Mexican Food and Cooking

Taqueria Lower East Side's Carnitas, One of Our 100 Favorite Dishes

Later this year, we'll pen our Best of New York issue, our annual love letter to what's great in this town. When that paper hits the streets, you'll find our picks for the very best this city has to offer when it comes to dozens of cuisines, restaurants, dishes and drinks. Until then, you can get a ... More >>

Go Green at Sabor a Mexico Taqueria

No, not eco. Green sauce, folks.

Tacos Cachanilla: Pass Me the Pigskin

A visit to one of the city's most evolved taquerias

5 Best Things To Eat at Tacos Cachanilla

What the hell is this? It looks like some abstract 3-D painting. [See Tejal Rao's review of Neta in photos] This week, Counter Culture sneaks into Tacos Cachanilla in the shadow of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in Sunset Park. It's probably the city's most evolved taqueria and claims to mo ... More >>

The Story of Tlaycoyos

Patty's Taco Truck's fully loaded tlaycoyo Tlaycoyo, from an Nahuatl Indian word, is a central Mexican street food consisting of an oblong slab of masa dough that has been stuffed with a layer of crushed beans and cooked on a comal - a flat or sometimes slightly concave griddle.

My 5 Favorite NYC Breakfast Tacos

The huevos con chorizo breakfast taco at Tacombi The breakfast taco is a Tex-Mex specialty that originated in Austin (some say San Antonio) probably in the 1970s. In both cities it is firmly fixed in the breakfast firmament, and a recent trip to Central Texas suggested you could get one in nearly ... More >>

Recipe: Oaxacan-Style Tamales from Almond

Today we bring to you a recipe from Almond, an American bistro in the Flatiron district. One of the restaurant's bussers named Antony actually acquired the recipe from his grandmother who comes from Tulcingo del Valle, Puebla. She made these tamales at her neighborhood and church gatherings. The t ... More >>

Florencia 13: Gangsters Get Their Burritos

California expats find themselves a clubhouse in NYC

Are There Different Kinds of Mexican Food?

Tacos Morelos: A Starchy Delight Shines in Queens

Five Tacos Offers Some Taco Redemption

After yesterday's sham of a taco lunch, we decided to venture out and find ourselves some tacos worth eating. Fortunately, we were successful in our quest, chowing down at the recently opened Five Tacos, a sister eatery to next door's Ten Degrees, located on the easternmost block of St. Mark's Plac ... More >>

Barbuto Chef Jonathan Waxman on His New Gig at Rosa Mexicano and How to Cook the Perfect Chicken

No question that Barbuto chef Jonathan Waxman has seen it all. His career has now spanned several decades, but his fresh, seasonal cuisine is as contemporary as ever. Oft-cited as one of the fathers of New American cuisine, he now has a gig championing food from south of the border. Waxman recently ... More >>

Dorado Now Slinging Inexpensive Baja-Style Fish Tacos and More

Lauren ShockeyDorado Taco's classic Baja-style taco​The plywood's off at Dorado, a Boston-based taqueria and quesadilla shop that's set up shop in Greenwich Village. On the menu you'll find soft corn tortillas filled with fried fish (Baja-style), grilled fish, beer-battered shrimp, chorizo, st ... More >>

Dorado and Tortaria Bringing Mexican Food to Greenwich Village. Fiesta!

Looks like NYU students and other Greenwich Village residents will be getting a pair of Mexican eateries in the new year. Opening at 28 East 12th Street (212-627-0900) will be Dorado, specializing in tacos and quesadillas. And right around the corner at 94 University Place (212-776-1830) will soon b ... More >>

Dos Caminos Chef Ivy Stark on Day of the Dead Culinary Traditions: Interview Part 2

Photo courtesy Ivy StarkCan't find good Mexican food? Talk to Ivy Stark.​ Yesterday we spoke to Dos Caminos chef Ivy Stark about her new cookbook, Dos Caminos Mexican Street Food, now available on Amazon (it officially hits stores next week). Today we shift gears somewhat as Ivy tells us wha ... More >>

Dos Caminos Chef Ivy Stark on New York City's Best Mexican Street Food

Photo courtesy Ivy StarkIvy Stark eats from the street​ Dos Caminos is one of the city's more upscale Mexican restaurants, but chef Ivy Stark has a soft spot for Mexican street food. So much so that she just wrote a book about tacos, tortas, and a bevy of other street snacks titled, appropria ... More >>

