240896 Tue Aug 19 12:51:19 -0700 2003 18 19 Outer Boroughs 0 1278441 Anybody know where I can get some real tacos and burritos in this town? I am transplant from Chicago and miss the taco stands that are all over the city. So far, the Mexican food in NYC has been terrible, "tex/mex", or god forbid "mission style" (why does every NYC burrito have rice in it!?!). I'd love to find some simple tacos similar to La Pasadita in Chicago, or an al pastor burrito similar to the Taco & Burrito Palace #5, also in Chicago. Please feel free to make suggestions that are outside of Brooklyn, nothing is too far for me. I even travel back to Chicago just to get a few tacos once a year. Thanks! Tue Aug 19 12:51:19 -0700 2003 0 Mikos 1 1278447 hey miko, i feel your pain, i am a chi transplant, as well. you are probably not going to get any chicago-caliber tacos or burritos here. but i can point you to a couple places where i usually go. new brunswick, plainfield, and perth amboy have authentic mexican places, if you do not mind trekking it to new jersey. for not-as-authentic but good burritos/tacos, there is a baja fresh in watchung, route 22 west. and though they have rice, chipotle just opened near grand central in manhattan. i do not know brooklyn or the boroughs well, but i have heard sunset park has some good mexican, as well. Tue Aug 19 14:04:17 -0700 2003 1278441 0 dongstadden 2 1278450 Try the deli on Hoyt. St. between Atlantic and State or Castro's in Fort Greene on Myrtle Ave. The deli was included in a survey of taquerias in the New York Times. In Manhattan, try El Ranchero on the northwest corner of 38th St. and 9th Ave. There are places in Sunset Park that people speak highly of, but I haven't been to. Tue Aug 19 14:27:20 -0700 2003 1278447 0 Tolstyak 3 1278455 Where on Myrtle is Castro's? I have seen it referenced on this board (also as DiCastro's and DeCastro's) but I can seem to find under any of those name through Verizon. Is it still open? Thanks. Tue Aug 19 15:19:58 -0700 2003 1278450 0 crooklyn 4 1278467 It's still there (well, as of a couple of weeks ago I haven't actually laid eyes on it since then). It's at 511 Myrtle between Grand and Ryerson. The phone number is 718-398-1459. (I'm copying off of the takeout menu.) Tue Aug 19 17:08:46 -0700 2003 1278455 0 Denise R. 5 1278470 I second Castro's. Damn good food at that place and a garden in the back for those warm days. I love their chicken in mole sauce. Tue Aug 19 17:40:21 -0700 2003 1278467 0 MD 6 1278571 castro's is the best authentic mexican restaurant in brownstone brooklyn. they make a wonderful chicken mole, they have stellar goat tacos and nice homeade sopes. i also reccomend los pollitos in park slope which make pretty tasty gorditas, good burritos with roast pork and excellent chili rellenos. they also have a new patio which is quite nice. los pollitos also owns maria's on union street which is NOT reccomended. Thu Aug 21 16:03:36 -0700 2003 1278470 0 josh L 3 1278458 does anyone have a copy of this nytimes taqueria survey? Tue Aug 19 15:33:59 -0700 2003 1278450 0 dongstadden 4 1278677 here is the link to the NYTimes article: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30E17FB3C5B0C708EDDAE0894DB404482 you will have to log in (set up a free username) to access the Times online, if you haven't already. Sat Aug 23 01:52:05 -0700 2003 1278458 0 korgy 2 1278475 As a fellow Chicagoan-turned-New Yorker, I feel your pain somewhat -- but only somewhat, because there is good Mexican food out there. Eric Eto, an Angeleno transplant in Queens, is actually the chow god for Mexican referrals in NYC, so you should scroll down the boards for his many and delightful postings on the subject, but this is what I can suggest: 1. La Flor de Piaxtla in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, 42nd St and 5th Ave. I've had delightful tacos there; they have a buffet-style thing where you can ladle your own lime and other dressings on your tacos. 2. Real Azteca in the South Bronx, 163rd just west of Southern Blvd. Haven't been there in a while (I used to work around the corner). It's run by a very friendly, family-run place with great daily specials (not so much about the tacos there) and the most kick-ass tortas I've ever tasted, bursting with pinto beans, jalapenos, a big hunk of avocado . . . 3. Grano Del Oro 2000 in Corona Queens, Roosevelt just east of the Junction stop on the 7 line - I went there on an Eric Eto recommendation and thought the tacos were great. 4. Coatzinga in Jackson Heights, Queens, Roosevelt and 75th Street, I believe, tasty renditions of tacos al pastor. 