Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It depends on what neighborhood you're in. If you're in East Flatbush or Canarsie that's probably all you'll see, but in any of the neighborhoods with a large Mexican population (there are at least a dozen), you will find real taquerias.
And you can find real Mexican restaurants in destination neighborhoods as well. Los Tacos 1 and Los Mariscos 1 come to mind, which are critically acclaimed taquerias in Chelsea.
I don't doubt that. But NYC is not known for Mexican food was my point, nor is it known for Lobster rolls though you can find some "highly acclaimed ones" here if you look hard enough.
Exactly. I see more Tex-Mex "refried beans", "chili tacos in fried tortilla" joints in NYC run by Chinese. I dig it once in while, it's how certain foods get regionalized and how New Yorkers like it.
Right, but at this point there are a lot of Mexican restaurants that aren't that and the real Mexican restaurants likely outnumber the old guard Chinese-run Tex-Mex places. It's sad in a way, because as people more and more switch to real Mexican food, the older restaurants get less business and need to scrimp more and their stuff so those places also go downhill in quality. Sometimes I just want a ridiculous hard shell taco with iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese, and mystery beef chili drowned in hot sauce and sour cream.
I don't doubt that. But NYC is not known for Mexican food was my point, nor is it known for Lobster rolls though you can find them here.
In my opinion, what NYC is "known for" doesn't really matter. I don't eat pizza or bagels very often, I try to eat what I find personally appealing.
You don't have to look very hard to find good Mexican food either, it's available in at least a dozen neighborhoods, probably more.
Oh and Chinese run taco places didn't "regionalize" Mexican food, they simply arrived here before Mexicans did. The Chinese takeout market was saturated, so some Chinese immigrants decided to make Mexican takeout places instead, and what they serve is their own interpretation of Mexican food.
In my opinion, what NYC is "known for" doesn't really matter. I don't eat pizza or bagels very often.
What it means is that if some place is known for something there will alot of them, the quality will be superior due to competition. If I want a good lobster roll and drive up to northern New England, there will be a shack or a restaurant everywhere. If I drive into Philadelphia, there's a great Philly cheesesteak joint everywhere. You can find Philly cheesesteaks in NYC, but they pale in comparison to ones you get in Philadelphia.
And bougie taquerias in Chelsea upsell and overcharge.
Right, but at this point there are a lot of Mexican restaurants that aren't that and the real Mexican restaurants likely outnumber the old guard Chinese-run Tex-Mex places. It's sad in a way, because as people more and more switch to real Mexican food, the older restaurants get less business and need to scrimp more and their stuff so those places also go downhill in quality. Sometimes I just want a ridiculous hard shell taco with iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese, and mystery beef chili drowned in hot sauce and sour cream.
I've seen a Yummy Taco type place right next to a real taqueria in Richmond Hill! I feel bad for the owners of the former, that must have hurt business a lot
What it means is that if some place is known for something there will alot of them, the quality will be superior due to to competition. If I want a good lobster roll and drive up to northern New England, there will be a shack or a restaurant everywhere. If I drive into Philadelphia, there's a great Philly cheesesteak joint everywhere. You can find Philly cheesesteaks in NYC, but they pale in comparison to ones you get in Philadelphia.
And bougie taquerias in Chelsea upsell and overcharge.
There is obviously going to be competition if there are 500k Mexicans (that's a mid sized city worth of people) and hundreds of Mexican restaurants/taquerias. Yelp ratings matter too.
There is obviously going to be competition if there are 500k Mexicans (that's a mid sized city worth of people) and hundreds of Mexican restaurants/taquerias. Yelp ratings matter too.
Many NY Mexicans don't subsist on Mexican food, only. Alot of them eat bodega food, West Indies, American, Italian, and love Chinese. Hit any Chinese take out joint midday, it's filled with Mexican workers. Again, regionality.
California has NY-style pizzerias and hundreds of thousands of ex-New Yorkers. Doesn't mean CA is known for NY foods. In fact, I'd say it's pretty bad. Again, I'm not debating the existence of Mexican restaurants in NYC, I'm talking about the quality, heritage and authenticity.
It'd be interesting to try to find an authentic Mexican restaurant in NYC where a tortilla isn't the main ingredient for most of the menu. I'm sure there are some, but tacos, burritos, beans & rice, and enchiladas isn't all that's about Mexican food and let's be real, that's what the low brow Tex-Mex and the high brow bougie Mexican restaurants primarily serve here in NYC. Fusion.
You'd be hard pressed to find Birria, Horchata, Menudo, Tamales, Posole, Oxtails, Corn cake, Capirotada, Abodigas, etc etc at most of these Mexican joints in the city. But you can find that at any corner in So Cal.
Many NY Mexicans don't subsist on Mexican food, only. Alot of them eat bodega food, West Indies, American, Italian, and love Chinese. Hit any Chinese take out joint midday, it's filled with Mexican workers. Again, regionality.
California has NY-style pizzerias and hundreds of thousands of ex-New Yorkers. Doesn't mean CA is known for NY foods. In fact, I'd say it's pretty bad. Again, I'm not debating the existence of Mexican restaurants in NYC, I'm talking about the quality, heritage and authenticity.
Most people don't consist off just one type of food so I'm not sure what you're getting at
It'd be interesting to try to find an authentic Mexican restaurant in NYC where a tortilla isn't the main ingredient for most of the menu. I'm sure there are some, but tacos, burritos, beans & rice, and enchiladas isn't all that's about Mexican food and let's be real, that's what the low brow Tex-Mex and the high brow bougie Mexican restaurants primarily serve here in NYC. Fusion.
You'd be hard pressed to find Birria, Horchata, Menudo, Tamales, Posole, Oxtails, Corn cake, Capirotada, Abodigas, etc etc at most of these Mexican joints in the city. But you can find that at any corner in So Cal.
A taqueria serving corn tortilla tacos with onion and cilantro is not "Tex Mex"
And many of the menus might be a little antojito centric, but the same is likely true of many places in SoCal. I doubt the average taco stand sells menudo.
But even taquerias often sell tlacoyos, tlayudas, cemitas, sopes, tostadas, etc. which are not made of tortilla. Horchata, Tamales, pozole are pretty commonly found in restaurants, among many other things.
You also keep moving the goalposts
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
