>> Eat the World NYC: Mexico
Showing posts with label Mexico. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mexico. Show all posts

27 June 2022

Los Cuñados Mexican Prada

MÉXICO 🇲🇽
Monroe Street facade

EDITOR'S NOTE: I was originally working on a piece about this market and weekend barbacoa purveyor at the end of 2019 and as the pandemic began in 2020. It was going to be a bigger project to pitch to a local outlet because of the special nature of the place and people. As things ground to a halt and I eventually moved to Los Angeles in summer of that year, it obviously fell through the cracks. The restaurant is still operating and expanding, and should be part of your plans if it has not been already.

The first and most important thing you should know about eating barbacoa in the back room of this otherwise sleepy Passaic market is that like in the most popular spots in México, you need to plan on being here by mid-morning at the latest. Any later than that and the most coveted cuts of lamb have already been purchased by families who came closer to 06:00, just after the restaurant opens on Saturdays and Sundays.

Since barbacoa made right requires cooking overnight, it is a weekend morning tradition, and groups start filling tables here as soon as the sun is up (and before in winter). Lamb and goat barbacoa makes their way onto some menus in New York City and New Jersey, but more likely than not these preparations do not involve the proper rubs, high quality meats, and long slow cooking that make for the best. And that is of course why people are not lining up at those places like they are here.


The restaurant sells both lamb barbacoa and carnitas by the pound on weekends, orders of which are served with freshly made tortillas, salsas both red and green, limes, pickled peppers and onions, and cilantro. Many people take their booty home to share with family, but you can eat here just as easily if you are coming from far away.

It would be wise to include at least one bowl of consomé to an order, made from the overnight lamb fat drippings and fortified with chickpeas and many hearty bits of meat. Dunk your extra tortillas in this oily extravagance, going back and forth between self-prepared tacos de barbacoa and the consomé seems like the business of heaven.


You can also come for prepared tacos if you desire (below), without the commitment of pounds of meat. They make big tacos on their large fluffy homemade tortillas sold individually, perfect for anyone coming alone. These are available for both barbacoa and carnitas, and again if you come early enough you can select your preferred cuts of each.

The only negative comments that seem to be spoken about the restaurant are the relatively high prices, but the quality and care seem to brush these aside almost immediately for those that know the difference. The old phrase "you get what you pay for" is quite appropriate for a good meal here.


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I COULD USE YOUR HELP
Eat the World NYC is and always has been free. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better and you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World NYC is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

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02 May 2021

Super Taco Deli & Restaurant

MÉXICO 🇲🇽

COVID-19 UPDATE: The restaurant has built a covered patio for outside dining, and has a more spacious indoor dining area than most Mexican restaurants in south Brooklyn.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Written by Joseph Gessert, photographed by Liv Dillon.

Like pizza, nachos are a dish found more often on menus stateside than in the country of their supposed origin. If legend (and Wikipedia) is correct, they were invented by a bordertown Mexican chef in 1940 and popularized in Texas and then the American Southwest.

But much like pizza and the Mission burrito, regardless of authenticity or lack thereof, nachos are really good, and have been part of the Mexican-American culinary lexicon for long enough they are also part of immigrant Mexican cooking in restaurants catering mostly to the Mexican community. While 7-11 has adapted nachos into a processed food horror of push-button EZ cheese, many taquerias have made their own improvements on the dish using Mexican meats and fresh ingredients.


Gravesend family business Super Taco makes a very nice nachos al pastor ($12, above). The cheese didn’t come out of a bag, and the composition is airy enough that the beans and pico de gallo do not leave the chips soggy. The pastor seasoning has, unusually, cloves, as well as chunks of fresh pineapple, and both are pleasantly surprising to find in a familiar dish. More than everything else, though, the freshly-fried chips make the dish, with the tortillas thick and holding up well amidst the onslaught of toppings. And yes, you can order a beer with your nachos here, and there is plenty of space to sit back and drink it.

A weekend pozole con puerco ($10, below) comes with two tostadas, with the tortillas again freshly-fried. The soup is mild, and the meat tender. The hominy has absorbed the soup’s flavor, and cooked into a very pleasing potato-like texture. The soup’s gentle flavor profiles are a good contrast to the fireworks of the nachos. This restraint of seasoning is true of many Mexican dishes with indigenous roots, and it is a beautiful thing to eat these two dishes together—one thousands of years old, the other barely eighty, both telling stories of immigration and adaptation and the many cultures that have influenced this continent.


