Tag Archives: taco

Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Queens, Restaurant Reviews

Queens Taco Crawl

September 4, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my episode of Around the Hood in 8 Minutes HERE:

We hit six or seven spots on this awesome food crawl through Queens. Let me hit them one by one.

Taqueria Santa Fe

This first spot ended up being my favorite. The al pastor taco stood out. Crispy, yet juicy. Well seasoned, great toppings. The only thing to make it better would be a more toasted tortilla, like Mr. Burrito had.

Mr. Burrito Loco

The carnitas taco here took third place, but the tortilla shells were the best of the day. Great spot! I want to try the crispy fish tacos next, and, of course, a burrito!

El Sabor Del Rancho

The carnitas taco here took second place. All it needed was a little hit of salt and it would have been a contender for first place!

Al Chile Cafe

The al pastor here was a bit more saucy than other spots, so that made for a juicier and more flavorful bite, generally. The only down side was that there were a few bites with rubbery/chewy sinew that I had to spit out. Bonus here because they give you roasted onions and jalapenos on the side!

La Esquina Del Camaron Mexicano

This place was fun! Big portion for $17, mixed octopus and shrimp. Bring vodka with you to make a Bloody Mary with the leftover sauce/juice at the end. Or tequila for a Bloody Maria!

Lemon Ice King of Corona

An absolute classic. I got the lemon, and I loved it.

TAQUERIA SANTA FE
47-08 47th Ave.
Woodside, NY 11377

MR. BURRITO LOCO
4320 Greenpoint Ave.
Sunnyside, NY 11104

EL SABOR DEL RANCHO
41-21 58th St.
Woodside, NY 11377

AL CHILE CAFE
3809 69th St.
Woodside, NY 11377

THE LEMON ICE KING OF CORONA
52-02 108th St.
Corona, NY 11368

American, Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews, West Village

Red Lion & El Cabron Taqueria

August 20, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Red Lion is a Bleecker Street bar that’s been around forever. They started offering 50-cent wings on Wednesdays, so me and some buddies took our Zooz bikes out for a ride to check them out.

The wings were pretty good! The best flavor was hot – way better than mild, garlic parm or bbq.

The tacos joint was great. Nice budget friendly tacos at under $5 each, and on Tuesdays they are even cheaper for “Taco Tuesday.”

Here’s a video of the food:

At the end, you can see us grabbing some boilermakers at 169 Bar. $6 beer and a shot!

RED LION
151 Bleecker St.
New York, NY 10012

EL CABRON TAQUERIA
26 Essex St.
New York, NY 10002

Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Taco Recipes

July 21, 2024 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

That pretty much says it all. This is a classic NYC Chinese-owned Mexican joint, but with better quality food than the old ones we know and love. The tacos are gringo style, with shredded lettuce, shredded cheese and diced tomato. They taste familiar and they’re filling, for cheap.

TACO RECIPES
23 Essex St.
New York, NY 10002

East Village, Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Restaurant Reviews

Superbueno

September 18, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Check out my ass-kicking Ride & Review video HERE first:

This taco bar opened up in the space that was formerly Boilermaker, and it serves up some amazing cocktails, like the mushroom margarita!

My wife and I tried two types of tacos: crispy pork belly (my fave) and al pastor (her fave).

Truly both were excellent, so you can’t go wrong with either. We also had the nachos, which are vegeterian as far as I can tell. Made with mushrooms, poblanos and mole sauce.

I will definitely go back to try more stuff!

SUPERBUENO
13 1st Ave., New York, NY 10003

Brooklyn, Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Restaurant Reviews

Sunset Park Taco Crawl

September 4, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Some foodie friends from Instagram gathered for a taco crawl of Sunset Park’s best and most price friendly selections.

First was Tacos el Bronco. There’s a sit down spot on 4th Ave and 44th Street, but we hit the food truck nearby. We did a beef tongue taco and veal head taco. The veal head was slightly better since it was sort of stewed, and had more flavor. The tongue needed a hint of salt.

Next up was Don Pepe Tortas & Jugos. Here we tried a watermelon juice, the special “arab” beef taco, which was spicy and delicious, and a cemita (grilled sandwich). The arab taco was the winner here.

For the last spot, we went to a hidden speakeasy restaurant in the back of La Union Deli Grocery (Mi Pequno Chinantia). Here we tried a goat taco and mixed meat pork taco. The mixed meat was the king here. The goat was a little too gamey for us. We also has some tamales here too. The verde was really delicious.

