I stopped in this spot with some ebike friends before our Electric Wednesday weekly meet-up. I was blown away by the size and quality for the price. Tacos range from $4.50 to $5.00, but they’re packed with quality ingredients, and the blue corn tortilla sets them off as unique.
I ate six tacos; carnitas, al pastor, grilled pig’s ear, chorizo, tongue and tripe. All were excellent, but I think the carnitas was the best. The shredded pork was thrown back on the plancha to get crisp. So delicious. I can’t wait to go back and try more.
TACOS EL GUERO
48-11 43rd Ave.
Long Island City, NY 11104
Rosie’s is a big, fun Mexican spot on the corner of 2nd Street and 2nd Avenue. The Cake Dealer and I tried a few items at the bar. They make some nice margaritas here, so definitely start with one of those. If you want a nice bar snack, get the chicharrones. They’re huge and delicious.
One of my favorite items was the squash blossom quesadilla. Everything about this was just perfect. I wish I had ordered three of them.
The tacos here are pretty good, as are the tortillas, which are made right in the middle of the restaurant. You can watch them being made at a bar, like you’re at a sushi counter.
We tried the shrimp, fish and al pastor tacos. Of these, the al pastor was the best, with the shrimp coming in just behind at second place.
We also tried the flan, which was really light and tasty.
I pulled up on this Bushwick spot before hitting Electric Wednesday nearby at KCBC.
I went with their $11 special; three carnitas tacos.
These were really great. They’re served sort of gringo style, meaning they have lettuce, tomato and sour cream on them. I’m totally fine with that!
I think the tortillas could spend a bit more time getting toasted on the flat top, and the carnitas could have more variable chunks in the mix. The meat almost seemed more like pulled pork that had been crisped up a little bit on the plancha, but really no complaints about that at all.
I will definitely go back here and try more!
TORTILLERIA MEXICANA LOS HERMANOS
271 Starr St.
Brooklyn, NY 11237
I finally made it over to Greenpoint to try out the papa restaurant to Carnitas Ramirez.
I ate two tacos here on a really quick pit stop while riding with some ebike nerd friends. I tried the tripe, which was buttery and almost tasted like foie gras, and the al pastor. The al pastor was probably the best of its kind that I’ve ever had. Nice grilled pineapple, really tasty and generous amount of flavorful and juicy meat, and a little bit of crisp skin.
This place is a winner, and there’s a reason why it draws a lot of long lines and hype. It’s worth it. Luckily for us, there were no lines and the food came out in about 12 seconds (not kidding).
TAQUERIA RAMIREZ
94 Franklin St.
Brooklyn, NY 11222
I hit up this little taco spot with some friends while riding around on our nerdy ebikes. I have to say it was really great. A little pricey at $5 per taco (before you add the crispy cheese), but totally worth it.
Best: El Pastor (gringa style with crispy cheese)
Awesome pastor tacos, especially with that slice of grilled pineapple on top.
Second Best: Bistec en Pasilla
This was really nice. Excellent spiced flavor on the meat, and tender through and through.
Third Place: Chicken Tinga
I usually don’t get this unless I need a change. It was still good, but I wish I had tried something else instead. Next time.
CHELA & GARNACHA
33-09 36th Ave.
Astoria, NY 11106
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
LA ESQUINA DEL CAMARON MEXICO
80-02 Roosevelt Ave.
Jackson Heights, NY 11372
THE LEMON ICE KING OF CORONA
52-02 108th St.
Corona, NY 11368
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.”
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.
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.
