How to go on a taco crawl in Brooklyn: 5 standout spots

Here I was, after all these years, face to face with the governor. Sitting at the bar of Mariscos El Submarino in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, I spotted him right there on the menu, his name, gobernador, marked by a little crown. He came out larger than I remembered, with griddle marks all over. But underneath that hefty corn tortilla, he was the same cheesy old guy from Sinaloa I knew and loved.

Each bite of the massive, folded taco ($9) was a familiar mix of chopped shrimp and melted Chihuahua cheese, a simple combination that’s surprisingly hard to find in New York. And Long Island, for all its Mexican restaurants, doesn’t have a mariscos joint, at least not the kind that specializes in iconic Northwestern Mexican seafood dishes like soy sauce–tinged aguachiles, limey ceviches and the shrimpy gobernador taco.

But Manhattan and Brooklyn have been undergoing a taco renaissance of late, and now the regional delicacies I’d enjoyed at home out West and traveling across Mexico are suddenly within reach: real tacos al pastor from a roasted tower of meat like you see in Mexico City, creamy-crunchy milk tripe on heritage corn tortillas, and of course, the most satisfying taco filling of all time — silken, lovely Sonoran refried beans.

The city’s greatest concentration of these taquerias is in funky Greenpoint, Brooklyn, which is filled with all sorts of interesting shops. So why not make an afternoon of it and do a taco crawl (con micheladas and other drinks)?

Here are four — make that five — places, all within a mile and a half of each other, so you can walk the route (or part of it, depending on your energy and how hungry you are) and get back to your car in under an hour, not counting taco-eating time. Just make sure to pace yourself because these tacos are rich, and you will want to save room for the finale.

🌮 Taco stop No. 1 🌮

MARISCOS EL SUBMARINO

222 Franklin St., Brooklyn, 347-384-2422, mariscoselsubmarinonyc.com

TOP TACO: The Craken ($7)

Starting this crawl at Mariscos El Submarino just feels right: When you enter the tiny restaurant, it’s like taking a mini vacation to a Mexican beach town. Grab a seat at the bar next to the cutesy submarine-themed merch table, and have the bartender pour you a michelada while you jam out to the brass-based oompa banda Sinaloense. It’s true that this is a satellite location of the famed Jackson Heights, Queens, original, run by Alonso Guzman and Amy Hernandez. And that the brand is more well-known for its stunning raw fish aguachiles — but the tacos more than hold their own.

The aforementioned gobernador taco features a sizable housemade corn tortilla stuffed with cubed shrimp and melty queso Chihuahua. It’s great, but my favorite of the afternoon is an original concoction called The Craken, which features a plump octopus tentacle layered over a crunchy costra (“crust”) of melted cheese and the corn tortilla. There’s also a smack of spicy salsa macha (hold that thought) and some buttery avocado to round it out. But this is all about that fresh, beautifully prepared octopus.

Pro tip: There’s no salsa here, but like your typical mariscos joint, each table has an array of super-spicy Mexican hot sauces.

While you’re walking down Franklin Street to your next taco destination, pop into Big Night (154 Franklin St.; 347-725-3041; bignightbk.com), a store with a whimsical selection of bottled, jarred and tinned pantry products. I picked up some Mexican salsa macha ($18) from Botanica out of Los Angeles. Salsa macha is similar to the Asian condiment called chili crisp, but this variety is less crunchy and has a deeper roasted flavor from the guajillo and morita chilies. 

🌮 Taco stop No. 2 🌮

TAQUERIA RAMIREZ

94 Franklin St., Brooklyn (entrance by Oak Street), taqueriaramirezbk.com

TOP TACO: The suadero ($5.50)

The first time I tried this renowned hole-in-the-wall, just over two years ago, it was like taco Burning Man: Hordes of people were queuing up and stuffing into the tiny space like they were partying at a meaty rave. (There was even a bouncer.) Luckily, Taqueria Ramirez has calmed down since then. And whew — because this Mexico City–style spot has quite the show you’ll want to see. All eyes are on the megaton trompo, or spit of al pastor meat, a spinning mountain of chili achiote–glazed pork that dwarfs any trompo you’ll see on Long Island, or likely anywhere in New York City.

Owners Tania Apolinar and Giovanni Cervantes also brought in a street food icon, the choricera, a cooking vessel used for braising meats such as tripe, suadero and longaniza (ground spicy pork sausage) in their own fat, much like confit. Tortillas are often swiped in the fat before getting a plop of suadero, a tough cut from between the cow belly and leg that has been slow-cooked until soft and tender. It’s a hearty meal, so grab some bubbly Topo Chico Lime to wash it down.

Pro tip: Tacos arrive unadorned, so make sure to hit the salsa bar before you chow down.

