WTOP celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month this Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, with stories spotlighting the contributions, culture and accomplishments of Hispanic communities across the D.C. region.
Victor Albisu practically grew up around food, and so it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that he eventually found his way feeding others as well. Now, his restaurant Taco Bamba is expanding palates in the D.C. area and bringing dental care to communities in Latin America.
Albisu’s mother, who hails from Peru (his father is Cuban) has run a Latin market called Plaza Latina for decades, and growing up, he found himself all over the place, from working the register to cutting up meat in the butcher shop.
After graduating from culinary school, he gained fame and accolades working in high-end steakhouses around downtown D.C. That allowed him to eventually open up a South American style steakhouse called Del Campo. It got great reviews, but eventually closed its location near Capital One Arena in 2018.
‘Brains and eggs tacos’ to challenge norms
But it’s the restaurant he admittedly started as a side project near his mother’s market in Falls Church, Taco Bamba, that continues to grow and expand around the D.C. area and beyond.
“My intention was to be very well known for my cooking as a chef and so at the time in 2012-2013 when this started happening, when Taco Bamba and Del Campo kind of delivered at the same time, it was two vastly different worlds,” Albisu said.
“And at the time, chefs weren’t really known for their fast food or fast casual food, or food that’s plated on paper plates. So for me, it was almost like, let’s not talk about this thing.”
It was during those years, Albisu admitted, that life wasn’t fulfilling for him or his loved ones.
“It was a very hard slog. When you’re in service of yourself, or you’re in service of your notoriety or fame even, it’s a harder journey,” he admitted.
While it wasn’t supposed to work out that way, Taco Bamba has been a massive hit across the D.C. area and beyond, with stores in North Carolina and Tennessee.
His 16th location will open in Sterling later this year. And along the way, the mere idea of what a taco is, has also seemed to grow and expand beyond what most people experienced growing up. Albisu takes some credit for that.
“We love seeing people challenging the norms. And there are some that have shown themselves to be quite amazing for the industry,” he said. “We’ve done brains and eggs tacos. We’ve done foie gras tacos. We’ve done tacos with all kinds of different ingredients that have no business being there. And we made them work. Not just work, thrive.”
One of the things Albisu takes pride in is the fact that no two restaurants share the exact same menu.
“We like to feel that kind of creativity is really alive within us all here, and it’s the reason that we grow. So we change things up, we dabble in different cultures and food, and we have a good time,” said Albisu. “This is not supposed to be… some like brow furrowing endeavor. This is fun for us.”
But for all the different ways you can order a taco, he admits the more traditional tacos tend to be his favorite and he hopes those honor the culture he grew up in. Even though no two restaurants are the same, he’s hopeful that each one can both honor tradition and turn it a little on its head too.
Success helps create ‘Smile’
The success of Taco Bamba has also helped Albisu to launch a nonprofit called Smile on the World, which brings food and dental care to impoverished areas in Latin America. It’s a way to export better food safety and sanitation practices to cooks, but they also bring dentists to the villages they visit.
The first Smile on the World mission trip was to Peru in 2020. His most recent trip earlier this year brought aid to Oaxaca, Mexico.
“I think that sometimes dentistry is overlooked on its overall health benefits,” he said. “In these countries that we visit, these communities that we visit, many people have never seen a dentist, never had anybody look in their mouths and so it’s actually a pretty emotional experience.”
On Oct. 4, every Taco Bamba restaurant will host its annual Bambathon. Each restaurant will compete to sell the most tacos, with a dollar from each taco going to Smile on the World to help fund the group’s next mission trip.
“When you’re in service of more people, then you just get to serve more people,” Albisu said. “So I learned that along the way, and the more people I give to, the more people kind of line up at our doors in terms of the food.”
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
