Taqueria Tehuitzingo, New York, New York

This little gem is on 9th street.  Working in New York on Father's Day, what to do, what to do.  I was very fortunate the my cousin with a pretty amazing name had some free time.  She came by my work and we went on a walk through Midtown, New York.  It was a nice break during downtime at the restaurant.  We shared stories, caught up and had a fantastic time.  Don't worry, I got an unflattering picture of her and I will share it.  We almost hit up a Philly Cheese Steak place, but she saw this and well, yeah, you know where we went.  We made the prudent choice.  Not too big in there, so you know they aren't wasting time and or space.

Narrow space, nice guy working the register.  Place was pretty full when we got there and seemed to be humming with locals pretty much the entire time that we were there chatting and eating.  The scariest part of this trip was the lady at the table next to us.  Her eyebrows were painted on in the scariest way possible.  I would have feared for my life if it was any darker outside.  I could not get a picture of them, but found this on the internet, close enough, just imagine, uglier, more ghetto and scarier...

Yeah, no one needs to do that to themselves, it is not hot or attractive.  However, the menu was nice and had nice graphics.

Look how colorful and pretty that is.  There is the address if you are using your GPS to find this place because you are lost in New York and want to follow in my taco eating footsteps.  Did not get much food, it was hot, we were walking, I had been working and was heading back to work.  Eleni went for a tostada, you'll never guess what I had...
RATINGS:
BARBACOA: 3, yes, it was made with goat and I was so happy.  Very nicely done.  Slightly on the tough side.  I think that they cooked it just a little bit too high of heat, but the flavor on it was good.
SUADERO: 4, oh man this was good.  Super, duper good.  It had a little bit of the fat on there, it was cooked and then thrown on the flat top to crisp the outsides a little bit.  Oh heck, that was fantastic!  I was so happy that I got this.
AVACADO SALSA: 4, they put this bad boy right on the tacos and it was enough to get the flavors, spice and salt and just enough to make you just crave more but not over power the meat and tortillas.
SALSA VERDE: 3, came on the side and was good.  A bit sweet, with mild spice, but overall good flavor.  The dark color to it makes me think that they did it in large bulk and it is sitting in the back.  The bolder flavors says that I got the bottom of the barrel and that is great in my book!

That nasty diet Coke belonged to my cousin.  I know I need to teach her to drink better things.  All in good time my friends, I am still introducing her to The Order and how to hunt, attack and enjoy excellent tacos anywhere you go.  The place has good hot sauces on the table and like I said, pretty darn tasty.  Biggest suggestion, drop the price a bit, yes I know you are in Manhattan, and give a little bit smaller of a portion.  I would have had a third taco, spent more money and been happier, with the food.  Here is a copy of the menu so that you know what you are going to get when you get there when you go.

Pretty cool huh?  What was my favorite part?  Was it that the grade was still "pending" at the place?  No.  Was it the company?  I do always say that it doesn't matter where you eat, but who it's with, but sadly no.  Don't get me wrong, I cannot thank Eleni enough for tacositting me today.  I was missing the kids and my dad on Father's Day and it was great that my cousin came out, met me and we got to spend sometime.  Quality time and really talk.  I really did need it.  So what could it have been?

Thank you to everyone for the emails, re-posts, re-tweets and telling your friends.  Thank you for reading.  Before I go, as I'm sure you know there is always that goodbye/gratuitous photo.  This was my favorite part, catching this look on this photo.  Confused, bewildered, you be the judge.

Stay Excellent!

Lake Anne's Market, Reston, VA

How do I even start.  Haven't really written in a bit.  I have been working non stop.  Busy, busy, busy.  I didn't even get from Miami to Virginia, I'm in the Reston/Fairfax/Herndon area, and my phone was blowing up from some great folks about Tacoteering.  Yeah, it made life that much better.  How could I not?  How was I not leaving work, getting tacos and going back to finish the night?  This place did have it all.  Aside from the tacos for dinner, I bought food for tomorrow and the next day.  Nice to get a little one stop shop like this.  So the tacos are in the back.

