Tehuitzingo Deli Grocery: Tacos in HK

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Old wood paneled TV blaring Charo enhances any dining experience

Hell’s Kitchen, the neighborhood not the show that Ramsay has people make endless risottos and called people stupid cows is an area that I often overlook for good food because of its proximity to Time Square and Port Authority which I always try to avoid. However, just a block away from the commuter hub and throngs of tourists is a different neighborhood that has good food. For one, Sullivan Street Bakery, which I can never get enough of is there and there is also, one of my favorite taco places there, Tehuitzingo Deli Grocery. 
 

First off, I cannot pronounce the name of this place for the life of me and I just call it that bodega in Hell’s Kitchen that has legit tacos. You will walk past it. This place stands out just as much as a Korean deli in the Village or another bodega in Queens. This is a place that if you were thirsty or edging for a pack of smokes, you would probably walk a block further for a more welcoming looking place. To avoid this place would be a mistake for any eater. Stepping into this narrow grocery, the walls and shelves are filled with stacks of tortillas, Mexican spices and can goods and snacks featuring flamboyant characters, no doubt of Latin descent.

 However, walk back a little further; past the cooler of Bodega popular beers, sodas and Mexican coke (not costing 5 bucks a bottle) you are suddenly transported to space in a jungle green glow and realize that they serve food here. A counter wrap the wall lined with swivel stools along with mirrors (just in case you wanted to check yourself out while downing posole) and at the end of the Grocery is a window that separates a kitchen, that is smaller than some walk-in closets I have seen and delicious tacos and food that you will find in this area. Tacos after the jump!

Peru: taking it to the streets, food that is! Part I

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: If it taste good and I do not get sick from it, street meat of dubious origins are okay by me

The good thing about traveling on my own is that I can create my own itinerary and by my own itinerary I mean, I get to eat wherever I want. Sure I like pizza and burgers but I am not that interested in eating the Cusco or Lima version of pizza. As much as I like sitting down and having a good meal, I like snacking which not only optimizes stomach space and allows me to try lots and lots of things. I think street food and snacking is a good way to learn, which I am always trying to do. For example, I learned is that we are busy people. We all got stuff to do and we get hungry and do not have the time to sit down and order something. Sometimes you just need a quick and tasty snack to get you through to the next meal or something late at night to soak up all that booze and get a good night sleep. It is food like this that you meet interesting people and have great experiences and also, 99% you are eating while standing or walking which I always felt makes food taste even better.  

Chips with Mayo and Inca Kola

 I of course start off with a bag or chips and soda. At home, I rarely eat chips unless I am downing a sandwich, and I prefer kettle cooked because I like the tooth-cracking crunch from the chips. When I travel abroad, I am fascinated by the awesome choices of junk food abroad and how they are so much cooler and better than what we got in the US. Okay, not that much better but if you grew up with honey bbq being the exotic flavors; having seaweed flavored Pringles in Japan will blow your mind. The chips cost about…5 cents US and were a step above Lays chips. They were less greasy and not overly salty. The chips may not be a big mind blower, but the chips came with a condiment, specifically a side of mayonnaise. Squirting mayonnaise on the potato chip was…interesting. I am not sure if I really like it nor do I hate it, but I can see why people may like it and it worked well with the drink of choice in Peru, Inka Kola. First time I saw Inka Kola it reminded me of the now defunct soda Surge due to its electric nuclear yellow color and was almost expecting it to be like Surge except for the XTREME part. Inka Kola taste like a grassy version if cream soda and I can see this pairing perfectly with pastrami on rye. Inka Kola is the most popular drink in Peru and bigger that Coca Cola. 

Prickly Pears

 One thing I kind of regret is not eating a variety of fruit while I was here but I did however eat a lot of prickly pears. Mainly indigenous to Latin America although actually has origins from Europe apparently, the prickly pears have a melon-like texture similar to papaya and taste similar to a honeydew but the sweetness is a lot more mellow. There are a lot of seeds in a prickly pear and the Gringo move would be to spit them out, but this is a waste of time. Just eat it seeds and all and hopefully you won’t have a prickly pear patch grow in your stomach. The prickly pears were everywhere and a nice touch that they were carting them around in a wheelbarrow.

Food Porn after the Jump

Lima: Pork and more Politically Incorrect food!

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: I can stop after eating one Pringle. I cannot however, stop eating after one pork sandwich

The adventure continues as I finally arrived in Lima, well, returned to Lima, I mean I did spend a lovely evening in the Lima Airport Food Court. I was originally planning to visit a ceviche place but due to Peruvian Air being delayed, I got in later than I wanted. I was hungry and I did not want to waste time and wanted something eat. So when I hired car driver came to pick me up, I asked him to take me to a place that had chicharrons. This is how the conversation went down (translated in English to hide my embarrassing and pitiful High School Spanish:

Me: Excuse me, I have a question, do you like eating chicharrons?

Taxi Driver: Yes I do.

Me: Do you have a favorite place?

Taxi Driver: Yes. Wait…do you want to go eat chicharrons?

Me: Yes.

Taxi Driver: let me get this straight, you want to go to the hotel first then get chicharrons, or chicharrons then hotel?

Me; Chicharrons. Now. 

Sandwich Porn after Jump!