Kingston’s Mossback is dishing up a Northwest twist on Mexican street food this summer during monthly pop-ups of its taco-slinging alter ego, El Musgo.

And judging by the response to the concept’s May 6 debut, when the restaurant sold out by 7:30 p.m., the handmade tortillas and eclectic taco fillings are a big draw. Chef John Delp estimated business was up 30 percent over a normal Saturday night.
“We’ve learned our lesson,” the restaurant posted on Facebook, “you guys REALLY LOVE TACOS, and we’ll have more of everything next month! visit at https://www.mossbackcafe.com”

Spanish for “The Moss,” El Musgo shares Mossback’s slow-food, uber-local aesthetic but delivers a simpler dining experience, with patrons buying $6 food tickets and ordering tacos, soup, salad and dessert from a stand in the restaurant’s back garden.

“Secretly, we all wish we had taco trucks,” said Delp, who co-owns Mossback with Pam Buitenveld and Christy Penney. “There’s no truck, but we’re transforming the restaurant in the spirit of a festive street food experience.”

The pop-up started as a one-time party to celebrate Mossback’s second anniversary last summer and was so much fun, the owners decided to reprise it this year on the first Saturday of each month through September. The next event is 4-9 p.m. June 3.

The May menu, which was finalized the morning of the pop-up based on what was available fresh from local farmers, included four taco fillings: house-made chorizo with a potato, rhubarb, apple salsa; Caribbean-spiced pork sofrito with gremolata radish and cilantro; halibut with salmon roe gremolata, and a vegetarian option with mixed raabs, beet greens, onion, black bean puree, sunflower sprouts, toasted pumpkin seeds and rhubarb apple salsa. One ticket got you two tacos of any variety.

Clad in an El Musgo t-shirt and tropical shirt, Ryan Jones ran the garden stand for most of the evening. As he filled lightly charred corn tortillas, he extolled the quality of the ingredients – the chorizo that took three days to make, the fresh-caught, 40-pound Neah Bay halibut and the salmon roe salsa that delivered salty bursts of “the Sound in your mouth.”

Also available for a $6 ticket: a bowl of sorrel and lentil soup with cilantro crème fraiche, three Jamestown Silver Pearl oysters on the half-shell or a salad of Persephone Farm wild greens with smoked rosemary balsamic vinaigrette, radish and sunflower seeds.

Desserts included peach rhubarb pie, cinnamon praline ice cream, rose cardamom crème brulee and chocolate mousse spiced with cinnamon and cayenne. The cocktail special was a coconut margarita for $7.

Rick Hawkins and Carol Appenzeller praised the halibut and vegetarian tacos. “It’s very Northwest,” said Appenzeller. “They’re doing something that’s adapted to their skills and environment and it’s very nice. It’s fun and it’s festive.”

“I love their tortillas,” said Heather Gregg. “You can tell they’re handmade and I love that flavor.” Her favorite taco filling was the pork sofrito topped with crunchy cabbage and tangy, pickled onion and radish. “This is lovely.”

Mossback is located in a 100-year-old house about four blocks from the Kingston ferry and the pop-up made the most of the restaurant’s charming backyard on a surprisingly mild evening. Patrons gathered family-style around rough wooden farm tables. Local guitarist Zach Fleury provided a low-key soundtrack and fun touches filled the garden, including a taco-shaped piñata hanging from a tree and a traditional pierced paper banner.