📍 261 Kings Highway, Gravesend, Brooklyn

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I COULD USE YOUR HELP
Eat the World NYC is and always has been free. It is a hobby born of passion and never solicits money or free food from restaurants. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better and you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World NYC is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

You can Venmo me @JAREDCOHEE, Cash App $JaredCohee, or click here to send PayPal donation, where no account is necessary. Thank you!

06 April 2021

Sin Dulce Bakery

MÉXICO 🇲🇽

COVID-19 UPDATE: The restaurant provides indoor dining and a brisk takeout business.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Written by Joseph Gessert, photographed by Liv Dillon.

Port Chester, the last town in West Chester before I-95 crosses over into Connecticut, is the most diverse town in the county. Its downtown has gone through a familiar pattern of abandonment, revitalization by immigrants, and modest gentrification.

Despite some fancier restaurants and a renovated warehouse building advertising luxury loft living, restaurants serving the immigrant community still proliferate. Mexican stalwart Sin Dulce sits within two blocks of restaurants serving food from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, El Salvador, Guatemala, and much more.


Tacos árabes ($4 each, above) are not from the trompo here, but worth a try regardless. Pork is cooked in a lemon juice marinade and served with chipotle salsa and sauteed onions in a flour tortilla. The citrus cuts very nicely through the salsa and onions, and the tortillas appear to be handmade.
 
A burrito de cabeza ($8.50, below) presents rich head meat that is well-balanced with the other components. Yes there is lettuce, but the protein dominates, and flavors are excellent. Other meat options include brain and ear, meats generally neglected at US Mexican restaurants but here doing a steady business.


After your meal you would be well-served to follow up on those protein options across the street at the La Placita supermarket. The meat counter offers a beautiful array of sausages, including multiple chorizos (all $5.99 a pound). The Mexican and Colombian varieties are more familar, and about what you would expect (spicy and fatty, respectively).
 
More unusual in US markets are the chorizo parrillero and chorizo uruguayo. Both are lighter-colored and more mildly-flavored than their northern counterparts. The parrillero is heavy on the herbs, while the uruguayo is more subtle, with garlic and maybe a little wine in the mix. Also on offer is an Argentinian morcilla (also $5.99 a pound), a blood and rice sausage that provides a very nice contrast of texture and flavor compared to its meat counter neighbors.


For both restaurants and market, Port Chester is well worth a stop the next time you’re driving north. Amidst the bland gentility of many of the surrounding communities, this one is a gem.

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I COULD USE YOUR HELP
Eat the World NYC is and always has been free. It is a hobby born of passion and never solicits money or free food from restaurants. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better and you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World NYC is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

You can Venmo me @JAREDCOHEE, Cash App $JaredCohee, or click here to send PayPal donation, where no account is necessary. Thank you!

18 February 2021

El Divino Rostro

MÉXICO 🇲🇽
(BAJA CALIFORNIA)

COVID-19 UPDATE: Food trucks are perfect pandemic eating, with minimal human contact and no indoor dining.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Written by Joseph Gessert, photographed by Liv Dillon.

A handful of new taco trucks are springing up in south Brooklyn, and El Divino Rostro is the most exciting of them... so far. While their competitors share more or less the same menu, El Divino Rostro has taken note of the success of Jackson Heights/Williamsburg truck Birria-Landia and Bushwick’s Nene’s Deli Taqueria, and are specializing in stewed beef birria. This is a meat that has long been common in Los Angeles, popularized by the mini-empires Teddy’s Red Tacos and Birrieria Gonzalez, but is now (finally) becoming more readily available in New York City.

Tacos de birria de res ($2.50 each) are the classic preparation, with the stewed beef sitting atop tortillas that have been dunked in broth as well. Not only does this leave the tortilla red, but plates, hands, and napkins by the end of any meal. El Divino Rostro’s birria is fatty, rich, and nicely balanced, with none of the spices dominating any of the others. The "plain" taco is a good chance to try it on its own. The quesotaco ($3.50) takes this preparation a step further, melting cheese on the red tortilla before adding the meat. Both are best eaten with a side of cilantro-and-onion-specked consomé ($6) for dunking, leaving everything even more red and delicious. The consomé is ambitiously priced, but during a recent visit was offered for free in the context of a full dinner order. Drowned in the liquid was enough extra meat for two more tacos.


