Melis Taquería is a border-town food cart, except that it’s not. Instead, the little joint is fixed behind a window—permanent, but with all the rustic authenticity of some little roller pushing handmade items. Two or three picnic tables announce the place visually, although the aroma of slow-cooked pork, barbacoa, and other meats will reach you and draw you toward the place long before. That’s about it. You walk up, order, pay, receive a paper bag jammed with whatever and eat in the open air, rain or shine.

Want to sip one of the cane sugar sodas? There’s a bottle opener nailed to the wall. Yet to wait in line is to experience a cross-section of Fort Worth, from snobby west-siders to weathered day laborers. They mingle because everything is fresh, ringing with lime and cilantro, sharpened by pico de gallo. The menu shifts from a small breakfast selection to the quick afternoon and evening staples: gorditas, tortas, sometimes even hangover-curing menudo and, of course, tacos. For those in the know, Melis Taquería ranks amongst the best taquerías in the area.