Our 10 Best Bushwick Restaurants

​Plenty of fleecy white ricotta nicely peppered, pickled artichokes, and mozzarella on a perfect coal-fired crust, from Verde Coal Oven. Bushwick is potentially one of Brooklyn's best dining destinations. With its large Latin population, the cuisines of the Spanish diaspora are well represe ... More >>

Five Great Cheap Mexican Dishes To Eat Now

​Don't get the delicious red guajillo chile sauce on your sleeve. It will never wash out. Ever since immigration from southern Mexico began in the 1980s due to prolonged drought, Mexican food around here has been getting better and better, as more fresh ingredients have been imported, and ma ... More >>

Where Can I Get Oaxacan Food in NYC?

​Don't expect to find any Oaxacan food here. The name? A total sham! Lauren S. asks: Where can I get Oaxacan food in New York City? Dear Lauren: This question always makes me sad. In brief, there is no Oaxacan food in Gotham. I'm not really sure why, since it would be easy enough for someon ... More >>

Cholulita Sells Smut Under the J Tracks

Corn smut, that is. A Bed-Stuy bodega's authentic Pueblan food.

Greenpoint's New Calexico Carne Asada

​Yikes! The bland guacamole tastes mainly of oregano, and it's expensive, too. Few food carts have been ballyhooed as much as Calexico's, which show up on a regular basis in Soho, Williamsburg, and Brookyn Bridge Park. In fact, they won a Vendy award in 2008. Inevitably, these purveyors of Ca ... More >>

Toloache Taqueria Is Open

Julian Medina lets his tacos loose.​Yesterday, Toloache's Julian Medina told us about his plans for Toloache Taqueria, his new Financial District fast-casual Mexican spot selling "guacamole and chips, tortilla soup, chicken pozole, and braised pork with noodle soup. And three different salads. ... More >>

Julian Medina Plans a Taco Triple Threat: Interview Part 2

Julian Medina loves his tacos​ Yesterday we interviewed chef Julian Medina about his Hanukkah traditions. Today he gives us a sneak peek of the menu at Toloache Taqueria, which opens Thursday at 83 Maiden Lane.

Our 10 Best Mexican Restaurants in NYC

​The inviting dining room of Tortilleria Nixtamal in Corona, Queens. Mexican cooking has been coming of age in the city lately, and even champions of such regional variations as Cal-Mex now have lots to be thankful for. We have our upscale places, too, showcasing the gastronomic stylings of ... More >>

Tomorrow: Our 10 Best Mexican Restaurants in NYC

​The tortilla soup at La Esquina is indeed exceptional, but will that be enough to catapult the café into our top 10? Our catalog of Mexican restaurants has increased tenfold in the last 15 years, offering several regional cuisines, with two southern states most prominent: Puebla and ... More >>

Make Patricio Sandoval's Tacos de Camarón, from Mercadito

Mercadito's Tacos de Camarón​The mini-chain that is Mercadito is celebrating Mexican Independence Day this Wednesday, September 15, with food specials and mariachi at all three locations. The Avenue B branch will feature a $35 family-style tasting menu, Mercadito Cantina is offering Picadillo ... More >>

Dish No. 51: Migas at General Greene

​ ​Welcome to 100 Dishes to Eat Now, Fork in the Road's handy list of some of our favorite dishes -- old standbys and new finds alike -- compiled daily. Today's pick: Migas ($8) at General Greene General Greene 229 DeKalb Avenue Ft. Greene, Brooklyn 718-222-1510

El Cantinero Proves Tex-Mex Ain't Muerto

An old-line margarita mill evokes the days of the chile queens

Tortilleria Nixtamal's Fernando Ruiz on Common Misconceptions About Mexican Food, Neighborhood Diplomacy, and an Elusive Liquor

AM-NYA tortilla a day keeps the doctor away​Yesterday, we brought you Tortilleria Nixtamal co-owner Fernanda Ruiz's thoughts on his expansion plans, childhood memories of eating in Mexico, and cooking in the firehouse. Ruiz owns the tortilleria with his girlfriend, Shauna Page. They offer the ... More >>

Tortilleria Nixtamal's Fernando Ruiz on Expansion Plans, Great Food in Dirty Places, and Cooking in the Firehouse