Also on the menu is the rarely-seen-in-NYC mulita, as well as more standard fare like tortas and tostadas. The burrito de birria de res ($9) is almost all meat, barely glazed with beans and rice, and cut with fresh onion and avocado. El Divino Rostro’s salsa roja packs a solid punch, and you definitely won’t go wrong giving the burrito a dip in the consome before adding the salsa. There are other meat options as well: chicken, steak, and chorizo. All are presumably worth a try during future visits.

As with so many NYC taquerias and Mexican food trucks, El Divino Rostro’s proprietors are from Puebla, but they have been quick studies in this traditionally Tijuanense dish. You will wonder, eating their birria, if the New York food scene could soon be home to more, for instance, Oaxaqueño restaurants. Or Yucateco. Regardless, this truck is a fantastic addition to local Mexican food offerings, and promises great things to come as the city opens up more vendor permits and reduces police involvement in ticketing street vendors.

After some issues with parking, El Divino Rostro has established a (hopefully) permanent location on 86th Street at the corner of 21st Avenue. They plan to be open every evening, with hours somewhat variable. You can call ahead before visiting (or to make an order for pickup or delivery) at (347) 866-7479.

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I COULD USE YOUR HELP
Eat the World NYC is and always has been free. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better and you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World NYC is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

You can Venmo me @JAREDCOHEE or click here to send PayPal donation, no account is necessary. Thank you!

31 December 2020

Juquilita Laundromat & Deli

🇲🇽 MÉXICO
Google Street View

COVID-19 UPDATE: Juquilita is takeout only, unless you are doing your laundry and wolf down a taco on the side. The tiny store can get crowded and the kitchen is often backlogged, so it is best to call in orders ahead of time, or go for a walk while your food is prepared.
 
EDITOR'S NOTE: Written by Joseph Gessert, photographed by Liv Dillon.
 
Mexican food in New York City did not hit its stride until the past decade or so, following an influx of immigrants from Puebla and other states driven by NAFTA’s destabilization of the Mexican economy. Being new immigrants to a high-rent city, would-be restaurateurs have been resourceful—much of the best Mexican food in New York is cooked behind the deli counters of bodegas-cum-taquerias.
 
Staten Island’s Juquilita Laundromat & Deli goes a step deeper into the pool of resourcefulness. It started life as a simple coin laundry, which spawned a grocery store, and now hosts a taco counter making some of the best burritos on the island.
 
 
New York burritos suffer in comparison to their West Coast counterparts in part because most locally-manufactured flour tortillas are not big enough to make a proper Mission-style burrito, and most taquerias are not doing enough burrito business to justify making their own flour tortillas. Juquilita sidesteps this handicap by overlapping two Banderita-brand tortillas in a Venn diagram of deliciousness.
 
It does not hurt that their carnitas are top-notch, or that they generally hit the sweet spot of bean/rice/meat proportion. In a busy kitchen the preparation can be uneven, but on a good day their carnitas burrito ($9, below) sings. Burrito puritans might raise their eyebrows at the lettuce, or the pickled jalapeños, but the sum effect is hefty and delicious. Please note that Juquilita does not have a salsa bar, and your green and red sauce will set you back an extra 50 cents a cup.
 

Beyond the burritos, Juquilita's menu is ever-expanding with hand-written addendums. A torta Hawaiana ($9, not shown) is sloppy in the best way, ham and melted Oaxacan quesillo anchoring a mess of chipotle, avocado, beans, and canned pineapple. If you do not like pizza with pineapple, this might still do the trick.  
 
Tacos Aztecas ($10 for three) combine bistec with quesillo and grilled nopal. Other recent menu additions include a selection of Pueblan tacos placeros, and a few nods to the increasing number of non-Mexican customers from the neighborhood. A bacon egg and quesillo sandwich ($3.75, below) is served with avocado, grilled jalapenos, and a dash of mayonnaise. Another variant substitutes chorizo for the bacon. It’s great to see the Mexican ingredients dressing up a classic New York sandwich.
 
A New York City-Oaxaca mashup.
 
If you’re in a hurry there are often ready-made guisados simmering in pots back in the kitchen. A recent Saturday lunch yielded an exemplary red pipian with rice and beans ($7.50, below). Pipian in New York is often mild and liquid-y, but Juquilita’s iteration is thick with ground pumpkin seeds and very rich. Well worth a second order the next time it is available.

Besides laundry and tacos, Juquilita offers a full meat counter, fresh produce, and a remarkable selection of Mexican groceries jammed into a multi-pupose space. This could be the start of an epic North Shore Mexican food crawl: starting at Juquilita for pipian and a burrito, walking up Castleton to the excellent Oaxaca Pizzeria Deli & Taqueria for tacos de alambre and nachos con pico de gallo, and then staggering on to Port Richmond Avenue, the heart of Staten Island’s thriving Mexican community.
 
