Tag Archives: tacos

Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Queens, Restaurant Reviews

Queens Taco Crawl

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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

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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

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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

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

Bang Bang Mexican Puerto Rican

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First, watch my Ride & Review HERE:

I’ve been meaning to try the tacos at Tacos Ramirez for a while, but when I heard they just opened up a carnitas joint here in the LES, I jumped at the opportunity. At the same time, I knew there was a Dominican/Puerto Rican/Cuban spot around the corner, so I let myself get super hungry so I could hit them both one after the other, bang-bang style!

The tacos were incredible. I had cabeza (head), ear, and mixed. All were excellent, but I think mixed had to be my favorite. WHen I go back, I want to try tongue and snout. They were a little small, but at $5ea they are worth every penny.

El Rinconcito is a hispanic food joint on Avenue C and 5th Street that I’ve passed by a bunch of times and never stopped in. It’s a small joint, very nicely appointed and with super friendly staff. I tried the chicharrones and the cubano, and both were the best renditions of the dishes that I’ve had in the area. The cuban sandwich was packed with juicy meat, it had great cheese melt, layers of tasty pickles and ham, and it was topped with crunchy, crackling pork skin. Perfect… and huge for just $10.

The chicharrones were juicy and also had lots of crispy skin bits all over. Also a steal at $15.

I can’t wait to go back and try more shit!

CARNITAS RAMIREZ
210 E 3rd Street
New York, NY 10009

EL RINCONCITO
75 Avenue C
New York, NY 10009

East Village, Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other Cuts, Restaurant Reviews, Spanish

Bad Hombre

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First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:

Amigo is now Bad Hombre! Ruben transformed the space and made it absolutely gorgeous inside.

What an amazing bar, matched by amazing cocktails.

We basically tried the entire menu, except for a few items here and there. As is common with Ruben’s restaurants, everything was off the charts delicious. These were some of the best, most delicious oysters I’ve ever had.

This scallop crudo was a great balance of natural sweetness with some seasoned heat.

Shrimp and octopus aguachile? HELL YES! The octopus here was cooked perfectly.

This corn gratin dip was a nice combo of sweet and heat too. It may not look like much, but it packed a wallop of flavor.

We tried three different tortilla based items: shrimp tacos, a fish tostada, and a mushroom quesadilla. I am hard pressed to choose a favorite among these, but I think the mushroom was a real standout to me. Much like the mushroom carpaccio at Nai and Emelia. A true winner.

The grilled octopus here was absolutely gorgeous, and the black bean puree sauce hits you with some Indian and middle eastern spices that will blow you away.

I could not resist the chimichurri skirt steak. Delicious!

These St. Louis ribs fell apart when I picked them up. So friggin’ tender! They were cooked confit style and glazed with soy and sesame.

But honestly, I was caught off guard by how insanely tasty these crispy habanero aioli Brussels sprouts were. I could eat them every day for the rest of my life and never get tired of them.

Dessert was also a home run. The chocolate mousse with sea salt flakes was rich without being heavy. It was fluffy and extremely well balanced – not too sweet.

This semi-frozen panna cotta with pineapple granita was so creamy and delicious too. What an understated and gentle but powerful flavor bomb!

I can not wait to go back here for more meals. Everything Ruben touches is incredible.

BAD HOMBRE
29 2nd Ave.
New York, NY 10003

East Village, Latin/Mexican & Caribbean, Restaurant Reviews

Superbueno

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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

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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

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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

Barrio Chino

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My wife and I stopped in this little joint for dinner last week, and we really enjoyed it.

We started with aguachile verde and ceviche, both of which were great, although I would have preferred some additional tortilla chips to pick up all that tasty goodness.

For our mains, we ordered enchiladas verde and lamb barbacoa. Both were excellent, but the shredded, slow roasted lamb was amazing. So much rich, earthy flavor. Again, more tortillas would have made this perfect.

We will definitely be back here again – I need better pics!

BARRIO CHINO
253 Broome St
New York, NY 10002

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

Mictlan Mexico

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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