Get ready, Pittsburgh – or should we say, ¡Prepararse!
Coming this June to East Liberty is Duo’s Taqueria, an exciting new pop-up taco takeaway joint from your favorite Pittsburgh-based language learning app, Duolingo.
What’s on the menu? Only the best Mexico City-inspired street foods, of course! You’ll be able to chow down on flavorful tacos with fresh nixtamal corn tortillas, fresh salsas, a range of classic sides and even agua fresca drinks made in-house!
The chef behind all the deliciousness is Marcella Ogrodnik, a Pittsburgh native who moved back to the region in 2019 after gaining experience in restaurants in Spain, California, and New York. You may have tried her cooking at Café Agnes, a Salvadoran cuisine concept that popped up at farmers’ markets here in the ‘Burgh. Her menu for Duo’s Taqueria combines the best of both worlds: authentic, traditional techniques from Mexican cooking and locally-grown Pennsylvanian ingredients!
“Duolingo is a Pittsburgh company, so we wanted to give back to our city with amazing food and discounts to show people that learning a new language can be fun and rewarding,” the company said in a statement announcing Duo’s Taqueria.
Of course, whenever that iconic green owl is involved, you know there’s going to be a twist!
That’s right: you can earn discounts on your meal by completing a short Spanish-language challenge designed by Duolingo. After you order, you’ll have the chance to earn a Duo Discount by answering a single question in Spanish, and the built-in microphone at the window will assess your answer and award you your discount, which could be anything from 10-20% off your meal, a free taco or chip side, or another surprise!
Don’t speak Spanish? No worries! Duolingo is all about giving people the opportunity to learn and practice new languages so that we can expand our knowledge and become even better neighbors to each other – in fact, Spanish is the most popular language on Duolingo’s language learning app. Even if you don’t know any Spanish, you can learn a new phrase and save a little on some tasty tacos!
Of course, at its core, one of Duolingo’s main goals for Duo’s Taqueria is to continue being a good neighbor in East Liberty and Pittsburgh, where the company is proud to call home.
“Duo’s is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Duolingo, and will operate as a standalone restaurant separate from Duolingo’s core business,” said the company in a statement. “With ever-changing discounts for our artfully crafted menu, we hope to entice local residents to practice speaking different languages. Duolingo has supplied the upfront capital and initial operating costs so that our head Chef Marcella can create a thriving restaurant and add to the Latin American culture of Pittsburgh.”
Duo’s Taqueria opens in June at 5900 Penn Avenue in East Liberty, and you can swing by to order your tacos and flex your language learning muscles from 11:30 AM to 9 PM Wednesday through Sunday.
