Where's some REAL Mexican Food?
Subject: Where's some REAL Mexican Food?
And we're not talking gorditas and crap. We're moving in from Harlem and we want the kind of place with fresh SPICY salsa, a loud jukebox playing songs in Spanish, suspect art hanging on the walls, and 2-dollar carne tacos.No nachos, enchiritos, or jalepeno-shaped festive lights, please. We went to someplace on 7th and President or so and almost cried. And not in a good way. We're guessing there's a bit more to be found south of 9th (where we're moving).
AYUDA!
Comments
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i'm a huge lover of clemens, on PPW
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sunset park should have some
. and on Roosevelt ave in queens hehe. -
Try 5th Avenue in the South Slope -- there are 2 or 3 places between 9th Street and Prospect Ave. that might be what you're looking for.
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Eh, I'm not with BP on the Clemens love. It will do in a pinch, but I agree that 5th Ave south of 9th St (and even south of Prospect Ave) is where you want to go.
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I dont know how real this place is but i really like it.
El Pitayo ($$)
Mexican
213 Smith St, Brooklyn 11201
Btwn Baltic & Butler St
Phone: 718-625-2616 -
Taqueira DF on 22nd and 5th Ave in GWH!
The brothers who ran Healthy Hennrieta's in Bklyn Hts. before it closed
Great for both carnivores and veggies. CalMex deluxe!
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Flexichick wrote: Eh, I'm not with BP on the Clemens love. It will do in a pinch, but I agree that 5th Ave south of 9th St (and even south of Prospect Ave) is where you want to go.
Yeah, good point, I'm sure there are lots of them as you get into Sunset Park. I was just remembering a couple that I've passed many times -- one is called Tacos Nuevos Mexico -- I think around 12th Street. -
I've been to TNM and it's not bad (but it's always been after a few beers, so I can't be entirely certain). I want to go to DF soon. El Rincon on 5th around 18th isn't bad either.
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Subject: Re: Where's some REAL Mexican Food?
TeaFolks wrote: we want the kind of place with fresh SPICY salsa, a loud jukebox playing songs in Spanish, suspect art hanging on the walls, and 2-dollar carne tacos.
Like some have already mentioned I'm also partial to Rincon Familiar (5th Ave btwn 18th & 19th St) which is quite nice and down to earth but it's not as raucous as you might like. Perhaps Tacos Nuevo Mexico (5th Ave bwn 11th & 12th St) and Taqueria DF (5th Ave & 22nd St) are more to your liking, although DF is geared more towards take out (and packed with patrons in various states of inebration late nights, especially on the weekend). And there's also a bunch of similar joints like the above in Sunset Park.
One more thing: I highly recommend a new book called Nueva York: The Complete Guide to Latino Life in the Five Boroughs which includes reviews of all kinds of Latino restaurants and greasy spoons, Mexican and otherwise, from all over town. -
Subject: Healthy Henrietta's? el rincon, maria's... move from harlem.
thanks for this tip. what was healthy henrietta's? I 've heard about it and feel like I missed out on a really healthy health food restaurant that was in brooklyn. (why there are none, I cannot fathom.)
thanks! I will check out Taqueria DF tho'.
I also very much like El Rincon, 19th and 5th. fairly slow service but very good food!
oh also maria's on union street and 4th ave. makes very good guacamole that they make PER order! you actually watch them make it and it's really good. I'm not sure (can't remember) about the rest of the food!
p.s. to OP, that's actually a big move, distance wise, neighborhood, etc. what prompted your move ?lostingreenwoodhts wrote: Taqueira DF on 22nd and 5th Ave in GWH!
The brothers who ran Healthy Hennrieta's in Bklyn Hts. before it closed
Great for both carnivores and veggies. CalMex deluxe! -
maria's reviews (from people not papers) are always mixed. i really like it there, but think it's a little pricier than it should be.
even though it's not mexican, i'm still chiming in a huge one for bogota because their fish tacos rival ones i got in zijuatanejo (before it became a fancy schmancy resport) -
Subject: Re: Where's some REAL Mexican Food?
is there a mexican restaurant at 7th and president? maybe the one on garfield ?
oh. el rincon is not a place for $2 tacos. it used to be cheaper but no more.
there are definitely places in sunset park (not sure of the great ones) that would fill this bill. starting at 19th street and 5th avenue and heading into sunset park would probably be best although you can find some expensive versions in park slope.TeaFolks wrote: And we're not talking gorditas and crap. We're moving in from Harlem and we want the kind of place with fresh SPICY salsa, a loud jukebox playing songs in Spanish, suspect art hanging on the walls, and 2-dollar carne tacos.
