You know what’s a bullshit myth? That brussels sprouts are gross…
If you’re five-years old, I get it. Your palate isn’t mature enough to understand that these little bundles of nutrition are actually tasty. More importantly, you’re probably too young to have realized that if you smother any vegetable in butter, garlic, salt and pepper it magically becomes delicious. But if you are older than five, do yourself a favor and reassess brussels sprouts…its part of being a functioning member of society…plus butter.
That being said, the Doc stumbled upon this recipe recently and, knowing my love for interesting veggie taco options and brussels sprouts in general, sent it my way. Last night, I finally got the chance to make them, and let’s just say…the next round of Taqueria LES is on me for the Doc as a thank you for putting me on to this.
I won’t clutter this post with directions, as Jessica at How Sweet Eatsdid an amazing job and I followed her directions to a tee. Instead, I will just tell you why you should, in fact, eat your brussels sprouts…in taco form. These tacos manage to hit all three major points of the flavor triangle…spicy, sweet & savory. The brown sugar-caramelized shallot salsa, which also featured baked grape tomatoes and fresh torn cilantro, is pretty much the sort of awesomeness usually reserved for slow-cooking delicious meats. That sweetness is balanced beautifully by the healthy dose of salt in this recipe (not too mention butter), and finally throw in the way the garlic/paprika/red pepper flake combo punches through to add a perfect amount of kick and you’ve got a pretty interesting flavor party going on in every bite. When you sprinkle a little manchego cheese into the mix, you end up with one hell of a taco.
Bottom line is this, ask yourself these three questions; do you like nopales (cactus) tacos? Do you like butter? Are tacos god’s greatest gift? If you answered yes to at least two of these questions then eat these tacos…eat lots of these tacos!
Brussels Sprout and Caramelized Shallot Salsa Tacos
It may be hard to believe, but I do go to restaurants that aren’t exclusively taco-centric. I enjoy all manner of cuisines, but it is a little difficult for me to resist an offering of tacos on the menu. This is the position I found myself in when I had dinner at Brooklyn Label in Greenpoint the other night.
Now, Brooklyn Label happens to be one of my favorite restaurants in the area. It’s one of those “New American” style restaurants that offer a whole bunch of different items, not connected to one regional cuisine. They have a killer Bloody Mary, excellent Veggie Burger, and they make a hell of an Eggs Bene. But that’s not what concerns us. Last Sunday, I went for their Fish Tacos.
Chicken Fingers or Fish Sticks?
I had always liked whatever it is I’ve gotten at this place, but these tacos were just not at that level. The fish (basa) was way too over-fried and the texture of the fish could only be described as “stringy”. Initially, I was confused as to whether they were chicken fingers or actual pieces of fried fish. The taco came topped off with a kale slaw that did not do much to enhance the flavor. It was also just barely drizzled with a pimento aioli, which I struggled to identify. All I knew was that I had a very bland, dry fish taco.
Maybe it’s because the taco-centric restaurants are built around specializing in that cuisine and more care is taken into creating each taco. This taco just didn’t feel, or taste, right. Now, this is not going to keep me away from Brooklyn Label, far from it. I’ll just stick with what I know next time and get some mac-n-cheese! I give these tacos 1 out of 5 tortillas.
It looks like this long winter is finally (hopefully) coming to a close, but for a few weeks there it was down right arctic in New York. On some of those nights if there’s nothing in the fridge, getting your dinner delivered to you is your only option. You think to yourself, “There is no way I’m going out there….not even for a taco!” Thankfully, as I’ve written before, the modern world is most accommodating to this lazy feeling through the wonders of sites like Delivery.com. So one night a few weeks ago I sent an order over to a taco joint in my neighborhood called La Nortena for a four taco feast.
How did these four tacos fare?
Pollo Asado – I am not the biggest fan of chicken tacos. I find they usually end up being dry, bland and in need of copious amounts of hot sauce and salsa. I was very surprised by this taco. Very flavorful, juicy chicken, and a nice kick. This one did not need to drown in hot sauce. Part of me wishes I got four of these, as we’ll see…
4 out of 5 tortillas.
Al Pastor – Its been my general experience that Pork tacos usually have a lot going for them. However, this one was a bit too dry for my liking. Not that it wasn’t tasty, though. Would I get it again? Possibly.
3 out of 5 tortillas.
Barbacoa – This spicy taco could have been a contender. It had potential. The meat was just too chewy and gristly, which is a taco deal breaker. Could not finish this one.
2 out 5 tortillas, just for what could have been.
