After my pilates class and running in Central Park for an hour - my body was calling urgently for some SERIOUS TACO ACTION. I've heard of Taco Mix located in East Harlem that's supposed have tacos that are as authentic as they can get in New York. I walked to the 116th Street (was quite a walk, and all I could think about was how good the tacos would be).
East Harlem is a bustling area, no doubt, there were little stores, delis, restaurants and eateries everywhere and people literally spilling out of hole-in-the-wall type restaurants. I loved the vibe up in East Harlem. So I finally got to Taco Mix after some serious walking and feeling seriously starved the entire way up. Taco Mix is your typical hole-in-the-wall Mexican tacos place with no seating area. I ordered three tacos: 2 Tacos al Pastor and 1 Taco de Carnitas.
The tacos looked authentic, tatsed awesome with their meats so socculent and the spices, salsas, condiments and fresh herbs (cilantro) just bursting like crazy in my mouth. I mean, these were arguably the best tacos I've ever had so far. It all came out to be $8.75 (I think the guy charged me $0.50 extra...but whatever). No doubt, Taco Mix is now my "go-to" place for their very authentic tacos. I took lots of photos - enjoy!
Getting cheap tacos is the best way to get rid of your coins laying around in your apartment...
East Harlem is a very exciting neighborhood - I wish I had taken more photos of East Harlem.
Taco Mix - exterior view. It's a hole-in-the-wall type tacos place with no seating area. There is nothing special about the decor...
It definitely wasn't the cleanest restaurant but it still had an "A" inspection rating from the city. Who cares when the food is that good. You can see the Al Pastor rotating. Yum!
There was definitely a bit of language barrier - ordering was a bit awkward as I had to make hand gestures and etc. to make sure that I am getting 2 Tacos al Pastor and 1 Taco de Carnitas.
When my tacos came out - my jaw dropped. It looked seriously authentic (for the record, I've had tacos in Mexico in the past - these tacos looked as authentic as they get in New York) and the smell was incredible - actually the entire restaurant smelled so devastatingly good. They obviously prepared the tacos properly - none of that lettuce, tomato, onion, corn, sour cream nonsense people order at Chipotle or Qdoba etc. The tortillas were authentic tortillas (not like Chipotle's where you get a burrito the size of your head). Minimalist, soft corn tortillas, diced fresh onions, cilantro, meat of your choice and that's it. Total awesomeness.
Everyone online was raving about Taco Mix's Tacos al Pastor - so I tried them. Taco al Pastor is actually influenced by shawarma spit-grilled meat brought in to Mexico by Lebanese immigrants. The meat was tender, succulent, fatty and just downright tasty. It came with chopped onions, cilantro and, interestingly a piece of pineapple atop. I put on some condiments, salsas - they were perfect, very authentic tacos. I loved every bite of my tacos al pastor.
Tacos de Carnitas - same deal here - very simple. Soft corn tortillas, carnitas, diced fresh onions and herbs (cilantro) atop with condiments and salsas. Amazing - the meat melted in my mouth as soon as I bit into it. So flavorful with all these salsas and fresh onions and herbs. I wanted just one more! But I ran out of cash so had to stop at 3 tacos in total.
Unlimited condiments and salsas for everyone.
They told me this one is MUCHO HOT!! So...I stayed away from it.
...the same guy told me this one is HOT!! So...once again, I stayed away from it.
These chili peppers freaked me out - they look so evil, don't they? The guy just shook his head and gave me this look - which I took it to be "if you eat this, you are going to die"
Taco Mix rocks. I mean their tacos are so incredibly flavorful and authentic - there is no way anyone would ever want to go back to eating Chipotle and Qdoba after having some of the most authentic, tasty tacos in New York - at Taco Mix. This is now my official, "go-to" tacos place. I highly recommend Taco Mix to all of you.
Surprisingly, good, authentic tacos can actually be difficult to find in this city. I'm going to have to check this place out. I used to live on 118th for a time, what I would like to know is, how the hell did I miss this place?
Posted by: Matt Heidelberger | Monday, July 30, 2012 at 09:34 PM
Yea, there seem to be a lot of little gems like this in Upper Manhattan.
Posted by: Gotham Food Porn | Friday, August 03, 2012 at 06:16 AM
2013 update: Tacos still amazing. Best in NYC.
Posted by: Daniel | Saturday, May 04, 2013 at 07:23 PM