Yeah, this place was pretty busy.  We were there for a while, service was slow.  We had World Cup on which was great.  The passion of everyone there watching.  Brazil got some bad calls they may not have deserved, but they still pulled it out.  Pretty mixed emotions in this place.

The passion was awesome.  The wait, not so much.  We had work to do!  We couldn't watch the entire game.  It really did take way too long to get our food.  To the point that I would not come here very often, and no, not just because it is on the other side of the country from where I live.  It is also a bit pricey.  Not horrible, but not the normal, affordable taco that we are looking for.

This is part of the BOH.  Yes, the food is out, they are cutting the meat fresh, doing so many things right.  They even have their open bottle of wine just to make sure that they have something to drink, celebrate with and use when needed.  I admire this.  The best part about this place is the flavors.  They really do know how to cook.  They make the tortillas by hand, the pupusas were on point.  They take the time to do it right, they should probably work on a balance, but still, they make the food from scratch.

There is the rest of the kitchen.  They are really going at it.  Making the food, working the masa.  Impressive.  It reminds me a bit of a place that is in California that I have yet to blog about.  Equipment is pretty well maintained, ladies were working hard, really hard.  Their tortillas were a little thick.  I think if the pressed them just a little thinner, it might make for a bit of a better taco, but they did not double wrap and the flavor on them is good.  A little hint of sweetness, not too salty.

RATINGS:
CHICHARRON: 3, this might have been a 4 if it was properly labeled.  It was more of a pork that was cooked like carnitas meets chicharron meets almost an adobada.  Good, tender, slightly over-seasoned.
POLLO: 5, yes, I wrote a 5 on chicken.  Well seasoned, so tender, so good.  Really happy with this.  Really happy that I tried the chicken.  If you are there, get the chicken, they know what they are doing.
LENGUA: 4, I like what they are doing here.  Cut into bigger chunks then I normally like, but they for sure made it work and work well.  Really tender, not over seasoned, well cooked.
ASADA: 3, this was good.  Nothing that will blow you away, but nothing that you will be disappointed by ordering.  It is solid.
SPECIAL?: 4, the guy talked me into it. It was a mixture of their chorizo, asada and chicharron all in one taco.  It was awesome, nice mix of flavors, not too much, very good and worth ordering.  Just tell them the tacos with the different meats in it.
PUPUSA: 3, the masa is good, but the filling was just not enough.  They kind of shorted you there, their curtido to put on top is just OK, but overall their stuff is really good.
SALSA VERDE: 4, oh I want to bathe in this.  It is good, spicy, thick, nice.  A little more balance in flavor could have brought on a 5.
SALSA ROJO: 3, by no means is it bad, but it was a bit watery and nothing special.

We got the food back to The Counter and they could not wait to attack.  Matt and Ashley are becoming some pretty amazing Tacoteers.  Yeah, I just had to share this photo.  It is way too entertaining for me.  For those who don't remember Matt, he opened The Counter in Clifton, NJ, which you should go eat at when you are in Jersey, and has been on some adventures.  We were reunited and had to grab a photo together.

I know, the look of excitement, the pearly whites, how can you not love him?  I do have another target for the trip, but don't know if I will be able to hit it.  If I don't make it there, I will be back and I will go!  You will hear all about the adventure.  Very glad we have a great spot here in the Reston area for tacos.  Very glad that I have such great people that I work with that love Tacoteering, once they were introduced to it!  The Taco Legends grow, I do love it.

It's been too long since I've written one of these, I've just been really busy with work, so I will try to get some more out soon!  Who knows where work and Tacoteering will take me next???  I might be coming to your city or a city near you.  With that being said, thanks for reading, re-posting, re-tweeting, and "liking" what we are doing.  The good-bye picture is one I caught of Matt working, well sort of...love you Matt!

Stay Excellent!