Arabes – Honestly, I don’t know what was going on here. I think this was sliced lamb, with guac and peppers? I DO know that it wasn’t good. Suffered from the same problem as the barbacoa: gross, gristly meat. Also could not finish this one.
1 out 5 tortillas. Note that this is less than the actual number of tortillas
So what did I learn? Get the damn pollo asado. But La Nortena does offer other tacos, and the strength of the chicken taco alone make me want to try them out again. Perhaps next time in person.
– Doc
Website: http://la-nortena.com/ Twitter: No Tweets, Just Meat Facebook: No Friends, No Likes
La Nortena (Greenpoint) 668 Manhattan Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11222
It all started one cold and snowy afternoon circa 2008. Though I wasn’t quite the tac-aficionado that I am today at this point in my life, it gave me great happiness that a new taco joint opened in my hometown of West Hempstead. I decided to test the taco waters shortly thereafter, and despite the fact that it more resembled a dive-y chinese restaurant than a Taqueria (a trait I would later find to be much more common than I knew among low level taco joints), it found a special place in my heart.
I can’t even tell you how many chili soft tacos I’ve eaten from Taco King, not to mention the two brief stints as a vegetarian I went through where I practically lived on steamed vegetable soft tacos, black bean tacos and jalapeno quesadillas from there. But in all honesty, the place won’t provide you with any sort of mind-blowing taco experience. It’s more a nostalgic favorite, similar to supporting a local band you’ve seen (and loved) a million time, but knew they would never make it to the next level.
For five years, the menu at Taco King remained unaltered. So it was quite a surprise this past weekend when I saw ‘Pulled Pork’ burritos, double-shelled tacos (think Taco Bell’s gorditas) and other slightly more ambitious items on the menu. I had walked in with the intention of some comfort food, chili tacos and a jalapeno quesadilla, being that I hadn’t gotten back to TK too often since moving from West Hempstead to Long Beach last year. However I figured I would take the opportunity to review something new for the site.
Double-Shelled Chicken Taco
I’ve already reviewed my favorites from Taco King before for Taco Slut before, so I ordered a double-shelled chicken taco. The verdict, it was like eating a standard Taco King hard chicken taco…with a loose soft tortilla shell around it. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as I generally enjoy their hard chicken tacos, albeit in the same way one enjoys rib sandwich day in a high school cafeteria. I was really hoping when I ordered it that the soft taco shell would work in tandem to create some unique taco-eating apparatus, but it didn’t. To be honest that was probably an unfair expectation going into the experience though. After all, even though I get a hankering for a cheesy gordita crunch (or a cgc if you will) from Taco Bell every once in a while, that isn’t exactly a life-altering experience either. I will say this though, at least the cheesy gordita crunch uses cheese to hold fast the soft taco around the hard taco. This taco made no effort to form unity between the two. In the end, I would give this taco a 3 out 5 tortillas. It was good enough, but in the situation where someone put this taco and a a CGC next to each other I’d probably roll with T-Bell.
On a more positive note, they did also add the possibility of getting a side of “Fire” sauce with the menu enhancements, which was amazing. The fire sauce is more of a straight-forward Sriracha style hot sauce than the salsas Taco King usually offers. It was so good that I ended up saving the rest of the serving and putting it on the homemade Mushroom Balsamic Vinaigrette flatbread pizza Taco Queen made that night.
Oh and full disclosure…I still got the jalapeno quesadilla and two chili soft tacos. They were on point.
Walking into Wahoo’s Fish Taco on the corner of Park Ave. and 25th St. is like walking into Warped Tour circa 2008. The only difference is instead of shitty hot dogs and $6 bottles of water you can eat delicious fish tacos and reasonably priced Tecate. The walls and bar are covered in surf/skate company stickers, the TV’s seem to be eternally tuned to FUEL TV, and during the Doc and I’s hour and a half dinner we heard two Coheed & Cambria songs plus Taking Back Sunday, My Chemical Romance, Finch and Vendetta Red. As someone who grew up in that scene, I admit I was not mad at this (The Doc was somewhat indifferent). In fact if I had known about Wahoo’s in my formative years I probably would have gotten into taco-sluttin’ a lot earlier.
It should be noted that the service is super friendly and quick, the bartender is a good dude, and the prices aren’t that bad. Also the fish tacos were far and away the best option. The other taco options were underwhelming, although not bad. The rice and beans seem to be the only other menu item we tried that were on par with the superior deliciousness of the fish tacos.