5. Tacos Nuevos Mexico in Park Slope, Brooklyn, 5th Avenue between 11th and 12th. An old favorite of mine, although there is some mixed opinion about this place. More for the tacos than anything else. 5th Avenue in Sunset Park, Roosevelt Road in Jackson Heights and Corona, Lexington Avenue in East Harlem, and many many neighborhoods throughout the South Bronx are bursting with new taquerias, too. NYC may not be up to Chicago or California standards yet, but it is getting better! Tue Aug 19 18:31:46 -0700 2003 1278447 0 JackS 3 1278488 i totally agree that the mexican has been getting much better around here. in the 10 years i have been out here, the quality has gone way up. way back then, good taquerias were hard to find, but not the case anymore. i predict, in another 10 years (maybe less), it is probably going to catch up to chicago and california. so it is a great time for mex food fans (tex-mex, cal-mex, chi-mex) because we are witnessing the transformation of a nearly nonexistant scene to a a thriving one. ny will develop its own style (ny-mex?) and generate something we can all be excited about. it's only going to get better, and we all stand to benefit. wow, i should get off my soapbox now before i slip. btw, i have been doing my own taqueria tour of plainfield, nj (gitano, las carmelitas, fiesta mexicana), since i work near there. and i'm about ready to do a detailed post, but i guess that belongs on the mid-atlantic board. Tue Aug 19 19:42:56 -0700 2003 1278475 0 dongstadden 4 1278528 i bet the future ny-mex style is known for its hearty bagel tortas! Wed Aug 20 16:48:22 -0700 2003 1278488 0 mrnyc 5 1278539 yes yes yes! with sauerkraut and corned beef! Wed Aug 20 21:40:36 -0700 2003 1278528 0 dongstadden 1 1278448 Go to Red Hook on a weekend afternoon. Corner of Clinton and Bay Streets, next to the soccer field. No burritos, but you won't be disappointed. Tue Aug 19 14:04:26 -0700 2003 1278441 0 flywheel 1 1278480 oh please, i've been around mexico to know better and there are some real good tacos to be found here. new york city is a big place. its just that the immigration pattern from mexico is not the same as the midwest until recently, but its getting much better fast. i like the weekly blue taco truck that comes around my nabe in manhattan 14th street/8th ave. every sunday for starters. also in manhattan hells kitchen new to me but not many others is TEHUITZINGO deli and grocery. they have cecina, barbacoa, lengua, sange, suadero and all the other taco favs. i really enjoyed a pumpkin flour 'flor de calabaza' quesadilla recently. just excellent. also, someone mentioned COATZINGA in jackson heights for al pastor tacos and i'll second that. much more. to me and mexican folks burritos are another animal altogether and nyc sucks for them in general, the best i've found is at KITCHEN MARKET in chelsea. please let us know what you find and like (or hate too for that matter). i feel your pain tho, being from cleveland i have the same trouble finding pierogies i really like, but just the same they're out there you just have to cast a net. Tue Aug 19 19:09:46 -0700 2003 1278441 0 mrnyc 2 1278518 i thought a poster a while back had mentioned no longer seeing the 14th street trucks around. but you've seen them recently? Wed Aug 20 14:26:01 -0700 2003 1278480 0 Nancy 3 1278521 no sorry not recently come to think of it. not this past sunday for sure. TEHUITZINGO has taken its place for me lately. but i live right there i'll keep watch. Wed Aug 20 14:34:08 -0700 2003 1278518 0 mrnyc 4 1279051 i've walked 14th street at least a dozen times in the last few months hoping for a reappearance of the taco trucks that used to be there on the weekends, to no avail.. let us know if you spot them again.. for now, i've been hitting the truck on 97th and 2nd or 96th and broadway.. Mon Sep 01 10:44:37 -0700 2003 1278521 0 jesse 1 1278533 Here's one of my favorite discoveries. Taqueria Tierra Blanca, 800 Grand St., near Bushwick Ave. in East Williamsburg. This is the source of the best torta I've ever had. Wonderfully layerd. The chicken was great: layers of lettuce, black beans, tomato, onion,, jalapeno, avocado. Mmmmm. I recently went for tacos. More uneven. Choices include tongue, salted beef, carnitas (fried pork). I had the chicken tinga (excellent), goat (pretty good), beef (terrible). This is in a pretty heavily Mexican neighborhood, steps from the "L" train's Grand St. stop in East Williamsburg. Maybe 4 stops past the infamous Bedford St. if you're coming from Manhattan. Wed Aug 20 17:51:09 -0700 2003 1278441 0 higgins