No nachos, enchiritos, or jalepeno-shaped festive lights, please. We went to someplace on 7th and President or so and almost cried. And not in a good way. We're guessing there's a bit more to be found south of 9th (where we're moving).
AYUDA! -
That's a long walk, cat. The good Mexican food in Sunset Park starts up around 41st Street and goes to 59th. But down in the 20s, there's some more than decent Mexican food at El Centenario Grocery, toward the back. It's kind of the Matamoras Pueblas of our neighborhood. Jirassol, across the street, is mainly a bakery, but is open very late or maybe 24/7, and they have good tortas and sopes.
El Rincon and Taqueria D.F., despite past flirtations with authentic Mexican food, now serve Tex-Mex-style cuisine. Personally I don't like either of them.
Back north, Calexico still serves delicious huevos mexicanos and rancheros after all these years. And possibly the most skilled inexpensive Mexican kitchen around is Castro's in Clinton Hill, on Myrtle Avenue. -
Anonymous wrote: That's a long walk, cat. The good Mexican food in Sunset Park starts up around 41st Street and goes to 59th. But down in the 20s, there's some more than decent Mexican food at El Centenario Grocery, toward the back. It's kind of the Matamoras Pueblas of our neighborhood. Jirassol, across the street, is mainly a bakery, but is open very late or maybe 24/7, and they have good tortas and sopes.
hi. I've always been mixed on calexico for no good reason but now it's sounding pretty good. will have to go back there one of these days.
El Rincon and Taqueria D.F., despite past flirtations with authentic Mexican food, now serve Tex-Mex-style cuisine. Personally I don't like either of them.
Back north, Calexico still serves delicious huevos mexicanos and rancheros after all these years. And possibly the most skilled inexpensive Mexican kitchen around is Castro's in Clinton Hill, on Myrtle Avenue.
good info re: sunset park. thanks! (what happened to el rincon? they dramatically ... well somewhat... revamped the interior and also raised their prices.) -
Clemens gets my vote. and it's cheap
you might also wish to try Elora's. it's on PPW + 17th st.
a little pricier but good food. authentic. and don't forget to have the fried ice cream
here are some reviews on yelp:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/-pW5tF7cLZqM7BEpxTapkw -
Thanks guys. We now feel much better about leaving our beloved Harlem carnita shacks (an lower down on 106th, Taqueria LaFonda, perhaps the best cheap tacos I've ever had).
Sunset Park sounds like a good place to walk around on the weekend. Will defrinitely check that out.
And MKeys: we're getting that book! -
I'm not sure if this is exactly what you want, but I've always liked Los Dos Pollitos on 5th nearish to Baltic. More along the lines of what you;ve requestd there is a place in Red Hook called El Juipil (sic)
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TeaFolks wrote: Thanks guys. We now feel much better about leaving our beloved Harlem carnita shacks (an lower down on 106th, Taqueria LaFonda, perhaps the best cheap tacos I've ever had).
Cool, TeaFolks. Glad I could help.
Sunset Park sounds like a good place to walk around on the weekend. Will defrinitely check that out.
And MKeys: we're getting that book!
Oh, and whatever you do once you're in the 'hood DON'T GO TO BOGOTA! (141 5th Ave) It's not Mexican--Colombian/Pan-American--but you're better off skipping it. Food, drinks, service, you name it: Worst. Restaurant. Ever. (At least in the Slope.) -
I was remarkably unimpressed by Bogata myself...
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quijibo wrote: Clemens gets my vote. and it's cheap
"Cheap" is a matter of opinion
We "used" to love Clemens. One too many hour + deliveries, way too salty sauces and a few "abortion-esque" (sorry for the graphic detail) cactus burritos...
Wanna show some love, but...
Taq D.F. still the best in the 'hood. :P -
So far I'm unimpressed by most of the mex places in the Slope. I haven't tried them all though. I didn't like Maria's, it was too little for too much $. Dos Pollitos is only OK. Calexico does have $3 tacos that are PACKED with lots of meat and the refried beans are decent too. But it's just not like back home (East LA: Mom's home cooking). I like Tacos Nuevo Mexico, but the service is slow and the food sometimes comes out cold. Yet it is still my favorite cheap taqueria so far.
I need to check out Taq D.F. Thanks for the suggestion! =P~ -
Hey! I almost forgot my favorite place: Happy Taco on 7th ave.
