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Hello, Eaters! Sal y Limon Modern Taqueria opened in Midvale a little over a month ago, and it’s been getting some attention online, so I decided to check it out.
The restaurant is in The Shops at Fort Union, at 1076 E. Fort Union Blvd. To find it, turn south off of Fort Union Boulevard at the 995 East light, and go straight until you see it on your left.
Sal y Limon focuses on tacos that are a bit more elevated than what you’d find at a taco truck. The space is bright and airy, and filled with green and orange chairs and hanging lanterns. You place your order at the counter, and then a server brings your food out to you.
The owners of Sal y Limon have names that will sound familiar if you keep tabs on the local food scene. Before they started their taqueria, chef Oscar Perez and Jesus Galvez founded two other restaurants together.
(Victor Salazar) Chef Oscar Perez, left, and Jesus Galvez, owners of Sal y Limon Modern Taqueria, are shown.
Both originally from California, Galvez and Perez are the founders of Sol Agave, which started out as a food truck. Now, Sol Agave has five locations in California, plus one in American Fork and one in downtown Salt Lake City. Its menu is centered around artfully presented Mexican cuisine.
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With most of Galvez’s family living in Utah, he left California for the Beehive State during the pandemic. “We took a road trip and never looked back,” he said.
About a year ago, Galvez and Perez opened Blind Rabbit Kitchen in Sugar House. Galvez describes that restaurant as a “fun, casual, new American steakhouse,” but it also serves Mexican items such as tacos, a seafood stew and taquitos.
After they opened Blind Rabbit Kitchen, Galvez said he and Perez wanted to open a fast-casual concept, in contrast to the full-service setups at Sol Agave and Blind Rabbit Kitchen. “We saw a big, big, big need for it,” Galvez said.
But despite the fast-casual vibe at Sal y Limon, Galvez said he and Perez still wanted to serve “gourmet-style” tacos.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Plants line a seating area at Sal y Limon Taqueria in Midvale on Friday, May 16, 2025.
The meats are cooked beneath compressed mesquite wood “to get that extra flavor,” Galvez said.
And they make two types of corn tortillas by hand: one infused with guajillo chilis (Galvez said it’s more flavorful than spicy), and one infused with jamaica, aka hibiscus.
The menu is divided between “gourmet” tacos (think fillings like octopus, pork belly and New York steak), smaller street tacos, vegetarian tacos (fillings include black beans, chile relleno and crispy potato) and a variety of dishes that feature birria. There are also tortas, kids items and several desserts on the menu.
To read about what I ordered at Sal y Limon, scroll down to the “Dish of the Week” section of this newsletter.
Sal y Limon is open Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Live deliciously,
Kolbie
Food News
Openings:
• Mo’Bettahs is now open in Payson, at 911 S. Turf Farm Road, Suite 101, according to an Instagram post. Mo’Bettahs is a Utah-born fast-casual chain that serves Hawaiian-style meat plates.
• Rusty Birds opened earlier this week inside Square Kitchen Eatery, a mini food hall at 2435 S. State St. in South Salt Lake. According to an Instagram post, Rusty Birds — which got its start in Austin, Texas — serves rotisserie chicken, wraps, salads and sandwiches.
Booze (and Drink!) News
•High West Distillery, at 27649 Old Lincoln Highway in Wanship, is holding a special Distiller’s Dinner on Saturday, May 31, to celebrate the release of its new whiskey, The Prisoner’s Share. According to High West’s website, The Prisoner’s Share is made with aged straight rye and straight bourbon whiskeys and then finished in wine barrels, which imparts notes including raspberry jam and cherry cola. Tickets are $359 per person and include food and drink pairings throughout the night.
Dish of the Week
Jesus Galvez suggested several tacos for me to try at Sal y Limon, and out of those recommendations I ordered three: one Baja fish, one birria quesa and one suadero, aka brisket.
My favorite of the three was the Baja fish, which features a beer-battered and fried Alaskan pollock fillet dressed with aioli and avocado, and topped with pico de gallo and shredded cabbage.
The fish was nicely crispy around the edges, which was a pleasant contrast to the creamy aioli and avocado. And the pico de gallo was really fresh. I thought the different flavors and textures came together well, in a satisfyingly tasty taco.
To go with my food, I got one of the housemade agua frescas, the pineapple flavor. It was a bit sweet and a bit tart, and I knew it was fresh because it had bits of pineapple pulp in it.
I couldn’t say no to the churro bites for dessert, even though they got my blood sugar up. Filled with a Mexican caramel called cajeta, coated in cinnamon and sugar, and served with chocolate sauce, those churros were so rich that I had to bring most of them home to share. (The fish taco, churros and pineapple agua fresca are all pictured above.)