A new short feature on EWZ. It will be just like some of the old features. You’ll see it once, and you wont see it again ;). But lets hope this one sticks. I have a feeling it will as I have a list as long as my garden hose of taco places to try and revisit. Its one of those shrinkable garden hoses, so dont get scared. We’ll kick off this very exciting feature with my favorite food neighborhood in the city, East Village.
Tacos Cuautla Morelos (East 9th)
I think there should be a special award to food establishments that survive 10 years in East Village. Very quietly this hole in the wall, mom and pop (more like uncle and niece) on East 9th keeps chugging along. While you’ll find some hints of state of Morelos specialties like Tlacoyos, this is more of a typical taqueria menu you can find all over the city.
This time I came for a taco I enjoyed in the past (Pibil) but happily discovered one even better (Lengua). Cochinita Pibil is not something you can easily find in NYC, but is a staple in Morelos. Its marinated with Achiote, a special Orange paste that gives it that red color. Frankly, after having this in CDMX, I wasnt exactly wowed by it this time, as the flavor is not as distinct. But compared to most tacos in NYC, its still pretty darn solid. The latest discovery was a beautiful Lengua (tongue). Its brand new on the menu (not even listed yet as of this writing), and its exactly what you’d expect from a nice and tender Lengua.
Tacombi (East 12th)
Total opposite to Morelos, Tacombi is not only a chain nowadays, but slowly becoming the Shake Shack of tacos now that its backed by Danny Meyer. The writing is all over the wall – a future national chain. Once a chain expends as such, it becomes forgettable unless it offers something different and exceptional. Enter the new branch on the odd corner of East 12th and 3rd where the idea is to get a little closer to a Mexico City style taqueria. Need more data, but for far so legit in both the looks and flavor department.
A staple in Mexico City is the Suadero taco, the beef (brisket) version of Carnitas. Its slowly cooked in pork fat, and its even more rare in NYC than the previously mentioned Pibil. Again, not as eye popping as the versions we had in Mexico City, but surprisingly quite moist, and just fatty enough. Something I’d definitely order again. Same goes for the pastor where you get a good amount of nice, dry (not too dry), flavorful strips. If you check your preconceived chain notions at the door, you may find yourself eating at a counter in La Condesa. Except its about 10x the price.