Pure-and-delicious tacos from a beloved Cedar landmark
By Emily Tyra | May 2, 2020
Tacos are hunger-staving, mood-improving food, even when skies are grey. And some of the North’s most revered tacos come from Cedar Sol Taco Stand & Hydro Farm, co-owned by Michael and Nikki McHugh, of Cedar. The couple cracked open the windows of their roadside restaurant in March this year, rather than the as-usual May, to the collective rejoice of their nearby fans.
“They opened months in advance to serve us locally sourced food — some from their own gardens,” said longtime customer Shea Petaja, of Traverse City. “The first bite of my chorizo taco was like manna from heaven. A taste of summer right around the corner.”
The Cedar Sol Taco Stand & Hydro Farm is perched in the rolling and picturesque hills of Cedar. It’s is its tenth season, which historically ran Memorial Day through Labor Day. Nikki McHugh said of their early opening: “We are here to support our neighbors and provide access to good food. Because the business is on our homestead, we are here already — so we are cooking for our neighbors and locals from our commercial kitchen. It feels good to be able to offer this, and it’s what we know how to do.”
And social distancing? The taco stand is built for it. “We have always been unique that we assist people through windows. Only now we ask for call-in orders only and payment over the phone,” she said.
Nikki admitted the vibe at the stand is quite different now: namely, no window chat with chef Michael — the bandana-wearing guy with the buoyant personality. She said, “I’m telling people, ‘Be well; we’ll hug later.’ But it is really awesome to bring that kind of joy and normalcy right now, even for a pickup and faraway wave.”
She added, “Where my heart goes is to food access.”
The McHughs have made-to-go tacos for neighbors who are not able to go to the store, exhausted parents, and those who can’t afford to stock up on giant grocery runs. “I hope we are filling in some of the food gaps, and course incorporating some nutrition,” she says. “With our menu, you can simply get one taco, and it’s filled with ¼ pound of meat.”
Cedar Sol is also providing essential local foods for pickup at the taco stand — staples such as Grazing Fields eggs, Mooville Creamery whole milk, Carlson Arbogast Farms dry beans, Dekam Organics ground beef, Naturally Nutty peanut butter, and Food For Thought strawberry preserves. (Email cedarsolhydrofarm@gmail.com for the complete list; order by Tuesday 3pm for pickup on Friday.)
And of course, they are slinging those irresistible tacos.
The flour- or corn-shell tacos ($4 each) brim with a choice of seasoned ground beef, marinated grilled chicken, slow-roasted pork, or spicy grilled chorizo. They’re showered generously with chopped cilantro and onions. Fresh lime and Cedar Sol’s homemade red or green hot sauce add just the right brightness. For 50 cents each, you can go wild with cheese, pico de gallo, wild rice, black beans, and sour cream. And all of the above can be crafted into a taco salad.
Nikki said they learned secrets to authentic Mexican cooking from their friend Carlos Carrera, originally from Oaxaca, Mexico. He lived with them and helped them on their farm in the early days of the taco stand. (Cedar Sol got its start as a hydroponic farm; today the McHughs grow cilantro, onions, greens, tomatillos, and more for their recipes.)
“He was the type of teacher that said, ‘Watch me, watch me,’ so we worked behind him to learn how to make the hot sauces, properly salt the pico, add the special ingredients in the beans, and prepare large quantities of meat,” she said. “He gave us the confidence to start a taco stand in northern Michigan.”
Michael McHugh added, “He threw me right into the fire. At the grill, your hands never stop moving, while other parts of the prep and cooking are extremely patient.”
Like their slow-roasted pork. “Carlos told stories about open firepits and doing whole pig … old school. We shrunk that down to doing it in the backyard on a grill in foil,” said Michael.
The McHughs use Michigan-raised pork and beef in their tacos, and the chorizo is sourced from a company in Holland. “The chorizo has kind of a cult following,” said Michael.
And that amazing green hot sauce? “Tomatillos, cilantro, jalapeños, and salt. That’s it,” said Michael.
The McHughs sell containers of their hot sauce to-go, as well as their freshly prepared pico de gallo and tortilla chips, which Michael said they source from El Milagro in Chicago. “They are top-shelf. Their chips are incomparable,” he said, laughing. “I can’t believe I am talking that way about tortilla chips. But they really are.”
The taco stand is open 3pm to 8pm Tuesday through Sunday.
With the world changing by the hour, said Nikki, “We can pull back or expand as we need to, to accommodate what’s happening. We are coming to terms that it’s not going to be a normal summer, and we are grateful that we can be open now. Like everybody, we’re wondering what it will hold, and it is impossible to know.”
In the meantime, locals have access to crave-worthy tacos. Just add hot sauce — red, green, or both — tilt the head, close the eyes, and eat like no one’s watching.
Find the Cedar Sol Taco Stand at 9452 South Cedar Rd., in Cedar. (231) 883-8080, www.cedarsolhydrofarm.com
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