Taqueria Iris has closed but have not had time to verify. Nevertheless, I am leaving this article, because Señora Quiroz’s business was so very typical of the small businesses in Juarez.

Taqueria Iris is a one person at a time food stand in Juarez, Mexico, but that one person is in for a treat. Taqueria Iris is owned and run by Herminia Quiroz, and you will find her busy serving meals every day on the north side of Vicente Guerrero between Calles Peru and Columbia. Click on any photo to see what a clean kitchen and serving space she provides, however humble.

Originally from Coahuila, Coahuila, Mexico, Señora Quiroz has been in this location for 8 years and has a daughter named Iris, after whom I presume she named her taco stand. Iris is about 12 or 13. She also has a son in secondario (high school), Ignacio. It was my pleasure to meet both of these well mannered young people the day these pictures were taken. Señora Quiroz is just another of the millions of hardworking people in Juarez, Mexico, our friends just south of the border whom, for some reason, many of us are afraid to visit.

Shown here are her tacos de buche. They tacos were delicious, even if I did not know what they were, and the bill was $2.00, with a bottled coke. (They really do seem to taste better in the bottle). Señora Quiroz serves more elaborate meals as well, but this particular day I was in the mood for a snack.