From the mouth of the Slut
Grilled Cajun Fish Tacos – Nine times out of ten when you order fish tacos in New York you’re going to get fried fish. When you do get a grilled fish taco, its been my experience that they tend to get sloppy real quick. This was not the case here. For the protein they used wahoo, which was buttery and flaky. With regards to seasoning, anything cajun is going to be up my alley. They also included a touch of salsa verde and just the right amount of cabbage in the taco, both of which complemented the wahoo nicely without taking away from the fact that the fish was the taco star. There is a cheddar cheese presence as well, but it’s negligible and not even worth mentioning. I give this taco 4.5 out of 5 tortillas.
Between The Tortilla:
Wahoo (Fish)
Cajun Seasoning
Salsa
Salsa Verde
Cabbage Slaw
A pinch of Cheddar Cheese
Grilled Cajun Fish Taco (left), Mushroom Taco (right)
Mushroom Tacos – These weren’t necessarily the best mushroom tacos I’ve ever had, but they were very good. The mushrooms were sautéed in a polynesian marinade and served with lettuce and salsa. Overall, it seemed almost as if the mushroom tacos were an attempt to mimic the fish tacos, as they were somewhat similar texture wise. This is unique for a mushroom taco to say the least, but nevertheless it was a positive taco experience. I give this taco 3.5 out of 5 tortillas.
Between The Tortilla:
Mushrooms
Polynesian Marinade
Salsa
Lettuce
Now to the Doctor’s prescription…
Grilled Cajun Fish Tacos – Wait, there’s a fish called a wahoo? I learned something today. Like the TS, I’m used to a fried fish taco, and tend to not care for the grilled variety. What I really liked from this fine taco was the spice. It was immediate and did not need any hot sauce or salsa to augment it. It’s unlike any fish taco I’ve had before, where usually a creamy sauce and cabbage slaw are the highlights. This taco revolved around the cajun seasoning, but it’s got nothing on Calexico’s chipotle crack sauce. I concur with my friend, and give this taco 4.5 out 5 tortillas.
Carne Asada Taco – Nothing too special here. You feel like having a steak taco? Here’s a steak taco. You won’t be disappointed. The seasoning was subtle, and the meat pretty decent. I’d give this 2.5 out of 5 tortillas. Nothing to be ashamed about, but it does remind you that this place is called Wahoo’s FISH Taco.
—–
In closing, this place had an interesting Hawaiian/Polynesian vibe to it which made the surf/skate feel to the decor seem more fitting. We definitely recommend giving the place a go, but as was the case with Dorado, the fish taco is their specialty…don’t fux around, order the damn fish taco!
– TS & The Doc
Wahoo’s Fish Taco (Flatiron District) 333 Park Ave S.
New York, NY 10010
You can tell be the way she cooks that pork, she’s a taco queen no time to talk…
Slow Cooked Pork Shoulder Tacos (sans greens)
Sometimes you have the sort of week where you’re so worn out that you just want to let loose, hit up your local disco and tear up the floor. Sometimes, your sequined jumpsuit is at the dry cleaner, and you have had the sort of week that finds you in your office at 4:30 AM Saturday morning only to wake up four hours later to continue your work week for another six hours. When that happens, there is only one thing that can salvage your Saturday night. Lots of beers, Newsroom, a taco-mate and some decadently tender slow cooked pork shoulder tacos. This was my Saturday night…
After a quick trip to the grocery store with Taco Queen, we made our way back to get the taco festivities started. To properly slow cook your pork, keep in mind you are going to need a minimum of four hours. We got a nice sized pork shoulder at our local butcher and let it marinade, in the slow cooker, key to this will be the marinade.
We started with a dry rub, which Taco Queen made using garlic, chili powder and oregano. Next she covered the pork in mustard and gave it a healthy dose of sriracha. Step 4 the TQ poured peach salsa (from Trader Joe’s) over the top. Finally, she put a tiny bit of the same Lawry’s Santa Fe Chili Marinade with Lime and Garlic you might remember from last week’s Camping Taco blog and two light beers into the slow cooker and placed the pork in. Four hours and a considerable number of Modelo’s later, we were ready to start working on all the supplementary ingredients that we were going to include in our Saturday Night Fever tacos. We went with cilantro, radish, cotija cheese, red onion and my lifeblood, sriracha. If you’d like you can also add some greens, as Taco Queen did.
With the Greens
Yes this is a pretty standard list of taco accompaniments, and yes we do usually like to get a little experimental in our quest for the ultimate taco. But at the same time when you’re having a rough week, there’s nothing better than a classic taco, and this slow-cooked pork taco with the ingredients listed here is pretty much my ideal in terms of comfort food.
