Hello my friends. Up until now this blog has focused solely on Los Angeles. But this is all about to change because I’m about to put New York City on notice. Yeah, that’s right, I’m taking the blog to NYC for a week in search of some of Gotham’s finest tacos. People have warned me to avoid tacos in NYC, “Eat falafels, hot dogs, pizza, anything but tacos,” they say. Yeah I could do that but then I wouldn’t be a taco reporter. I’d just be someone that eats a lot of junk food.
So gentle readers I need your taco tips for NYC; everything from street tacos to taquerias to upscale fifi tacos . I’ll be in NYC for a week so I wont be able to get to all of them. Hell I might give up on tacos and eat falafels anyway.
New York City..I’m a taco reporter from the Internet and I’m coming to your town. You’re on notice!!
PS: If there are any blogs in NYC that want to syndicate my NYC taco posts let me know.
Los Hermanos off the Jefferson stop of the L train
ReplyDeleteTacos Santana in south williamsburg off the Marcy JMZ stop
Tehuitzingo in Hell's Kitchen
Tacos Zaragoza in the East Village
Tacos El Idolo by West 4th
Tacos Morelos at Bedford/n 7th (good cemitas)
the 2 taco trucks at the Red Hook ball fields on weekends. (get the chivo from the one on the left)
good luck finding pastor from a spit. try the cesina while you're out here, i don't ever see it in LA. we have also have tinga de pollo out here but you know.. why get pollo.
as a former los angelino who learned everything I know about tacos from you a long time ago, i say prepare to be ultimately disappointed in the nyc taco scene. we don't have anything that can touch Tacos Leo or El Korita or even King Taco. the best we can get here is like the El Super Taco level of quality.
Tehuitzingo is an utter disappointment to any seasoned LA taco eater. The trucks in red hook are your best bet; they vary, so give a couple different ones a shot. In my experience the Mexican one is the best. Taqueria El Fogon in Bushwick is also a good bet for al pastor.
ReplyDeleteNIxtamal Tortilleria in Queens. Crazy carnitas on Saturdays. Best tortilla in town.
ReplyDeleteFastboy recommended http://www.esquinanyc.com/ a while ago:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fastboycycles.com/teachingcancertocry/?p=604
Taqueria Coatzingo in Jackson Heights - IMO, best tacos in NYC (and has spit-roasted al pastor).
ReplyDeleteAny number of food carts/trucks in Jackson Heights as well.
HUGE seconding of Los Hermanos.
Tacos Matomoros in Sunset Park.
if you think you have it hard for tacos in NYC, just try the tacos in Edmonton Alberta where i am from. God i miss this place
ReplyDeletehttp://www.greattacohunt.com/2010/04/el-chato-olympic-la-brea.html
red hook sounds like a good place to try. thanks for the tips!
ReplyDeletehow is the al pastor cooked at Taqueria El Fogon?
ReplyDeletewell definitely check it out. have you tried Pepe's al pastor?
ReplyDeletelooks good but every taco has egg =/
ReplyDeletei'll add coatzingo to the list. thanks
ReplyDeleteall the pics of tacos ive seen from Los Hermanos have lettuce on them =/
Taco mix for the best al pastor. Tacos Matormoros, Tacos Morelos, and if you want fine dining Toloache is a top notch experience
ReplyDeleteOh and make sure you make it to the Red Hook Ball fields.
ReplyDeleteNoooooooooooooooooooo. Whatever you do, do not go to Toloache for "fine dining." It's awful. There are some decent higher-end Mexican places in the city but Toloache is a notch above something like Chili's in my book.
ReplyDeleteYou are a taco reporter, so report on tacos. I lived in NYC for a full12 looooong months. "Go to this place!" or "Go that place!" We go there and for "salsa" we get tomatoes and onions chopped up. I am very interested in your taco views.
ReplyDeletev
Definitely try Tulcingo Del Valle in Hell's Kitchen http://www.tulcingorestaurant.com/
ReplyDeletecannot wait for what you find, if anything!!! Tacos are my obsession and i've lived here 15 years and haven't found decent but... there's a korean taco truck that was parked up by me in midtown a month or more ago and they did a fairly decent job of replicating an LA taco..
ReplyDeletecan't recall the name. damn.
La Superior in Williamsburg. I second Los Hermanos--a generally good idea is pretty much walking down Wyckoff in Bushwick from the Jefferson stop to either DeKalb or Myrtle-Wyckoff.
ReplyDeleteare there any boroughs that have a higher concentration of taco trucks?
ReplyDeleteJason is right, I have yet to see anything resembling true al pastor in NYC. I've stopped ordering it here because its normally just lightly spiced low quality pork. Likewise it is hard to find good chorizo.
ReplyDeleteCecina I see here maybe a little more than I saw in LA, but there are two meats here that I did not see so much if at all in LA: Carne Enchilada and Tinga. Carne Enchilada is the spicy rub/marinade adobado on some pork, from my experience diced like asada, not pulled like carnitas. Tinga is a spicy red tomato marinade for pulled chicken. Some places here just call this meat pollo but if you ask if their pollo is plain or marinated they will tell you. Tinga can actually be quite flavorful and I find myself ordering chicken in NY way more than I ever did in LA.
You should know the market difference between LA and NYC tacos: NYC tacos are about twice the size and at least twice the price. Also people sometimes put iceberg lettuce on tacos here if you ask everything. Sometimes some queso too. Generally I find the meats used in NYC to be inferior. The first few times I tried Al Pastor here I found myself somewhere between tears and rage. The chorizo is lacking, often the carnitas is as well, though I have found some places that do acceptable jobs with both. I don't trust the taquerias here enough to order tripitas or lengua and have never even seen sesos in NYC.
Bushwick and South Williamsburg have sizeable Dominican and Mexican populations. You can find some good tacos there. Tacos Santana for instance is pretty good. Also Los Hermanos tortilla factory. North Williamsburg has several taco trucks around Bedford. None of them are great. The one on N. 6th between Bedford and Berry has decent chorizo and carnitas, but they charge an outrageous $3 a taco. The popular Tacos Morelos is alright. Their Tinga used to be excellent, but they recently changed from a true tinga to "pollo" which for them means plain diced chicken breast. Their Al Pastor is horrendous.
La Taqueria in Park Slope used to make some goo burritos but they have closed recently. If you're in the neighborhood try the owner's other place Rachel's Taqueria.
Good luck with your trip and let me know if you find some good places.
"The first few times I tried Al Pastor here I found myself somewhere between tears and rage. "
ReplyDeletelol i guess i should lay off the al pastor.
yeah i noticed cesina is more popular. And what we call carne asada here in LA is more accurately called bistek in NYC.
Wow! Nice! It's really amazing. Thanks for sharing this post.
ReplyDeleteCool NYC has the best tacos!!!
ReplyDeleteno Zach, LA tacos make NYC tacos seem like Taco Bell.
ReplyDelete