Taqueria Juarez

MÉXICO 🇲🇽

Just over the border from El Paso in Texas is the sometimes famous, sometimes infamous border town of Ciudad Juárez, the namesake of this taqueria located on somewhat sleepy 43rd Avenue. Lessons have already been learned and I did not bust down the door with the naive hope that there would be cuisine from the state of Chihuahua. After all this is New York City and basically all we are allowed to eat is food cooked by Pueblans.

When you walk inside, the long kitchen to the right is somewhat obscured my boxes of Maruchan ramen, tubes of Pringles, and single servings of cereal to go. Above the industrial kitchen furniture are mountains of styrofoam and plastic soup containers, packaged tortillas, and sacs of conchas from El Aguila Bakery. Machines that swirl with drinks are loaded here with horchata, tamarindo, and jamaica.

The six or seven four tops here seem to get a steady stream of customers, so on a couple recent visits I decided to see how close I could come to comida tipica Juarense even if that was not the point. From Northern Mexican states like Chihuahua, their neighbors, and even over the border in Texas, the birthplace of Tex-Mex, ranching defines the cuisine where the focus will be an array of grilled meats and their skilled preparation. You will also find a lot less reliance on corn masa and more flour tortillas and processed foods thanks to the United States of America being so close.

With this in mind, the sincronizada de carne asada ($10.50, above and below) seemed like a no-brainer. This antojito is sometimes called a quesadilla up here, but the flour instead of corn tortilla gives it away. It is not folded over itself, but rather cut into sections and each is given a dollop of crema and a scattering of crumbled cheese to top the melted white cheese and slice of American processed cheese inside.

The thin strips of carne asada are actually well-marinated and tasty, the whole thing is pulled off relatively well.

While it is possible to imagine yourself ordering this from Taco Bell or some other place that has appropriated various traditions, the fast food version could never stack up to this one which even gets topped with fresh avocado and tomato.

Also of note are the tacos ($3 each, below), which can be ordered estilo Taqueria Juárez for $1 extra and come with grilled cactus, jalapeño and onions on the side.

While the pastor certainly is above average, the tripa (below) here is exciting, larger tubes of small intestine than normal that have been fried to a nice crisp but still retain a lot of juice. The house green salsa is good and should be used liberally.

It is almost a certainty on a weeknight or weekend that at least one other table here will be ordering buckets of beer known as cubetazos and somewhat paying attention to football on the TV. The jukebox comes alive now and then, which gives the place a good atmosphere even if only a couple others are around.

🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽

ELMHURST Queens

91-09 43rd Avenue

Map of Eat the World NYC: