Guelaguetza Deli

Om Nomz Hero note to Self: I have become quite proficient in random bits of meat Identification

Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan is considered to be a dead zone for food, but not many would expect there to be great Mexican in that area. Though I will easily travel to Roosevelt Avenue for tacos, the tacos in Hell’s Kitchen are just as good. These Mexican places is what I call Bodega Mexican, in which from the street, looks like a regular ethnic bodega, but enter and venture to the back, there is a small window and kitchen making great tacos and Mexican eats. Also a TV that has Univision marks a sign of great Mexican eating to come. Across the street from Sullivan Street Bakery is one such place called Guelaguetza Deli. The awning says La Rosita but I think they just did not care and why replace a perfectly good awning? It is tiny and in the back there are about maybe 3 tables, not really a place for a group outing. However, they have a kitchen that is pumping out tasty treats. I came here because I heard they had sangrita, a mixture of goat meat and onions, thickened with goat blood, however, I was kindly informed that the goat did not come in today and no sangrita. Such bad luck! However, I ordered the lengua, carnitas and he suggested I try the panchita which he said was similar to tripe, but it was a different cow stomach. Sold. They also had Sidral Mundet which is like apple soda, similar tasting to my Asian Apple Sidra but mellower. 

Tacos came out with just some radishes on top, and the double tortilla base. The filling is generous and meaty spillage will occur, but is that a bad thing? The panchita was great, nice and tender and spicy, the lengua tender, the carnitas was a bit dry but easily resolved with a liberal usage of the red and green salsas. Both were nice and spicy. I looked on Yelp that people complained that they were serving their tacos and such from paper plates and Styrofoam containers. Are you kidding? What were you expecting? Plates from the Orient and silverware stolen from Hitler? This is a bodega and you are eating tacos and just solidify my hate for Yelp.

Guelaguetza Deli

526 West 47th Street

New York, NY 10036

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!

Surf Taco: Seaside Park, NJ

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: “No shirt, no shoes, no problem” is only a suggestion or a guideline, some people need to wear a shirt

I have been to California a couple of times in my past life playing paintball. There were two unavoidable things that happened every time I went to California:

1.       In and Out would be immediately be located

2.       The consumption of horrible pizza

3.       Mexican/Latina influence cuisine making up 80% of my diet

There was something about going to California and all the paintballers that I travelled with that craved and wanted to constantly eat Mexican food, plus the cheapness factor was a plus and paintballers are notorious cheap when it comes to everything non-paintball related. I did not realize it then, but the huge burritos and addition of rice, beans, sour cream, avocado and all that is really more of the Mission style/Baja style of Mexican which is an off shoot of Mexican food, adapted to the California style of eating. Such thing as fish tacos is really more of a California surfer rendition, that here across the way Surf Taco in Seaside Park is doing. 

On my inaugural trip to the beach and pretty much everytime I come home from the beach, I like to pick up some food from Surf Taco because it’s a good driving snack (DISCLAIMER: I do not endorse eating and driving at the same time, but if I were too, tacos are a compact and a one handed food that makes it easy eating) and my parents like the tacos and almost insist on me picking them up. Surf Taco plays the surfer/beach club hard. It is like the designer of Hollister and Crapplebees got together to decorate the place. Slap on a couple of Roxy and Billabong stickers to fend off “poser” label and pretend legitimacy and that would describe the interior. Food After the Jump!

El Globo Restaurante: Wtf is a corn smut?

Om Nomz Hero note to Self: Sometimes, things lost in translation turn out perfectly fine.

In my recent taco adventure into Queens, after getting my Al pastor fix from Tortilleria Nixtamal, I will still craving tacos. Sure 2 tacos maybe enough for some people, but I am not like most people. I remember back in day when I went to summer camp, we had a stay late and the dinner the one time was tacos. I remember at the tender (fat) age of 13 I devoured 10 tacos. So two tacos were not going to hold me over and right around the corner from the Tortilleria was El Globo Restaurante. 

El Globo does not look like a place that you would think would have great tacos, based solely on appearance; it looks more like a place that I can pick up a dime bag and a case of Hep B. I went there around noon and the inside was dark, dank and industrial cans of Goya beans lined the one wall. Walking in, I was given the stare down by the other clientele, all of Latin descent. It was not a hostile look, it was more like, “you look lost, Flushing is at least 5 more stops down” kind of look. Most that walk in here would immediately turn around and walks away but that would be a mistake on their part. Those that do turn and walk out must have missed the delicious cauldron, a holding tank of miscellaneous cuts and bits of meat. 

Cauldron of various meats

After taking a seat at the end at one of their 3 long communal tables I immediately started ordering. I cannot stress enough how bad my Spanish is. It is survivable Spanish that I learned in High School which in real world application, means jack shit. However, as bad as my Spanish is, I do know some useful Spanish, specifically food and animal anatomy, concentration on pig anatomy. After much bantering between me and the waitress, which only spoke Spanish, I did not even attempt any English; I ended up with two tacos and a quesadilla. 

Tacos and Corn Smut after jump!

Tortilleria Nixtamal, Fresh Tortillas, Cannolis and Alfajores in Corona

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: If Burritos are bean blankets then what are tacos?

For the past couple of months, I have been craving tacos like a 7 month pregnant woman. The thing is, every time the opportunity came that I could get a taco, I have already eaten or I foolishly did not save any room. Most normal people, if they were craving a taco would give in and just go to a Taco Bell, a Chipotle or even a Baja Fresh. I put emphasis on normal people. I am not normal. I did not want to spoil my taco craving on just subpar tacos or wanted a chicken or steak taco. I was craving stuff like barbacoa, al pastor and other offal bits. So while most would give into the crunch wrap supreme, I patiently waited a free weekend to travel up to Queens to get myself tacos and fresh tortillas.

This is how I ended up at Tortilleria Nixtamal in Corona, Queens on a Saturday morning. I love New York in which I can jump on the no. 7 train and go down a couple of stops and I can be transported to another country. Go down further and I can be in a totally different country. Getting off at the Junction Blvd. stop and taking a leisurely walk down Roosevelt Avenue brought back memories of traveling in Peru, of the sudden immersion of rapid Spanish being spoken and being the minority.  After an abrupt brain switch to Spanish (bad Spanish) mode, I made my way to Tortilleria Nixtamal.  I was there bright and early, so bright and early that they were not even open yet.   So I stopped by for a cup of coffee and a chocolate cannoli at Leo's Latticini Mama's the Italian bakery and deli one of the few places that is still evidence of a once thriving Italian neighborhood. Although they are known for their sandwiches and cheeses, I had to fight the fatty urges and focus on my taco craving mission. Like cake, a cannoli, especially a chocolate cannoli is good anytime of the day. The cannoli was rich and had a delicate fresh mascarpone filling and had the satisfying crunch that a good cannoli should have. After the pastry amuse bouche I went to Tortilleria Nixtamal to get my fresh tortillas and finally, get some good tacos. 

Onward to Mexican Food!