Taste of Love restaurant owners Kayla Vallejos, left, and her wife Misty Vallejos show off the Grilled Caprese Panini. The restaurant, located at 505 Central NW, features a menu of New Mexican Italian fusion dishes. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Journal)
Like several other recently opened restaurants, the New Mexican Italian fusion restaurant Taste of Love was born out of the pandemic.
Owner and chef Kayla Vallejos said she had worked in kitchens for many years and when the pandemic started, she and her wife Misty just did what they knew best and started cooking.
Vallejos, who was born in New Jersey, said she wanted to bring a taste of home with her when she was creating her menu and looked for ways to blend iconic New Mexican flavors with Italian cuisine.
Taste of Love, a New Mexican Italian fusion eatery, started as a food truck in 2021, has moved into a location at 505 Central. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Journal)
“I just like incorporating different … cultures of food, especially from where I’m from,” she said. “And now that I do have a new love for chile, I like to incorporate them together.”
While Taste of Love, located inside 505 Central Food Hall at 505 Central NW, opened in early February, the eatery was founded in May of 2020 and operated out of a food truck since April of last year.
Since opening, Vallejos said customers have really gravitated toward items like the meatball trio slider which features pesto, green chile alfredo and marinara sauces and the homemade ravioli.
Vallejos said the growth of her restaurant surprised her because she initially thought it would be several years before she would be able to bring her concept to a brick and mortar, but customer excitement exceeded her expectations.
“We have a lot of repeat customers that come back daily,” she said about the opening of the brick and mortar. “We have a lot of people that are so happy that we … opened up a place.”
Vallejos sold the food truck last year.
Eventually she would like to have a standalone restaurant and sell items like her homemade sauces and pastas at either the farmers market or in stores.
Taste of Love is open from 11 am to 8 pm Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and from 11 am to 9 pm Thursday through Saturday.
For more information, visit tasteoflovefoodtruck.com.
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