The environs of Broadway and Eastern in Fells Point are the epicenter of tacos in Baltimore, with three classic taquerías, one taco truck, and a taquería that’s also a high-production tortilleria all within a few hundred yards of each other.

Head a little further down Broadway, though, and you’ll find a new, more formal Mexican restaurant, where you can not only get stellar tacos, but a more expansive menu, a full cocktail bar with a happy hour—and a weekend brunch that features tres leches brioche French toast, steak and eggs with poblano chimichurri, and mezcal espresso martinis.

La Calle, which means “the street” in Spanish, is not so much a new restaurant as a relocated one; it first opened downtown in 2018, closed four years later—another casualty of the pandemic—and moved to Fells last summer.

Originally opened by the four Sandoval brothers—Luis, Agustin, Odilon, and Valentino—La Calle is now owned and operated by just Luis and Agustin, as Odilon moved to Philadelphia to open a Mexican pizzeria and Valentino opened one of those taquerías on Eastern, Bmore Taquería.

The Sandovals are from Puebla, a city southeast of Mexico City with a vibrant culinary tradition. Puebla is the home of tacos árabes (tacos al pastor on flour tortillas); chiles en nogada, considered Mexico’s national dish; and mole poblano, a rich, brick-colored sauce made of ancho chiles and chocolate, among many ingredients.

Mole is at the heart of La Calle’s menu: It smothers the enchiladas and the chilaquiles, forms the base of the pollo con mole, where roast chicken is perched atop panela cheese and a vast circle of mole, and is brushed across both the duck confit and the short-rib tacos.

“It’s been with us for two generations,” says Luis Sandoval of the mole recipe. “There’s over 30 ingredients in that sauce,” he says. “If you talk to someone from Oaxaca, they’re gonna say that they have the best mole. For us, mole poblano is the best.”

La Calle’s white-walled, minimalist dining room is a sanctuary compared to the bars lining the nearby waterfront, with service more suggestive of a white-tablecloth-dining establishment than a taquería.

And that pollo con mole looks as good as it tastes, with micro-cilantro adorning the artfully constructed chicken and the accompanying red rice bestowed in a pretty white bowl. The ceviches are also first-rate and gorgeous, particularly an aquachile of raw fluke, a perfect brunoise of mango, batards of crunchy jicama, and slivers of red onion in a golden pool of passion fruit sauce that is somehow both tart and soothing.

Chef Miguel A. Hernandez took over the stoves at the original La Calle when Valentino left and added many of the dishes, including that aquachile, a whole branzino with pipian sauce, and cochinita pibil, a classic dish of slow-roasted, citrus-marinated pork. Hernandez is family, too; he’s a cousin of the Sandoval brothers and is also from Puebla.

The mole, says Hernadez, has always been on the menu—as is fitting of such a glorious, generational recipe.

LA CALLE: 623 S. Broadway, Fells Point. 443-835- 2215. HOURS: Mon.-Thurs. 4-10 p.m.; Fri. 4-10:30 p.m.; Sat. 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 4-10:30 p.m.; Sun. 11-3 p.m., 4-9 p.m. PRICES: Starters: $6-20; ceviches, tacos, and entrees: $15-35 (plato placero: $110); desserts: $10

These days, there’s certainly no shortage of authentic Mexican food in Charm City. And chef Valentino Sandoval is planning to put his own spin on the real-deal delicacies when he opens his new restaurant, La Calle, this summer.

A native of Puebla, Mexico, Sandoval moved to Philadelphia in 1996, and cut his teeth working under the likes of Italian chef Marc Vetri, and Michelin-rated chef Walter Abrams—formerly of Napa Valley hotspot The French Laundry.

“Growing up in Mexico, I learned how to put food together,” Sandoval says. “But here in America, chefs are more like artists. I’ve learned how to be creative and put little touches here and there. I want to do something different and fuse all of the techniques that I’ve learned—from French and American to Italian and seafood—into classic Mexican cuisine.”

In 2015, Sandoval relocated to Baltimore and took a gig as chef de cuisine at Corner Charcuterie Bar in Hampden. Though he never went to culinary school, he says that his 20-year career working in various kitchens has given him ample experience to run his own restaurant.

“La Calle means ‘the street’ in Spanish,” he explains. “It’s personal to me, because I feel like I learned more on the street than I ever would have in school.”

Expected to open in late May, La Calle will take over the former home of Sydney’s Cafe on the first floor of the 10 South Street building downtown. After a long search, Sandoval and his three brothers recently landed on the 80-seat space and began to transform it from a Mediterranean-style eatery into a Mexican restaurant with orange walls, dark woods, brick accents, an open kitchen, and a bar and lounge with two television screens. 

Despite the influence of his heritage on the interior, Sandoval says that the restaurant won’t be a typical taqueria. In fact, he will only offer one taco (a classic al pastor) on the menu. Other globally influenced dishes will include ceviches, salads, tostadas, and entrees like pan-seared salmon with huitlacoche (Mexican truffle) aioli and fava bean salad. The chef hopes to use locally sourced meats and vegetables, and make all of the restaurant’s salsas and mole sauces in-house using his mother’s recipe.

“The menu is going to be small,” he says. “But we want to make sure that everything is fresh. The portions won’t be huge, but with two courses, you won’t leave hungry.”

In keeping with the chef’s values, the bar program will highlight margaritas made with fresh-squeezed juices and a sizable collection of authentic tequilas and mezcals.

Sandoval describes opening a restaurant as a lifelong dream. He is looking forward to teaching his own staff, and introducing diners to his unique take on classic Mexican fare.

“I read somewhere that food doesn’t have a soul,” he says. “We have to add soul to the food when we cook it. That way your customers can feel the love you put into it. When I make people smile, that means I’m doing something right.”