AM-NYThe tortilla-making operation at Tortilleria Nixtamal​When Fernando Ruiz and Shauna Page opened Tortilleria Nixtamal in Corona, Queens, just about a year and a half ago, the place became an instant sensation. That's because they're the only known place in the city that makes fresh masa do ... More >>

Battle of the Dishes: Fish Tacos From Pinche Taqueria and Baja Fresh

Pinche's fish taco features a surfeit of crema and limes.​ Today is Cinco de Mayo, which commemorates the Mexican army's victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. And although the holiday is celebrated predominately in Puebla (and, of course throughout the United States) ... More >>

The Cafes, Honky-Tonks, Markets, and Barber Shops of West San Antonio

​A thumbnail of San Antonio Tex-Mex cuisine: chilaquiles, puffy tacos, fajitas, and steak ranchera. The West Side of San Antonio, Texas is the heartland of the city's Tejano population, a barrio whose Spanish traditions go back to the Alamo and way beyond. Nevertheless, denizens of this colo ... More >>

Street Elotes and Oaxacan Tamales: Double Incredibly Cheap Eats

A little taste of summer​ At the corner of 47th Street and Fifth Avenue in Sunset Park, a woman at a cart is frying up gorditas stuffed with chicharrones, and fashioning rolled tacos and elotes, ears of corn slathered with mayo, cotija cheese, and chile powder. Big jugs of homemade green salsa ... More >>

Chatting With Luis Arce Mota About the New Ofrenda, Moving Beyond Quesadillas & Whether New York Is Ready for Cow Eye Tacos

​Luis Arce Mota's new restaurant, Ofrenda, opened in the West Village last week serving homestyle Mexican cuisine, which means you won't find a single quesadilla on the menu. Not that there's anything wrong with quesadillas, says Mota. He just wants to introduce New Yorkers to other aspects of ... More >>

Your Mama's Locks

What's with the crazy colores?

El Comal: A New Taqueria Pats Mesa in Sunset Park

Chorizo huarache ​ El Comal is a spacious, shiny taqueria and jugueria with one long kitchen open to the room, where a woman is stationed at the grill, patting out all manner of antojitos. A broken Spanish/broken English conversation yielded the information that the restaurant is new, although ... More >>

¡Ask a Mexican! Taco Hell

An East Coast Chicano suffers

Clip Job: Mexican Food in the Village in '63?

Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archivesJuly 11, 1963, Vol. VIII, No. 38Tortilla Flat, Mexican Food130 Seventh Ave. South-Sheridan Square, 224 Thompson StreetMenuSoup (cup) .25Tacos, beef or chicken .35, Mexican sausage .40Two Tostados and Beans (chicken or beef) .90Chicken & Rice ... More >>

Revisiting Taco Nuevo Mexico

The Oaxaqueno tamale When I first moved to New York from Los Angeles, I despaired of finding a good taco, or good Mexican food in general. Then I started exploring Sunset Park, Jackson Heights, and the Red Hook ballfields, and realized that New York actually does have good tacos, and Mexican seafo ... More >>

The Early Word--Tortilleria Nixtamal

Fish tacos made with skate The word on Chowhound and Serious Eats about the month-old Tortilleria Nixtamal in Corona, Queens, has been rapturous. The reason for all the fuss? The tortilleria is the first known New York establishment to make its own nixtamal and grind it into fresh masa (corn dough) ... More >>

Incredibly Cheap Eats -- Street Tamales

A tale of two tamales, one red and one green (click to explode) Not sure how when it happened, but East Harlem's 116th Street has become of paradise of Latin street vending. At $2 for two, the tamale meal you see above constitutes one of the city's most formidable Incredibly Cheap Eats. Purchas ... More >>

Corn vs. Flour: The Great Tortilla Debate

Eating Kids at Cabrito

New Carmine cantina reverently replicates Mexican dishes

Mexico Invades Italy in the Bronx's Belmont

A Talented Guerreran Cook Climbs Down Off the Awning

Restaurante Taqueria Guerrero near the corner of 39th Street and Fourth Avenue

Last Meal: Blanc's César Ramirez Gets His Goat

For César Ramirez, the Burial Comes Before the Last Meal

Getting his goat

Asking the Cheese Whiz

The melting point of dairy products, and other border disputes

Mexican shoebox on Williamsburg's Broadway challenges Sunset Park

Black magic women

More than Pupusas at Uptown Salvadoran

Our Man finds the "entire peasant diet of El Salvador" in Washington Heights