Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City
I was recently fortunate enough to spend a few days n Mexico City. While there, I experienced an incredible taco tour that took us to all these local joints. I tasted tacos and fillings that blew my mind and could not be replicated here in the city.
But when we got to the al pastor taco, I kept thinking, “This is a great taco, but we have Los Tacos No. 1 in New York”.
It’s practically blasphemous for me to compare the incredible food I had in Mexico to anything you find in the US. But for anyone who has experienced Los Tacos No. 1, they know that these tacos are no joke.
I’ve had this dish many times (like dozens) and somehow have never included it on either my Top 100 or as a Dish of the Week. So it’s more than time.
Before COVID-19, Los Tacos No. 1 had recently opened their third location in Tribeca with a fourth one imminent.
It was about a week before I left for Mexico when I passed their new location craving a little snack. I also thought it would be good to prepare for my culinary experiences in CDMX (Ciudad de Mexico).
I’ve written about Los Tacos No. 1 and the Especial Adobada (which is the same filling in fried quesadilla form), but there is something so pure and masterful about the simple Adobada Taco.
Adobada is a regional name for what many call “al pastor.” For the uninitiated, it was introduced to Mexico by Lebanese immigrants who cooked meat on a spinning spit. Adobada is done that way but with a red marinated pork. On top of the spit sits a hunk of pineapple that gently drips its juices into the layers of pork.
The meat itself is just incredible. Bursting with flavors both spicy and sweet with charred crunchy bits of fat and salt.
The housemade corn tortillas are also as good as anything you can get nixtamaled (the process of turning corn kernels into tortillas) in the city.
Aside from the adobada, the Los Tacos No. 1 locations also offer Nopal (cactus), chicken, and carne asada. Everything is great here.
Often when I return from an international trip, I am eager to find the foods I tried overseas here in the city. With the al pastor (or adobada) tacos, I knew exactly where to go. Price: $3.95
| LOS TACOS NO. 1 |
| 75 Ninth Avenue (between West 15th and West 16th Street), Inside Chelsea Market, Meatpacking District (212) 256-0343 |
| 229 West 43rd Street (between Eighth Avenue and Seventh Avenue), Midtown West (212) 574-4696 |
| 136 Church Street (at Warren Street), Tribeca |
| lostacosno1.com |