 
 
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I COULD USE YOUR HELP
Eat the World NYC is and always has been free. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better and you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World NYC is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

You can Venmo me @JAREDCOHEE or click here to send PayPal donation, no account is necessary. Thank you!

22 June 2020

Cosina de Chencha

MÉXICO 🇲🇽
(OAXACA)

[COVID-19 UPDATE: The chairs are still on top of the tables as seen below, but Cosina de Chencha is still cranking out orders for delivery and pickup daily, which has always been their main source of business.]

As reported from New Brunswick last summer: "New Brunswick, New Jersey, a growing town of about 57,000 people is most known for Rutgers University and surrounding area that firmly place it in the image of a "college town." But not far outside of the university section and the city's downtown, roads stretching south and west reveal where the growth in population is coming from, and an almost magical area containing one of the densest concentrations of Oaxacans on the east coast."

The interior is in much better shape.

During warm months, and when there is not a pandemic, you will see pastries being sold on the sidewalk. Many of these are familiar to folks who frequent panaderias, but some have names that reveal them as Oaxacan specialties and are much more rare outside of New Brunswick.

Step inside the small dining room to take a look at the menu and see more Oaxacan favorites like the gigantic tlayuda (below), which is available with or without meat. The massive wrappers, imported from Oaxaca, are folded over all the ingredients, and at least for takeout, the whole thing is chopped in half. As always, it takes a bit of skill and luck to get everything into your mouth without losing some to your jeans.



Also of note are the rare masa triangles from Oaxaca called tetelas ($2 each, above and below), antojitos that are filled with beans and cheese. These are satisfying snacks and always available.

The sad lonely tetela pictured here was a mistake, as he definitely deserves to have many friends. Purchase these by the dozen!



One of those baked goods you may find on the sidewalk when passing during better days is the empanada de lechesilla ($2.75, above and below), dusted with sugar and filled with a vanilla cream.

A set amount of these are made each day, and if lucky they will still be warm when you find them. On those days, place them directly into your mouth and enjoy.



I COULD USE YOUR HELP
Eat the World NYC is and always has been free. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better and you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World NYC is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

You can Venmo me @JAREDCOHEE or click here to send PayPal donation, no account is necessary. Thank you!

25 February 2020

Café con Pan Bakery II

MÉXICO 🇲🇽

In the world of chain operations, Café con Pan is the type the city needs. This location is the second of three, a company that originated in Sunset Park, Brooklyn about ten years ago but has spread to two spots in Staten Island since. Currently in its sixth year of business, this panaderia and pasteleria makes a lot more than baked goods and sweets.

Café con Pan exists at a really exciting time on Port Richmond Avenue in Elm Park, a stretch that gets more and more interesting with every visit. Its many tables might not seem busy at most times, but in just a few minutes you realize it is a very active place. People are in and out quickly, grabbing sweet breads or tamales and tortas mostly for takeout.


In the dining area, those chairs and tables are all so colorful, each painted differently with scenes from rural life mixed in with cathedrals, horses, and men playing music around a fire. The barstools each have a scene from a movie. The bar is loaded up with alcohol, but early in the day at least it does not see much action.

While deciding what to get, the large family that had come in just before went straight for the tongs to grab pan dulce. To make a lunch decision easier, a danish and coffee was ordered to follow suit and give a bit more time. The shop has a logo that looks a lot like this order, so it confirmed it was a proper first move.

Café con pan.

If you grab a menu, you get a sense of the massive amount of cooking the place does in addition to their many racks of breads, cakes, and cookies. A full range of antojitos as well as soups and weekend special exist alongside the torta section, which is 30 deep!

Two tamales ($2 each, below) started this meal, of which the rajas con queso was the winner. Plenty of cheese worked well to smooth the masa and keep it moist, something the verde was lacking.

Tamal verde de pollo/tamal de rajas con queso

Conchas

A few of many cookies

As other families had come in to request custom cakes for future parties, the next course of this meal was decided to be the pozole con 2 tostadas ($12, below). This pork and hominy soup was deeper and richer than usual with ample amounts of oregano and rosemary. The tender meat was delicious. The only thing missing was some ground red pepper, which does not appear to be available to spice up the soup.

