Taco el Chingon opens in Huntington

Laura Lucero is used to tough locations. Even though it has a Merrick Road address, her Taco el Chingon in Bellmore is hidden in a shopping center behind a gas station. Nevertheless, in the six years since it opened, it has become one of the South Shore’s most popular Mexican eateries.

So she was not afraid to open a North Shore location in one of Huntington Village’s most challenging spots: The address is 46-1 Gerard Street, but you can walk up and down Gerard Street and you won’t see it. Instead, from Wall Street, head down the alleyway just north of Cafe Buenos Aires; Taco el Chingon will be on your right. (Or plug 40°52'19.0 "N 73°25'41.0 "W into your phone.)

"You know what," Lucero said, "We like the hidden place; it makes us more attractive."

The enormous menu also makes them attractive: There are traditional street tacos made with corn tortillas and "foot-long" flour-tortilla tacos that are grilled after being filled. There are also low-carb (lettuce leaf) tacos and "American" tacos served in hard-shell tortillas. Beyond tacos are sopes and huaraches (thick corn tortillas — the former is round, the latter is oval — that are topped rather than filled), tortas (sandwiches on crusty rolls), nachos, burritos, quesadillas, flautas, guacamole and something called a machete, a big, handmade tortilla folded around beans, cheese and meat. At $16.99 the "machete El Chingon," which includes three types of meat, is the most expensive thing on the menu.

Breakfast specialties include huevos rancheros, burritos stuffed with beans, eggs, tomatoes, cheese, jalapeños and meat, chilaquiles (tortilla chips topped with egg, beans, cheese, crema and meat, molletes (Portuguese bread stuffed with eggs and much more) as well as scrambled-egg breakfast platters.

Just before she launched in Huntington, Lucero closed the Uniondale taqueria she had opened in 2022. The rent was raised, she said, but, more importantly, the customers were mostly singles coming in for lunch. "We are a family place, and we like families," she said. Lucero had been looking in Huntington for some time but couldn’t find an affordable space — until she was shown the Gerard Street spot, which already feels like home. "Everyone here has been so friendly," she said.

Her team has smartened up the spotless dining room, with sturdy wooden tables and benches, colorful wall decor and accents of corrugated metal. Here’s hoping they thrive where Rasta Shack Island Spices, Mobay Breeze Jamaican and NY Garden Kabobs languished. The Persian Tasty American Coo Coo had a pretty good run here from 2013 to 2016.

Taco el Chingon, 46-1 Gerard St., Huntington, 516-945-0140, tacoelchingon.com. Open Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., closed Sunday.