Column: Taco scene gets creative with Italian and German pairings

The taco is one of Southern California’s quintessential eats, as much a part of our regional food culture as it is a purely Mexican invention. Handheld rounds of masa serve as blank canvases on top of which everyone from local street taqueros to fine-dining chefs have long placed meats, cheeses and vegetables, among other garnishes.

In Orange County, tacos are having an entirely different kind of creative moment thanks to two new restaurants that are taking the love one step further by throwing traditional tacos on menus alongside everything from kielbasa to pizza.

The result is two very different mash-up concepts — like next-level Taco Bell/Pizza Huts — that put the beloved taco into conversation with unlikely sister dishes from around the world and make a hard case for Mexican food as the next global cuisine.

So when your next craving for SoCal’s most versatile dish hits, here’s where to get that taco — plus a custom-grind bratwurst or plate of handmade pasta — in O.C.

Centro Collective

Deep into the industrial-stacked winding roads of southeast O.C. lies the unassuming Centro Collective, a 3-month-old concept from two former Cucina Enoteca chefs de cuisine — and OCC culinary program alums — who wanted to leave the fine dining world behind in order to explore their love for authentic Italian and Mexican food.

Once you find the place (there’s still no signage so look for the round yellowish tower towards the middle of the strip mall), you’ll have to decide where you want to begin.

On the right is Centro Pizzeria, half-helmed by Chad Urata, who served as sous chef at Newport Beach restaurants like Cucina Alessa before a stint working under José Andrés at Tres in Beverly Hills.

The pizzeria is little more than a deli counter stocked with a series of Roman-style pizzas, which means they are made from a slow-rising dough and cut to order from whatever is available in the display case (you’re charged according to the size of the slice).

At dinnertime, the pizzeria serves an off-menu assortment of handmade pastas, providing a small glimpse into Urata’s talent with delicate Italian flavors.

On the left side is Centro Taqueria, the domain of Orange-born chef Brent Omeste — who cut his teeth at Pomodoro, Kimer and, like many other young O.C. chefs, Charlie Palmer’s at South Coast Plaza.

Order anything from the pork-belly al pastor to the beer-battered whitefish, and Omeste gets to work, throwing meat on the fire and dropping freshly cut tortillas into the deep fryer from his small workstation that that serves as an open kitchen. The tacos arrive topped with exquisite details like sofrito peppers, chayote escabeche and chicharrón de queso, making these well worth the $4 price tag.

At Centro Collective, Omeste and Urata are proving that Mexican and Italian food are good on their own but always better together.

Centro Collective is at 24531 Trabuco Road, Suites E & F, Lake Forest. For more information, call (949) 305- 5224 or visit centrocollective.com.

Taco Brat

Chef Thomas Curran has decades of restaurant experience working in menu development for major brands like California Pizza Kitchen and Umami Burger, but when it came time for his own venture, he couldn’t help but veer from the corporate offerings he created during his career.

Enter Taco Brat, the first #GerMexican restaurant around and the only place where you can get kielbasa on your nachos and churros made with savory pretzel dough. It’s not all wacky fusions here, though. In fact, Taco Brat’s focus is on the more traditional options, which on the menu are divided between tacos and handmade sausages, each treated as a separate world you’re free to explore at your own depth and pace.

One visit might necessitate a broad taco medley, a sampling of Curran’s chile verde pork, grilled rockfish, citrusy carne asada and fried avocado tacos, all on house-pressed corn tortillas. Another day might require a delve into Curran’s sausages, including the kielbasa and bratwurst, which come with fixings like kraut and agave-lime slaw on doughy rolls from C’est Si Bon in Newport Beach. Appetizers are an easier way to mix and match the two cuisines with guacamole, elotes and a German smashed potato snack called Kartoffelpuffer.

Taco Brat took over the old historic mission-style Taco Jr. building on Harbor Boulevard and converted it into an al fresco California dream with sit-down patio-dining, a dirt patch for cornhole games and a walk-up bar (stocked with top local beers) — all with clear views of the bustling boulevard.

Not bad for SoCal’s only taqueria-slash-brathaus.

Taco Brat is at 2101 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa. For more information, call (844) 328-8226 or visit tacobrat.com.

SARAH BENNETT is a freelance journalist covering food, drink, music, culture and more. She is the former food editor at L.A. Weekly and a founding editor of Beer Paper L.A. Follow her on Twitter @thesarahbennett.