The two tostadas come completely plain except for a squirt of crema on top. This is a bit different than most restaurants around town, which serve a more "complete" tostada with beans, lettuce, and cheese as well alongside the soup. This allows you to combine bites easier and eat them with the pozole rather than simply as a side.


When it was finally time to attack that list of tortas, the torta mixta ($11, below) won the lottery, a sandwich packed with three meats (chicken tinga, bacon, and ham) as well as two types of cheese, beans, lettuce, avocado, and jalapeño. All of these ingredients were excellent.

What held it back, somewhat surprisingly for the setting, was the bread. It appeared as if the bread was once good, but was it old now and reheated, possibly in a microwave? While this was disappointing, surely a next time would have fresh bread?



The torta should not be written off just by one attempt. If you have had an experience good or bad, please let everyone know in the comments, and of course the article will be updated when another torta is eaten soon.

Or will it be that chipotle torta burger full of quesillo they advertise?

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ELM PARK Staten Island
Café Con Pan Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

I COULD USE YOUR HELP
Eat the World NYC is and always has been free. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better and you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World NYC is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

You can Venmo me @JAREDCOHEE or click here to send PayPal donation, no account is necessary. Thank you!

21 January 2020

Mi Dulce Mexico

MÉXICO 🇲🇽
(SINALOA)

The story of New York City and food from the Mexican state of Sinaloa is a short one. Most of it is wrapped up in the brief existence of Taqueria Sinaloense, which opened in late 2017 but was unable to last even a full year. It celebrated the western Mexican state with all it could, but apparently there were not enough people in the borough who felt the same.

Another taqueria in Marble Hill took the same name and sold chilorio, but it seemed straight from the can and was nowhere near as good. Luckily, for the time being, this slow-simmered pork that is fried with chilies has found a home at the very end of the menu at Mi Dulce Mexico.

This newly-branded restaurant is a new face to Veyla's Bakery Cafe, which has sat on this corner for the better part of ten years. Although passing by many times and seeing a decent gathering of satisfied customers, Veyla's never had that something extra to pull it out from the crowd.


A typical breakfast in Sinaloa would look like the huevos con machaca ($8, above) they serve here. Machaca itself is spiced dried meat, shredded and usually eaten with big flour tortillas, especially in Sinaloa. Drying meat was first done as a form of preservation, but the style is still popular even when unnecessary with modern refrigeration. While the process is usually different these days, the consistency and quality of the meat can be close to the original when the chef is good.

Substitute the standard rice and beans with frijoles puercos, beans full of pork fat and other bits. Making yourself little tacos with their warm flour tortillas and delicious homemade salsa made with chiles de arbol is a real treat. Initially the tortillas seemed handmade as well, but an inquiry revealed that they are purchased. Regardless, they are of very high quality and make a perfect wrapper, each plate is served with a warm pack of four.


As for the chilorio ($14, above), they do it just as well or maybe even better than that version that broke New York City back in 2017. First slow-simmered, then cooked in lard and fried with chiles, chilorio is unlike anything else and one hundred percent Sinaloan. It is wonderful to have it back and available in Queens.

Once again, wrapping it up in one of those tortillas is like a dream. It is such a delight that a Sinaloan chef has found a home in another kitchen. A return will be soon in the cards to see how that aguachile is looking, as the state is well known for the delicious seafood made freshly from its coast.

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CORONA Queens
35-58 97th Street
Mi Dulce Mexico Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

I COULD USE YOUR HELP
Eat the World NYC is and always has been free. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better and you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World NYC is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

You can Venmo me @JAREDCOHEE or click here to send PayPal donation, no account is necessary. Thank you!

05 December 2019

Taqueria Los Güeros

MÉXICO 🇲🇽

Spanning Northern New Jersey from Perth Amboy to Englewood, Taqueria Los Güeros has become something of an empire with a full ten locations. Their logo features a spinning trompo of al pastor meat, what their shop is best known for and the main reason they keep expanding. New Jersey has much better street taco quality than rivals to the east, while places like this continue to nail the point home and offer a place to sit as well.

This location on Monroe Street in Passaic is a good introduction to the chain, in one of the best Mexican neighborhoods in the city. Upon entering, make sure to peek through the window into the kitchen and see their gigantic beautiful trompo. During eating hours, the spit is kept with great skill and the meat comes out perfectly.


What sets Taqueria Los Güeros apart from most of the competition in this part of the world is their terrific adobo blend, a mixture of dried chilis, achiote paste, pineapple, and all the secret spices. This is applied to the small strips of meat before they are mounted onto the spit to be grilled vertically.

