Results tagged “tacos”

Tin foil-hat conspiracy theorists take note: this ravenous city will soon be flooded with a multitude of free (or cheaper-than-usual) tin foil wrapped burritos over the course of the next few weeks. These truly are the end of burrito days! Or at least the end of the year. Don't believe us? Here's proof that the burritopocalypse is fast approaching:

Mercadito Cantina: This is newest advance in the expanding Mercadito empire; besides the original Alphabet City Mercadito there’s also Mercadito Grove. This one is not far from the original, on Avenue B, and packs a lot of Mexican fixings into a dainty space that stays open ‘til 1 a.m. The main action here is at the make your own taco bar, where heavy rollers can choose from eight guacamoles and ten salsas, all made from organic and locally sourced ingredients. Most of the meat – which includes organic chicken, grass-fed beef, and Berkshire pork – is wrapped in maguey leaves before they're baked. For libations, try the 'Tric-quila', a sake-based tequila substitute. Photo via Thrillist, who has the menu. 172 Ave B, (212) 388-1750.

The folks at Porkchop Express have an informative Q&A session with Cesar Fuentes, the Executive Director of the Red Hook Food Vendors Committee. As enthusiasts await the opening of the new ballfield stands, the good news is that all the same vendors will be returning with their Latin culinary delights. The bad news is that not all of them may get it together in time to return for this season, and the new operating costs for each vendor may ultimately prove prohibitively high for some. Fuentes clears up a few other things in the interview:
• The food tents and the unique 'mercado' feel are a thing of the past, to be replaced by city-mandated mobile food vending trucks.
• Fuentes has "heard some convincing arguments" that race played a role in the city's crackdown after 34 years of operation, but says the word 'gentrification' sums the situation up nicely.
• The vendors might expand their days and months of operation because the new permits are valid year-round.
• Because of the new IKEA, the baseball field food vendors were prohibited from selling in Field #9, across from the store, for this season.

      

There’s been a lot of snarky ink spilled about how fast the ill-fated BarFry transformed into Cabrito. As is the case with many restaurants that fall under the scrutiny of bloggers, this new Mexican spot helmed by Dave Schuttenberg, whose pedigree includes stints at Fatty Crab and Craft, has already had the viability of its concept questioned. Blogger blathering aside, an initial visit shows Cabrito to be a high-end homage to a broad swath of Mexican food ranging from Pueblan street snacks like cemitas, tacos and huaraches, to the clearly American fish taco.

Three people were shot inside a popular Mexican restaurant in Brooklyn ast night. The incident occurred around 9:30PM at Tacos 2004 Viva Mexico restaurant; the victims were taken to Lutheran Medical center, where one was pronounced dead (the other two are in stable condition).

Since we don't get out to Red Hook Ballfields that much, taquerias are always squarely in the sights of our foodar. The Queens nabes of Corona and Elmhurst almost never fail when it comes to fulfilling a taco craving. So when we walked by a brand new spot called La Casa Del Idolo, Gothamist immediately made a note to come back and sample its fare, particularly since they seemed especially proud of their barbacoa...

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Harry Cipriani in the Sherry-Netherland Hotel, awards the restaurant no stars. Finds “service so confused and food so undistinguished it wouldn’t pass muster at half the cost.” Says prices at the restaurant ridiculous. The restaurant was last reviewed in 1991, when Bryan Miller gave it two stars. The one positive? “The people-watching is nonpareil." Peter Meehan visits Fifth Avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, for tacos. Likes Epocas...

Talk about joy -- over 300 sakes will be poured at the largest sake tasting in the United States, coming our way tonight. Over 100 of them are generally not available outside Japan and about 150 are silver and gold award winners in the National Sake Appraisal that takes place each year. Never fear, there will be appetizers to soak it all up, from the likes of Bao Noodles, Bond St, EN Japanese Brasserie, 15 East, Megu, Sakagura, Tocqueville, Woo Lae Oak, wd-50, and more. There's also a sake info desk where an expert will be able to answer all of your burning sake questions. 6 - 9 p.m., the Puck Building, 295 Lafayette between East Houston and Prince Streets. Tickets are $75 in advance and $90 at the door. For more info or to make reservations, call 212-799-7243, or visit joyofsake.com.

You nominated your favorites and now the finalists have been revealed:

Market Table -- Mike Price, formerly of the Mermaid Inn has partnered with the Little Owl's Joey Campanaro and Gabriel Stulman, moved into the former Shopsins space and created a market/restaurant where, among other things, they'll be selling the kick-ass pork chops served at the Little Owl so you can attempt to re-create them at home. The market portion is in the soft-opening stage, and the restaurant is due to open the week of September 11. 54 Carmine at Bedford Street. (212) 255-2100.

Stone Ridge Orchard, the farm behind the Organic Schmorganic blog, is celebrating its inaugural harvest from its fifteen acres of certified organic farmland. Take a trip to the country for some food and drink, right from the farm. 6 to 9 PM at 300 Springtown Road New Paltz. RSVP to Amy Johansson by email or by calling 845-249-3440.

August 4: Winemaking Demo - Bottling

As we mentioned earlier this week, the vendors who set up shop at the Red Hook ballfields may be at risk for losing their permit. According to the New York Times, the vendors have operated for years under a series of temporary use permits, but now they will have to place a formal bid with the city in order to remain in the space. But the vendors are not guaranteed to win this bid, so the fans of this culinary community institution have rallied behind it.