Between the Tortilla:
Slow-cooked Pork Shoulder (In Marinade)
Cotija Cheese
Radish
Red Onion
Cilantro
Greens (optional)
Slice of Lime (for that extra zest!)
Marinade:
Tiny bit of Lawry’s Santa Fe Chili w/ Lime and Garlic Marinade.
Perhaps its a sign of the times as food trucks are getting trendier everyday, but Mexico Blvd is not your father’s (or at least your older brother’s) taco truck. At least in my head, the term ‘taco truck’ conjures up images of a beat up livery vehicle that could easily double as a twenty-year-old delivery truck for an old school baker from Bensonhurst.
On the other hand there is Mexico Blvd, whom if Cash Money Records ever needed a taco truck for a music video would undoubtedly get the call. It’s sleek black and wood mimicking paint job are easy on the eye, but when you’re into dirty, slutty taco love this might not be the look you are necessarily likely to approach.
Nevertheless, I decided to give it a go, and I’m glad I did. I was happy with the food, which definitely had a ‘family recipe’ feel to it, and the marinades definitely did a fine job of balancing a more traditional taco flavor with something just a tiny bit outside-the-box. However, the fact that the bill was considerably higher than what I am accustomed to paying for three tacos would most likely prevent me from coming back here too frequently.
Bistec (Steak)
The first taco I dove into when I got back to my office was the Bistec (steak) Taco, which was a formidable lead-off taco. The tortilla, which is key to any good taco was phenomenal. It was soft and doughy, but still managed to hold up well enough to prevent the taco fillings from falling out. The steak itself (which was top round) might have been a LITTLE dry if I’m going to be super picky, but the drunken sauce definitely covered for the steak in that regard. I generally think of Mexican drunken sauces as having a real kick to them, but in this case the spice was present but not a standout feature of the taco. If you’re into a little fuego between your tortilla, this won’t do the job. However, if you just want a nicely marinaded round steak taco without a lot of frills (it only comes with cilantro and chopped onion in it), this is a solid choice. In fact, I would definitely order it again if I were to go back.
Tinga (Chicken)
The next taco that I took down was the Tinga (Chicken) Taco. This was a shredded chicken taco in a tomato and chili sauce which I ordered with their “Can You Handle This” hot sauce. Can I handle this? Ta-co please. I could do shots of this hot sauce. Not to say it doesn’t have a little kick, but for someone who just recently took down the Great Burrito hot sauce, this was about as intimidating of a condiment as Taco Bell “fire” sauce. With that on the table, the flavor was still enjoyable and although we generally sh*t on chicken tacos here, this one was quite possibly the best of the bunch. If you’re going to give Mexico Blvd a go, I would definitely recommend ordering at least one chicken tinga taco. If for no other reason, its just really fun to say ‘chicken tinga taco’…
Adobo (Pork Loin)
Mexico Blvd rounds off the taco portion of their menu with two pork options (Adobo and Pastor). Being that I try to set my taco max at 3 per order (unless I’m at Taqueria LES where I eat as many tacos as I can before I drift off into a chorizo coma), I had to choose between the two. Being that I love all things pork, my decision to go with the Adobo Taco was based strictly on the fact that it included “marinated for 24 hours in our great grandmother’s adobo” in the description. My general rule of thumb is if it was good enough to be passed on from generation to generation, there’s a pretty good chance that it will be delicious. Great grandma Blvd definitely had a knack for making an adobo sauce. I still think the chicken tinga was the best taco I had, but this was certainly a stellar taco as well.
Overall, I’d say this was a solid taco truck that charges slightly upscale sit down taqueria prices. The tortillas were excellent. The marinades were interesting and original, which made up for the fact that they might cook their proteins a little bit too long for me. But again I can’t stress price enough here. I mean come on, they even charge fifty cents extra for cheese…what kind of horsehockey is that?
Between The Tortilla:
Bistec
Top Round Steak
Drunken Sauce
Cilantro
Onion
Tinga
Shredded Chicken
Tomato and Chipotle Sauce
I also opted for “Can You Handle This?” Hot Sauce
Adobo
Pork Loin (slow cooked for 24 hours in…)
Great Grandma’s Adobo Sauce
Cilantro
**they also offer cheese for fifty cents extra and a choice of addition salsa [either Salsa Mexico Blvd. (red) or Salsa Verde (green)]
Mexico Blvd (Frequent haunts include Flatiron District, Financial District, DUMBO & LIC)
Location varies by day, check their website and Twitter feed for truck location updates!