You can find the meat in many forms here, but why not start with a plate of los tacos ($6.99, above), a portion of four mini D.F. style taquitos loaded with al pastor, onions, and cilantro. They do a good job bringing the packaged tortillas back to life with some grilling and oils, but make sure to squeeze some lime and load it up further with the gorgeous red salsa that arrives with other condiments.


Another compelling order was the mini torta al pastor ($3.49, above), which because of size and price acts like an appetizer and an easy way to try more food. They do not give this small sandwich short shrift here though, the meat is placed on a very nice miniature bread and is thoroughly enjoyable. The miniature option is also available in carnitas, creating the chance to create somewhat of a slider platter if desired.

While a pineapple is there on the spit providing its juices, and the marinade uses flavor from the fruit, they do not seem to use slices on their tacos or tortas here, something that is missed. This could probably be fixed by request if you cannot live without it.


On trips to Mexico City, at al pastor taqueros on the street an order of a gringa ($8.49, above) can usually not be resisted. Versions there are usually two small flour tortillas encasing al pastor meat and cheese, basically the size of a taco but in quesadilla format. Here at Los Güeros the order is a meal on its own, using larger flour tortillas like the ones wrapping burritos.

When you become tired of al pastor, if that is possible, there are quite a few other directions the menu takes including other antojitos and full combo plates with rice and beans.


These taquitos ($6.99, above) are filled with chicken and deep dried, with a sprinkling of añejo cheese and a side of sour cream. The rice and beans are not going to blow your mind, but the price point is genuinely ridiculous for food like this, and the condiment carrier is ready to put in service if you require.

It is not difficult to see why the company has expanded so quickly to fill the needs of many in New Jersey. Will they go further and bring their trompo skills east of the river and into the boroughs of New York City? Here's to hoping.

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PASSAIC New Jersey
Los Gueros Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

25 November 2019

La Fortaleza

MÉXICO 🇲🇽

Having walked by both branches of Passaic's beloved La Fortaleza many times over the past ten years or more, the establishment has always been on the to do list but unfortunately that box was never checked. These shops put cemita right in their name, claiming excellence in their execution of the Pueblan sandwich. Photographs and peeks inside the doors always show the other part of La Fortaleza experience: color and over the top kitsch.

What finally tipped the scale and locked in a visit was a look at their presence on social media, which by far and away favors another location in Garfield. This spot seems to ramp up the color, add nightly live music, and a full bar to the mix. The menu might actually be a bit longer, but they still give proper focus to those giant cemitas.


But first thing's first, do spend a little time in the bar area, especially during the daylight hours when light gives all the bright colors inside their proper due and some happy specials are available on weekdays. Giant margaritas can be ordered in many flavors or original, and when asked to be served in their house cantarito de barro (above), you get to take home the souvenir cup.

The good music rotation is on point even before the nightly live performances start, so you start to settle into your environment even if you had not planned on staying. Even when you have already eaten lunch the appetizers start to sound appealing. Order the guacamole ($8, below) if only for the chance to have the ceramic Volkswagen Beetle arrive filled with it. It took a few more limes and dumping in a bit from the various hot sauces on the table to give it life, but it was not the reason for this visit so it can slide.


After a few more rounds and time enough to feel like eating again, the list of cemitas was perused and offered many selections. This sandwich gets its name from the sesame-encrusted bread that is used, and on the east coast is often times a much better vehicle for meats if you cannot find handmade tortillas. The Pueblan bakeries and restaurants like this never disappoint.

These gigantic beauties range only from $9 to $11, really a steal for how much quality food arrives. The cemita de carnitas ($9, below) uses maciza cuts of the pork, probably the easiest for anyone to eat. All lean meat and no guts or skin, the pork is cooked Michoacán-style, with the addition of avocado, a mountain of quesillo, and a very important and unseen chipotle pepper.


The homemade salsas at La Fortaleza also really stand out. The menu says this sandwich is paired with a spicy salsa verde, and it is undeniably wonderful, but the salsa roja here is the real star of the show. It is made with habañeros and packs a swift slap in the face for each drop you apply. Sweat was forming almost instantly, but the heat is rewarded with a deep and rich palate underneath. If only they jarred it for purchase.

After this cemita was enjoyed, it was great knowing the Garfield branch was just as interested in what comes out of their kitchen as the Passaic locations. With a brand new spot in Clifton as well, La Fortaleza is creating a little empire in this section of New Jersey.


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La Fortaleza Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato