Crispy pork cheek tostada

Pretty good. Didn’t blow my mind.

Located at 357 West 44th Street, Reunion is an underground surf bar with some very good vegetarian tacos. It’s gets very crowded with the after-work crowd.

This round of tacos we eaten by committee. We had pork tacos and we had avocado tempura tacos. The avocado tempura taco might be the best vegetarian taco I’ve had.

In Response to the avocado taco:

LJ said the tacos were fresh and bright.

Laura, the vegetarian, says: It was not bland like some vege tacos. If ever there was a vegetarian taco, this is it. It’s the secret sauce that delivers a tang with the cabbage. There is nothing missing in this taco.

Christine says: It’s good and refreshing but I like beef. It’s a good taco but I much rather have a big piece if pork in the middle. It’s a good shell.

Carmay says: For a soon to be vegetarian, this would make my transition smooth.

About the  pork taco:

Not a good as avocado – not as well balanced. Pork has a tasty BBQ flavor but it was overpowering. Too much garnish. At one point, I had a whole bite of just cabbage.

Reunion Facebook Page

Reunion Website

Last, at some point, this was eaten:

Baja Surf Taco: Tempura cod, cabbage, pico, cilantro sauce, lime

New Jersey has a hidden secret. No, it’s not the supplier of Pauly D’s hair gel. It’s Surf Taco! Most people I’ve asked have never heard of it but it’s awesome! If for some gnarly reason you find yourself in New Jersey, check to see if there is a Surf Taco near by. I recently munched on these bodacious shrimp and cod tacos.

Garlic Shrimp Taco

Taco Salad

Lacey, NJ

Photo by Cheryl Tan (Click above for her review)

Sad news that the taco joint on Tillary Street, Loading Dock, is closing after their new $25,000 taco truck was stolen. Seems that the taco place was already in financial uncertainty and this recent event sent them over the edge. Luckily, insurance should help with the stolen truck but for now they’re closing up shop on Tillary street. Even though I’ve had their great tacos, I never got to formally review them. Cheryl Tan has an in-depth write up here.

The loading dock location will close Jan 30. Their tacos will still be available at the Brooklyn Flea in Fort Greene.

[via Brooklyn Paper,  Brooklyn Flea]

Areba!

[via Cultivating Life]

I was excited for this event since I missed every other taco-related event this summer. We bought two $8 tickets in advance – not sure why because no one checked any tickets. We’ve been to a lot of food events this summer so maybe we were expecting too much. This wasn’t so much an event as it was just a temporary taco truck selling over-marketed food. The result: waiting 1 hr for two bean tacos, some arugula and a picked pepper. The tacos were OK, but the 1 hr wait was not – a poorly managed event left a bitter taste in our mouth. The beans needed some salt but the taco overall showed some thought was put into it. I did enjoy the carbonated iced coffee from Blue Bottle Coffee. To full the void in our stomachs, we finished the night with a burrito and taco from Little Mexico at The Woods (which were pretty good).

One last East River Bar rant: Why is the Poor Man’s Pina Colada $9?

Little Mexico is the food cart in the back of The Woods (48 S 4th St, Brooklyn) Steak taco above – $3 – awesome! Chicken burrito below – $6 – weird but still pretty tasty (Grilled tortilla, grilled rice, chicken, cheese, no beans)

Tacos Tumbras a Tomas is in the Grand Central Market in LA. For the most part, I hate LA but I might move there for this market. This is definitely the best carnitas I’ve ever had. My lady claims the same and so do many Yelpers. One guy even states “By far the best Carnitas I have had in my life, US or Mexico.”

So what you see above is a huge carnitas taco. It defies all other carnitas I’ve had. It’s not greasy but it is tender. It’s delicious and flavorful but not heavy. It doesn’t even need garnish. There seems to be some magical mixture of cilantro, onions, and spices in the meat. This is first taco I’ve eaten to get 5 sombreros! I think that calls for a margarita…

What you see below is an absurdly huge asada burrito with about 75 lbs of meat.

The Market

Tacos Tumbras a Tomas

Beautiful meat selection

Another vendor, selling tons of peppers and spices

Where do you think flavor comes from?

Olvera Street is the birthplace of Los Angeles! Now it’s a tiny tourist trap with serapes and masks everywhere and some little tacos shops.

At Rodolfo’s we enjoyed some very authentic asada, chicken, and carnitas tacos there. Then we ordered a more-American hard shell taco which was fried-to-order – yes! Getting these tacos at such a tourist trap makes me believe that even bad California tacos are better than most east coast tacos.

From Timeout: 5 Burro Café The owners of a 20-year-old Forest Hills Tex-Mex cantina open a sister location in Brooklyn, serving the same menu of tacos, fajitas and nachos. The bonus: a garden ideal for sipping the margaritas in the heat.

127 Columbia St between DeGraw and Kane Sts, Brooklyn (718-875-5515)

5burrocafe.com

For Cinco de Mayo, we went to Papacito’s in Greenpoint (999 Manhattan Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11222 – (718) 349-7292). I’ve been told it’s one of the best. Well, it’s pretty damn good. The tacos are bigger than usual. Three will leave you full. I like that each type of filling corresponds with it’s own toppings. I got to munch on the fish, chicken, and verde pork tacos. No going wrong with those. Tecates were $1!!

Read on…

The place was packed as shit, because of the holiday, but we got a seat outside. Papacito’s recently(?) expanded and took over the ex-psychic next door. They are now twice as big inside and have direct access to their outdoor patio. The newish bartender, who didn’t know the price of a tequila shot, was kind of an aloof idiot. The hostess was typically stand offish per her pretty head. The waiters and bus boys were working hard and getting stuff done. I approve.

Chris eagerly awaiting a table and a Tecate

Dug this old thing up from Oct. 22nd 2009. We’re talkin’ the renovated Tacos Nuevo Mexico at 489 5th Ave, Brooklyn. Park Slope? Sunset Park? I dunno.

What we got there is a spicy pork taco and a veal brain taco! Don’t be afraid of the brain, it’s like a braised meat and it has so much garnish it doesn’t matter! You are what you eat. I remember it being pretty damn good but I also got pretty drunk after so who knows. I’m giving it 4/5 nonetheless.

Gave FnF a second try today. (A second taco try, that is. I’ve eaten quite a few of their burritos). I ordered 1 chicken, 1 beef, and 1 vegetable taco. However, I just received 3 vegetable tacos instead and by vegetable I mean, rice-and-bean tacos. That said, they were good and didn’t make me feel dirty like the other tacos did. I hope next time to eat some meat. The mango shake was pretty good.

Brownstoner reports a new taco place coming to 4th ave. Of course, after I move from 4th ave! People are speculating if it’s the same Oaxaca from Smith St. I hope not because I’m about equidistant to Smith St so I’d like a new place to try!