And this has nothing to do with Mexican food or tacos, but one of Brooklyn’s top food destinations is right along our route and it would be a shame to pass it by. Inside the minimalist-chic 50 Norman building, which houses multiple Japanese shops and restaurants, you will find Dashi Okume (50 Norman Ave.; 646-434-2912; okume.us), the only U.S. outpost of this 155-year-old Japanese company. Customers can taste different types of dashi — the “sea stock” that is integral to Japanese cooking — and create their own by choosing from an array of dried fishes and vegetables. It’s a magical experience.

🌮 Taco stop No. 3 🌮

TAQUERIA EL CHATO

620 Manhattan Ave., Brooklyn, Instagram @taqueriaelchato.nyc

TOP TACO: The tripas ($5)

The smallest taqueria on this tour, El Chato proves that you don’t need a lot of space to have an absolutely bangin’ flavor experience. This takeout spot — really, more of a hallway — has little more than a few stools lining a thin bar on the edges of the room. The entire menu doesn’t fit on the wall, so they’ve got everyone ordering through a computer screen that shows a stunning variety of vampiros (open-faced taco-tostada hybrids), tacos and quesadillas with supremely spicy salsas. The signature taco here is a midsize al pastor from a spinning trompo, shaved thinner and with a more delicate texture than that at Ramirez.

It’s also beefed up with a little, well, beef that’s added to the porky mix. El Chato began life as an offshoot to the modern Mexican restaurant Aldama in Williamsburg; with three locations now, it has outlived its predecessor yet still has that sophisticated touch in this humbler setting. You can see this, for instance, in the asada, which features a thinly sliced slab of juicy beef, not the chopped steak you might expect. But if, like me, you go hard for Mexican tripas, there’s none better than the crunchy, gristly-in-a-good-way fried tripas taco here. Slicked with fiery chili sauces, it’s pedal to the metal for meat lovers.

Pro tip: Spice freaks will love the roasted green chilies from the salsa bar. They pack a wallop. 

🌮 Taco stop No. 4 🌮

BORDER TOWN

189 Nassau Ave., Brooklyn, Instagram @bordertownbk

TOP TACO: Frijoles y queso ($5)

Taco tactic: Plan your excursion for the mid-afternoon, so you arrive at the last stop, Border Town, around 5 p.m., when it opens for the evening. This buzzy new restaurant started out as a pop-up and now has a loyal fanbase of flour-tortilla enthusiasts. (And yes, flour tortillas are authentic. They’ve been a staple of Northern Mexican cuisine since the 1500s, when wheat was brought over by the Spanish.) I got there around 5:30 on a weeknight and although I didn’t need to wait in line, the place was packed and quite a scene, very New York.

Chef and co-owner Jorge Aguilar can be seen behind a glass wall molding and cooking his flour tortillas, done in the Sonoran style so they’re crackly and thin and covered in bubbly char marks. His menu is surprisingly simple, with fewer than 10 items, most being tacos.

Pro tip: A small but choice selection of cocktails highlights lesser-known agave spirits, such as sotol and pechuga.

Now, this is a bit of a diversion from the heritage wheat flour that makes this restaurant, but the plate of fried “tacos de nada” is a must. This is a hyper-specific dish from Sonora’s capital, Hermosillo, that features mashed-potato tacos in a mild tomato sauce with a frizzle of queso fresco. It’ll put your regular fried tacos to shame. But the most comforting dish is an uncomplicated bean and cheese filling tucked into that stellar flour tortilla. The beans are velvety and as lardy as the best of them. Extremely full and surrounded by partying Brooklynites, I thought, “I’ve finally made it home.” 

🌮 Bonus taco stop 🌮

AN UNDER-THE-RADAR ALTERNATIVE

Just so you don’t get the wrong impression: There’s been great Mexican food in New York for decades. It’s been coming from taco trucks and stands and small mom-and-pop shops in immigrant communities such as Sunset Park in Brooklyn and Brentwood on Long Island. If we had to nominate a taco that represents this enduring New York style, it would be one of Herculean proportions, the taco placero. New York is a “metropolis of tacos placeros,” declared New York food writer and fellow Arizonan Steven Alvarez on Eater (eater.com) a few years back. This is due to New York’s high concentration of emigrants from Puebla and Central Mexico, the birthplace of the taco placero. Piled high with rice, potatoes, a chili relleno and hard-boiled egg, a taco placero is typically a cheap, filling street food meal. But the genre-bending cocktail bar Frijoleros (131 Greenpoint Ave., Brooklyn; 347-384-2957; frijolerosbk.com) gives them a cheffy touch.

Sipping a fruity Daisy cocktail (the precursor to a margarita), I shared a plate of two tacos placeros ($16) with a friend. The hearty corn tortilla was thick enough to contain the onslaught of ingredients, which included crispy french fries and a jammy egg that reminded me of Japanese ramen. The bar felt like an under-the-radar alternative to Border Town, with moody lighting and lots of space, a place you can really hang out in.