:^o O:) -
Just a quick word to defend Bogota (which indeed is not Mexican, so sorry to stay off-topic) - I love the place. Lively vibe, great food, good drinks. Hip, crowded, loud, expensivish. But always a pleasure on my half-dozen visits.
But other people have clearly had different experiences, so... go figure. -
Mamacita wrote: Hey! I almost forgot my favorite place: Happy Taco on 7th ave.
The 1/2 Tex-Mex and 1/2 Chinese? Geeze, I hope not! :x
:^o O:) -
lostingreenwoodhts wrote: [quote=Mamacita]Hey! I almost forgot my favorite place: Happy Taco on 7th ave.
The 1/2 Tex-Mex and 1/2 Chinese? Geeze, I hope not! :xI was just kidding!
:^o O:)
What's the best thing to get at Taqueria DF? I might go tomorrow....... here's a review I found:
http://www.villagevoice.com/nyclife/0619,sietsema,73124,15.html -
Mamacita, Kidding, ah yes, sarcasm...it's been a long Holiday
Depends...if you are a veggie (well partial), I always opt for the nopalito (cactus) burrito with pinto beans, brown rice, whole wheat tortilla and camarones (shirmp). That kinda set-up is left over from their Healthy Henrietta's days...Excellent with their green sauce. Now, basically anything my wife or I have had that's veggie has been great. I know for our friends that the carne stuff is equally as good. Beer's cold, margaritas "OK," but strong. I'd order a Modello and a shot
But, I'm a traditionalist...
Decor is nothing to shake a stick at, except during the summer when they open the front of the place up (literally taking out the windows), but the staff is friendly. Tell Pedro or Tony the "folks at 311" sent ya! -
In all fairness, that VV article was written after they had only been in the new space 6 mo's and still without a liquor license...funny thing, they used to run their ops outta the competing taqueria stand now run by De Guerreros TaquerÃa...since closed and moved across the street to their enlarged (recently) store. Guerreros is a great local stop for all things authentic, north of Sunset Park.
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SouthSlopeSuit wrote: Just a quick word to defend Bogota (which indeed is not Mexican, so sorry to stay off-topic) - I love the place. Lively vibe, great food, good drinks. Hip, crowded, loud, expensivish. But always a pleasure on my half-dozen visits.
As I mentioned on another thread, I went with two friends to Bogota and our respective meals were below mediocre, meanwhile the service didn't even rate that high. Other friends have similar experiences/complaints.
But other people have clearly had different experiences, so... go figure.
A critic of my acquaintance visited the place 3 different times before arriving at an opinion. It wasn't good. Far from it, actually.
The place does have a nice vibe, and I know people that have gone just for drinks and their experience was OK, but there are seemingly 12,000 places to drink in this 'hood for you to patronize a Latin place that screws up a mojito--which I don't care for anyway--for instance.
Respectfully, I must say that I believe that the people that enjoy the food in that joint are probably not familiar with the real deal. Either that or Bogota hates me and my friends.
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for the millionth time I will type these words...
the shack (Flores y Tamales, but it's not like there's an actual sign up) on Fourth Ave between 10th and 11th St by the F train exit has really good authentic tamales. It's not a sit-down Mexican place, but Mexican food in NYC is totally hard to find so . . . get the take out or sit on a folding chair on the sidewalk and get some tamales verdes oaxaquenos!
Nuevo Mexico on Fifth in the Slope is the closest you're going to find in the Slope for tacos, but they're soooo much better if you take the bus up the road to Sunset Park.
Try 45th St. and 5th Ave., Tacos Matamoros. yum.
And there's some awesome shacks open at various times radiating out from there.
I've heard good things about El Huipil in Red Hook too, but never been. And OP, you can look forward to checking out the Latin American experience at the Red hook ballfields next spring/summer.
http://brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4542
Maria's is okay in a gringo-centric strong drinks sort of way, and their guac *is* good. Ditto Los Dos Pollitos, which is owned by the same guys.
Viejo Yayo is one of the remaining soupy rice and cafe con leche emporiums left on the northern end of Fifth Ave (closer to Flatbush that is) and why hasn't anybody mentioned crossing Flatbush to
El Gran Castillo de Jagua at Park Place?
It's not Mexican, but it's got the juke box.
http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=513&; -
as for Bogota, I'm with Keys
MichaelKeys wrote:
bleech! jerky guys with a business plan! if Cancun is your idea of Mexico, go for it dude . . .
Respectfully, I must say that I believe that the people that enjoy the food in that joint are probably not familiar with the real deal. Either that or Bogota hates me and my friends.
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