TACOS EL BRONCO
Food Truck
5th Avenue at 37th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11232

DON PEPE TORTAS & JUGOS
3908 5th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11232

LA UNION DELI GROCERY CORP
(MI PEQUNO CHINANTIA)
4011 5th Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11232

East Village, Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Restaurant Reviews

San Loco Tacos

August 24, 2023 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

This self proclaimed “gringo taco joint” is really great, in my humble opinion. This is basic stuff – sort of like a high end, better version of Taco Bell.

We tried two tacos and a handheld burrito during their lunch special pricing (two tacos $9, comes with drink; burrito plus guac and chips for $12, comes with drink).

Both were great, with the pork carnitas taco being the best of all. Better than the beef and better than the chipotle chicken. We opted to eat at the bar and upgrade our drinks to frozen margaritas (we tried tamarind and cactus pear).

Great spot. Can’t wait to go back!

SAN LOCO TACOS
111 Ave C
New York, NY 10009

Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Mictlan Mexico

May 12, 2022 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

This newish neighborhood Mexican joint was a hit!

My wife and I started with some “two for $10” tacos.

We did two orders (four tacos): two BBQ lamb, and two fish. Both were really great. The lamb was unique, and after having it, I kinda wished they had a BBQ lamb dish on the entree menu as well, for a composed plate (like lamb over rice with beans, etc). The fish taco was grilled as opposed to crispy/fried like many other places do. We loved it.

For mains, my wife ordered the chile relleno, and I ordered the cochinita pibil burrito.

This was a great burrito for $14. Hefty and tasty. My only criticism is that I don’t want sauce on the outside of the tortilla. I had to scrape it off. It was just getting too messy to eat. My wife’s plate came with a side of rice and beans, which were also good. A great deal for $17.

In fact, everything here is reasonably priced – even the cocktails ($14) and beer ($5 cans). The flan was pretty good too. Nice plating, but the coconut shavings threw the silky texture off a bit.

I’ll definitely be back here for more. At the very least we will be ordering for delivery regularly. And when you hit this place, make sure you try their orange and green sauces: DRINKABLE!

MICTLAN MEXICO
17 Orchard St
New York, NY 10002

East Village, Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Spanish

Amigo

December 5, 2021 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Amigo is a casual but high quality tapas joint that’s owned and operated by Chef Ruben Rodriguez from Nai Tapas Bar (one of the best Spanish joints around).

My buddy Mike, my wife and I tried almost the entire menu, so I’ll just get right into it. But this was easily one of the best meals I’ve had this year.

First up: cocktails. The espresso martini and wasabi infused scotch cocktails were awesome.

Octopus and shrimp ceviche:

45-day dry aged rib eye steak tartare – this was one of the top bites of the night.

Shrimp tacos:

Bacalao – fried cod tacos. These were also a top bite of the night.

Mango salad:

Eggplant:

Braised pork cheek. This was insane. So tender:

Watch how easily it gets pulled apart (about 17 seconds into the slide show):

This savory corn pudding was delicious:

Pork belly taco:

The oxtail tacos de birria were another top bite.

I drank that entire cup of dipping broth.

The lime ice cream granita was off the charts – another top item:

And these chocolate filled churros were perfectly paired with that espresso martini I mentioned earlier.

I can’t wait to go here again. So damn good!

AMIGO
29 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003

Recipes

Cheeseburger Tacos

December 16, 2019 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

These are absolutely incredible, and super easy to make. Nothing fancy here, just some truly soul-satisfying food.

SHIT THAT YOU NEED

Pan (I prefer cast iron)
Spatula
Butter or Ghee
Ground Beef (I used 45-day dry-aged spinals dorsi)
Minced or Sliced Onion (I used red, but you can use other shit)
Minced or Sliced Pickle
Minced or Sliced Tomato
Sliced American Cheese
Thousand Island Dressing
Shredded Iceburg Lettuce (If you like fancy shit, then fine)
Taco Shells (I used flaccid corn, but you can use rock-hard)

HOW THE FUCK TO MAKE THEM

Heat up your pan and toss in a little bit of butter or ghee. Once that’s liquefied, throw in your beef and your onions.
Chop and mix them together with the spatula to get a uniform distribution of onions into the ground beef.
Spread the meat and onions across the entire surface of the pan.
WAIT. Allow a crisp to form on the bottom of the meat and onion mixture.
Flip the mixture over to get a crisp on the other side.
Cover the the meat and onions with slices of American cheese.
Cover the pan with a lid, allowing the cheese to become melted.
Scoop some of this “cheeseburger” mix into your taco shells.
Add lettuce, tomato, pickle and thousand island dressing.
EAT, SHIT, REPEAT.

Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Union Square/Flatiron

Camacho’s

April 6, 2017 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Camacho’s is a new Mexican joint with great cocktails and a fun cantina vibe. Named after the executive chef, it features a variety of classic Mexican favorites, including tacos: