On a day like any other, working in the back of the kitchen in a restaurant like many others, with a crew of rowdy dudes like many others, a seemingly unassuming comment from a coworker about a screaming goat sent Malin Parker on a years-long journey of taco-themed self-discovery. “I literally dropped what I was doing, went in the office, and bought the domain,” says Parker, who finally opens the prophesied Screaming Goat Taqueria in Gulf Gate this month. “I’ve been holding on to it for years, with the dream of one day doing it.”
And as the good doctor once said, anything worth doing is worth doing right, meaning no hard-shell tacos at Screaming Goat Taqueria and everything made from scratch, from the tortillas (corn or flour) to the six to eight different salsas populating the salsa bar. “There’s not one pre-made product that I buy,” says Parker. He even makes his own queso fresco, using ingredients from Dakin Dairy. Purist foodies can opt for the traditional route—meat, onions and cilantro—or go wild with whatever crazy offerings Parker comes up with, including vegan options like the roasted sweet potato, green lentil and quinoa taco. Meats include the expected beef and pork, but also exciting (but perhaps not surprising) options like goat barbacoa and homemade chorizo.
And while tacos may be Parker’s “number one comfort food,” Screaming Goat Taqueria will offer more than just classic street food, also stretching back in time for some ancient recipes from the Yucatán, such as the cochinita pibil—a slow-roasted pork wrapped in banana leaves with traditional spices and citrus juices. It’s all about keeping that Gulf Gate revival going, and Parker’s doing his part. “There’s not anything else like [Gulf Gate] in the area,” says Parker. “I just want to keep pushing that momentum forward.”