We found birria at Tio Moncho’s, the world’s northernmost taquería, on a recent spring day, while seeking warmth deep in the Arctic Circle.
Tio Moncho’s shares a mixed-use building with the library, auditorium, and local government offices of Longyearbyen, the largest town on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. The islands are visa-free and home to about 2,900 people from over 50 nationalities.
Most live in Longyearbyen, a tight-knit community clinging to the edge of the wilderness. Reindeer regularly wander down the streets, and no one leaves town without polar bear protection (usually, a high-caliber rifle). Other than that, life here is pretty normal—people go to work, get drunk, fall in love, and long for tacos.