While that whiff of fried food is as indelible to the aura of Coney Island as the roller coaster, sometimes you just don’t want hot dogs, fried clams, onions rings, or elephant ears. The only fresh fruit option we’d ever found were from the nice ladies that stroll around with the cut up mangoes on a stick. But there are only so many of those things you can suck back before the real hunger pangs start.

Got some Hot Sake for us? Send it our way, credit will be given...or not if you prefer.

Pair of 8's owner Ron Didner and new Chef Matthew Hamilton (formerly of Prune, Uovo, and Zuni Cafe, pictured at right) pair up with Best Cellars to host the first of this monthly series starting with Wine 101. Wine will be paired with five courses. $70 for a single class and $65 for two or more classes, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Call 212-362-8730 to register. 568 Amsterdam Avenue between 87th and 88th Streets.

Sunday’s are great for food walks as long as the weather holds out for you. So do a bit of research, grab a partner and hop a subway to one of the following destinations:

One morning Gothamist woke up with dreams of walking into the sunset with a taco in one hand and a Corona in the other. Thank goodness for friends who organize fabulously economical taco crawls, and doubly so for the welcoming dive bars of Sunset Park, a neighborhood still scant of those Williamsburg Hipsters and Park Slope yuppies. Take the N/R to 59th street in Brooklyn and follow this route for an afternoon of sure-fire and filling fun:

Ah, Cinco de Mayo. We finally learned the backstory this year. Apparently, several decades after Mexico gained independence from Spain, France sent 6,000 of its soldiers to invade Mexico in 1862. On May 5th of that year, 2,000 ill-equiped but passionate Mexican citizens defeated the French army. Every year, on May 5th, it has been traditional to honor those brave fighters by partaking in a night of music, tequila and authentic Mexican cuisine, and we are here to help you do so.

Perpetually on the lookout for New York's best honky tonk (who isn't?) and craving tex mex, Gothamist headed to Murray Hill's Rodeo Bar last night, fully prepared for a hoe down. Kitschy decor of bulls' horns, old Texan roadsigns, and lanterns made of antlers line the spacious brick walls. Nightly, at 10, there is live honky tonk music in the back room hosting local and touring country/western bands like The Moonlighters, or last night, The Weight. But, honky tonk or not, Rodeo Bar serves up hefty portions of irresistable Tex Mex. Their menu is expansive (not expensive!) and written with snarky commentary -- to describe the Black Bean Chili Cheese Nachos, "guaranteed to appease tree huggers everywhere;" Chicken Chimichangas followed by "bet you can't say it three times fast."

Street Fair Tacos

It's unclear why the Snack Dragon Taco Shack even has a listing on Menupages, because there's not much of a menu, per se. They sell four types of "California-Mexican/New York Style Tacos": Carne Asada, Chicken Verde, Quinoa Pilaf & Bean (vegetarian), and Carnitas. But if you're only going to do one thing -- do it well. And Snack Dragon does.

Because there are so many ways to celebrate, we can hardly decide what to do! If you're sick and tired of the same old "sinker" matzo balls and dried-out brisket that you've had every year since you were six, convince the family to come join you for one of the Passover menus being offered throughout the city. New York Magazine rounds up a few, including Coco Pazzo, where chef Mark Strausman is preparing a Roman-Jewish menu for $90. It "starts with Tuscan chicken-liver pâté on matzo and segues into 'my mother’s brisket.'" If Italian's not your style, try Aix for a French seder. Their passover menu, $85, features a duck consomme to accompany the mazto balls and a foie gras charoset with lavender honey. For a modern Mexican seder, try Zscalo. Their matzo ball soup is laced with corn, cilantro and jalapenos, and their "Tacos de Brisket" are braised brisket tacos with matzo tortillas and chipotle-avocado salsa. You won't find that at granny's seder.

Any restaurant whose URL reads greatbiscuits.com is worthy of review and Gothamist is happy to report that the Clinton Street Baking Co. does, in fact, have great biscuits. A plate of five buttermilk mini biscuits, served in lieu of rolls at the start of the meal is part of the rave-reviewed Lower East Side locale’s recently expanded dinner menu.

Gothamist just returned from a mini-vacation in San Francisco. Naturally, we spent a great deal of our time eating. And why not? San Francisco is home of a unique food phenomenon that is virtually impossible to find here in New York -- the authentic taqueria. Yes we have Mexican food here, but many of the more Mexican (rather than Tex-Mex) restaurants in New York are high-end, and therefore do not qualify in our quest for the truly authentic taqueria. Now we've heard stories of taqueria sightings here in New York, and we'll admit that we haven't yet gotten around to hitting them all first-hand, but the taqueries in San Fran all share certain common themes: fresh, high-quality ingredients, authentic Mexican flavors, and modest prices. Why should this be so hard to replicate, huh? C'mon people, this is New York. We can do anything -- or so we think.

That is Gothamist's favorite line from this morning's National Weather Service forecast discussion. We'll try not to sound like a broken record, but as long as the front hangs out in our 'hood, and as long as tropical moisture streams our way, we don't have much choice in the matter. Expect a lot of rain today through Sunday. A record 4.10 inches of rain fell at JFK yesterday afternoon with lesser, but still impresive, amounts of rain falling elsewhere in the area. The Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for the city and its northern and western suburbs for Friday.