Today I returned to the smothering humidity of New York City after 5 soul-cleansing days camping in the pristine Catskills Mountain Range. Needless to say, the only thing that could get me over the depression triggered by my return to Gotham would have to come nestled within the cozy confines of a nice warm tortilla.
Unfortunately, my funds are currently low due to moving into a new apartment this coming weekend, my taco options were limited. My scouring of the internet turned up a few options, most being out of the acceptable lunchtime walking distance, but one in particular kept coming up with good reviews:Super Taco Express. This place was only about a 6 minute walk from my office (I knew the exact time being that I frequent the Chelsea Papaya Dog next store), so I decided to give it go. What I found was an array of tacos that though consistently low priced, varied widely in consistency.
The first taco I unwrapped was the chicken soft taco, and talk about starting off on the wrong foot. My first bite was pure gristle and the taco didn’t get much better as I continued to choke it down. If it wasn’t for the quality of the tortillas, I might have given up on the spot and thrown my remaining four tacos in the garbage. Instead I continued on, picking the soft tortilla steak fajita out of my taco grab bag next. This was far and away the pick of the litter. The tortilla of the fajita was equally as delectable as that of the chicken soft taco, but where the tortilla of my first taco contained loads of chicken gristle, this taco instead was full of soft ‘melt-in-your-mouth’ steak and steamed peppers and onions. I’m not usually a fajita man nor do I order steak tacos very often, but this is a taco that I would order again from this place.
The rest of the bunch fell somewhere in between the quality spectrum of these first two tacos. The black bean and cheese soft taco came in a clear second (albeit a distant second to the steak fajita). The chicken hard taco was a better experience than the chicken soft taco was, but that’s not saying much. As for my final taco (tex-mex chili soft taco), it was pretty good, but the chili soft taco is supposed to be the breadwinner of an order, and this sat solidly in the middle of the pack.
In closing, this was not a bad taco joint. Especially considering the tacos were a little over $2 each and the service was quick and friendly. I’m definitely going to explore some more of the cheaper taco places that NYC has to offer before I make an overall verdict, but I’d have to say I would give this place another go if I was low on cash and jonesin’ for a taco.
Between the Tortilla:
All the standard tacos come with cheddar cheese and lettuce. I also added their “hottest sauce” and some sour cream. Both were so-so. The Fajita taco just comes with the peppers and onion.
– Taco Slut
Super Taco Express (Chelsea)
225 7th Ave. (between 23rd and 24th) Manhattan, NY 10011
(Clockwise from top: Chicken, Carne Asada, Chorizo)
Sometimes, you don’t have the time to go out to a taqueria to get your taco fix. Other times, you just don’t have the energy to cook up your own tortilla delights. But this is the 21st century, and we have the Internet to do things for us! So the other night I logged onto delivery.com in search of a restaurant that I could passively order my tacos.
The first taco joint to pop up on the menu was Palacio Azteca. This place is not too far from my apartment, but I have never actually been there. Customer reviews looked good enough so I ordered up 3 tacos: Chicken, Carne Asada, and Chorizo. It was much longer until the delivery dude buzzed my door and was like, “Here are your tacoooos.”
I opened up that taco box and was greeted by my order (pictured above). Started off with the chicken, which I found a little dry. This was quickly remedied with some salsa and guac, which saved it from being a total taco disaster. The mighty chorizo was next up, though it was anything but. All grease and no spice, much to my dismay. A chorizo without spice is no chorizo at all.
Luckily for me, I saved the (relatively) best for the last. The carne asada was a decent taco, tasty chunks of beef mixing well with the onion and cilantro in the tortilla. If I had to do it again, I would just order 3 of the carne asada. Palacio Azteca does offer other taco choices (Carnitias, Pastor, Tilapia, Steak and Shrimp) so all is not lost for them.
– Doc Taco
Between The Tortilla:
Chicken, Chorizo and Carne Asada
All the tacos come with the same toppings:
Cilantro
Onions
Guacamole (on the side)
Pico de gallo (on the side)
Palacio Azteca (Upper East Side) 1374 York Avenue (at 74th St.) Manhattan, NY 10021
Today I returned to the smothering humidity of New York City after 5 soul-cleansing days camping in the pristine Catskills Mountain Range. Needless to say, the only thing that could get me over the depression triggered by my return to Gotham would have to come nestled within the cozy confines of a nice warm tortilla.
Taco Slut 