When Francisco "Paco" Mercado Sanchez was a boy in northern Mexico, all he wanted to do was spend time in the kitchen. But when war broke out in his country, he did his duty and signed up for the army. During a battle, he was struck in the leg by a bullet and sent off to the infirmary. The bullet in his leg turned out to be his saving grace because it was in the hospital that he was visited by an angel—an angel who turned out to be a real-life nurse named Cece. The two fell in love, and when Paco returned to the war as a cook, Cece joined him. Together, they poured their heart and soul into their cooking, hoping to somehow brighten the treacherous lives of the army's men.

The war ended, but Cece and Paco's passion for food and each other never did. They settled down in the city of San Antonio and, in 1812, they opened up their first restaurant, which they operated right out of their home. Over two decades later, the recipes that Paco and Cece perfected have been passed down through the generations to Paco's Tacos, a Mexican restaurant in Austin. Customers chow down on breakfast tortas, bandito fajitas, and more, getting a taste of the passion for food that began so long ago.