I don’t understand why there aren’t a million burrito places in this city. It seems that whenever I pass by a Chipotle or some variation of one during lunch hour, there’s a line out the door to get in. Seems like a license to print money.
Brooklyn in Manhattan
Brooklyn is so hot, it seems, that it’s worthy to use it as a theme for a bar/restaurant in Manhattan. That’s pretty weird, right? It’s not like it takes that long to get there to have a meal.
Uncle Moe’s
Uncle Moe’s on west 19th street, just around the corner from 5th avenue, has been around for as long as I can remember. I’m glad they are still doing well despite the proliferation of Chipotle and Qdoba.
Chipotle
Today I had a burrito at Chipotle. I have no photographic evidence of this but I did take a picture of the Andy Warhol sculpture while I was waiting for my friend.
Qdoba
Qdoba is located on 51st Street between 6th and 7th. It reminds me of a mashup between a Pier One Imports, a Chipotle, and a prison cafeteria.
I walked around for about 20 minutes and just gave up and ended here. It’s that kind of place. And yet, there was a line out the door. People really love burritos and burrito related foods for lunch!
There are too many weird options here. Too many decisions to make. The nice thing about Chipotle, at least, is that it’s pretty simple.
I opted for a “naked” burrito, which is a burrito without a flour tortilla dumped in a bowl. As you can see, it’s not very pretty. The pork was yummy, but the whole thing overall was sloppy and relatively unappetizing. The way you are forced to stand in a slow moving line and have someone shout at you, ‘what do you want’ and then watch them slop food into a bowl… I mean, how is that good?
Qdoba: thumbs down.
Big D’s Grub
I headed over to 50th Street again — this block seems like it’s going to be a good resource for me this year. Today I noticed “Big D’s Grub Truck” and decided to check it out. You would never guess that this was a Korean meets Mexican food truck, but that’s what it is.
I wanted to taste everything on the menu but I limited myself to the dumplings and the spicy pork tacos. The dumplings were very good in that Chinese takeout kind of way, so nothing surprising here. You get an additional dipping sauce so I opted for sriracha mayo, which turns out to be a very good accompaniment. The dumplings were smaller than the typical takeout variety, so that was good. And they were not overly greasy and had a nice char in spots.
Sriracha mayo and soy dipping sauces
These tacos were spectacular. The secret spicy pork marinade tastes just like the typical Korean spicy pork marinade, so these are basically Korean spicy pork tacos. Very juicy, incredibly garlicky. I tasted these all afternoon, and I’m sure every one of my coworkers knew it too. I had a little bit of leftover sriracha mayo and guess what? It tastes good drizzled over these too! The scallion relish was a very nice fresh complement to the hot and spicy pork. Corn tortillas were fresh and moist. Big thumbs up for Big D
Very fresh and tasty
"Scallion relish"
7th Floor Lobby Lunch
Today for some unknown reason the president’s executive assistant is hosting a big Mexican themed lunch in the 7th floor main lobby. There’s even a mariachi band playing obscure songs such as “La Bamba” and “La Cucaracha”. I know. Cringing.
So there’s a giant buffet and everyone’s lined up for chips and guacamole, chorizo, rice, and tortas and some salad that doesn’t look at all Mexican. I got some chips and guac, which was oniony and delicious, and some chorizo and rice, which was just OK.
It was cool to hang out in the lobby though. There’s some crazy spectacular modern art installed here. I thought it was funny that the mariachi band was playing in front of an old BP oil can and a BP branded bumper car. And then in front of them was this great piece by Nic Hess.
Mexican Food Cart
On 50th Street between 6th and 7th is a Mexican food cart that is wearing a giant sombrero. OK.
I ordered two chicken tacos, which qualified me for a deluxe plate that includes rice and beans. This lunch cost $7.50 and it is a lotta food.
But I didn’t think it was that good. Actually, to be honest it was kind of bad. The chicken in the tacos came in huge chunks, and it tasted a little gamey. It was cooked in some kind of sauce that I couldn’t quite figure out but knew didn’t taste like any kind of Mexican food I’d ever tasted. But I think the most offending aspect of these tacos were the crunchy shells which turned into gross soggy messes in the 5 minutes it took me to get these back to my desk. I am not a fan of the crunchy taco shell.
The rice and beans were fine. Whatever. But they added a bunch of some soupy stuff that I think is supposed to be some kind of nacho sauce? It had almost no flavor and the color and consistency were kind of gross.
Good Mexican food in NYC is almost impossible to find. That I knew. The other lesson here is never trust food coming from a cart that is wearing a giant sombrero.
Um. What is that?
