Searching for a Good Taco

People from California will tell you that they got the best Mexican food in the country, sometimes even better than what you can find in Mexico. Although that’s questionnable to me after I ate at several taco stands and shacks while in Mexico, I have to conceed that it’s difficult to find a good taco in New York City. But also know, though, that it’s not impossible.

According to the 2000 Census, Mexicans are the third largest Hispanic and Latino group in New York, after Puerto Ricans and Dominicans. More than 60 percent of all Mexican New Yorkers reside in Queens and Brooklyn, although there are significant numbers in the Bronx and in Manhattan. Puebla residents, or Poblanos, make up more than half of the Mexican population in the city with some coming from the outskirts of the capital. That’s a lot of Mexicans who need to eat even though they keep the city running twenty-four hours a day. Surely, they eat good tacos!

There are several articles out there about searching for the best taco in New York City, but I want to see for myself. I don’t know how long I can go and what places I will hit but here’s a start.

Summer 2006:
Red Hook, Brooklyn
East Village
Upper West Side

Summer 2007:
Staten Island

Fall 2007:
Roosevelt Avenue, Queens

Spring 2008:
El Barrio, East Harlem

Winter 2009:
Sunset Park, Brooklyn