This past Thursday NYC Food Crawl hosted a taco crawl in Manhattan that I was fortunate enough to attend. My original plan was to write this post directly after the crawl, but I was in a taco coma afterward, so I haven’t been able to write it till now.

My friend Robyn and I arrived at Astor Place at 7pm to a crowd of hungry taco fans.

There was a little confusion at first as two ladies tried their best to scream instructions over the sound of traffic.

Their plan was to split us into groups, but since Robyn and I didn’t know anyone else we grabbed a map and broke away from the pack. I had no idea what places we would be visiting but I had some guesses based on the area. I also had a few that I was really hopeful for so I was surprised to see that all 3 of them made it to the map.

We got route #1 which is appropriate because it had us stopping at my number one choice first, Hecho en Dumbo.

This restaurant just opened on Bowery after having a successful run in the Dumbo General Store in Brooklyn. Their new location doesn’t lend itself well to a crawl. It’s a small, primarily table service place that’s very popular.

Thankfully, Robyn and I were the first to arrive so we saddled up to the bar. They serve fancy small bites along with excellent drinks. I’m usually not into mix drinks but each one on the menu sounded so amazing that I couldn’t wait to try one. I picked the Michelada Cubana ($7) which is like a bloody mary made with beer (and in the best possible way you can imagine).

Robyn had the Coctel Sangria ($9) which came out gorgeous, sans fruit but made with red wine, vodka and Boylan’s soda.

The small bites are cheap for the quality but they are small. When we saw that the tacos came as 3 to an order we decided to split one since we had 5 more places to go. We went with the swordfish tacos de gobernador ($9.50) which we figured were our best chance at getting decent fish on the crawl. When they came out, each circle tortilla was about the size of my palm.

But any problems I had with the size disappeared as soon as I took a bite. The swordfish was so moist it was almost like sashimi. And the housemade salsas were an excellent compliment. I regretted only placing one order. But we had to move on to our next location since the crowd was starting to pour in.

Hecho en Dumbo
354 Bowery
New York, NY 10012
www.hechoendumbo.com

Next on the list was another one of my choices, Pinche Taqueria.

I’ve passed this little stand on Lafayette a number of times but I had never stopped in. Again, we appeared to be the first ones there which is lucky because although this location had counter service it is small and is better suited to a hot summer day where you can grab your tacos and hang around outside. The atmosphere is much more laid back and the menu is typical of a taco joint.

I ordered the tacos al pastor ($2.95) and Robyn had the carnitas ($2.95). When they came out on the plate together it was hard to tell which was which (both pork!) so we took our best guess.

Which ever one I had, it was prefect. Fresh, tasty, fast and reasonably priced. All my favorite things in a restaurant.

Pinche Taqueria
333 Lafayett St.
New York NY 10012
www.pinchetaqueria.us

By this time, I was already starting to slow down. Sad, I know, for a voracious taco eater. But two is my usual order and with 4 more places ahead of me, I knew I would have to make some cuts. Next on the list was Cosmic Cantina, which I had never heard of. But the following location was Dos Toros, which my coworker has been screaming at me to go to ever since I started this blog. So, I decided to skip Cosmic (sorry, I’ll return someday) and head to another one on my wish list.

I had no idea what to expect with Dos Toros, but I had high hopes, because it had been talked up so much by my coworker. I was a little disappointed to say the least to see that it was a Chipotle style assembly-line joint.

This time Robyn and I hadn’t lucked out and there was a huge line. But at least this location lent itself to a crowd. I hopped in line and hoped for the best. I had already had fish and pork, so I decided to go with carne asada against my better instincts. I’ve never had good luck with steak tacos because it’s always stringy and tough. I suppose I could have gone with chicken, but chicken tacos are bleh! I started to get even more nervous when the “burrista” (perfect word stolen from rick) put a slice of cheese onto the tortilla and then threw it on a grill to toast it. After it was done being assembled I decided to get a Boylan’s cream soda ($2.30) because if it didn’t go well, at least I’d have that. Boy, was I ever wrong about this place. No, the tacos weren’t the fresh, cilantro stuffed fair, but they tasted amazing. The steak was cooked perfectly (and by perfectly I mean I was able to take a bite and not wrestle every piece out of the tortilla while trying to) and having it grilled with the cheese made everything melty and delicious.

It was absolutely better than a chain but it was still greasy awesome drunk food. By far, the best place to get a quick taco in union square. Never judge a book by it’s cover, etc. etc.

Dos Toros Taqueria
137 4th Ave (at 13th St.)
New York, NY 10003
dostorosnyc.com

Okay, so at this point I had unbelievably eaten 3 completely different tacos at 3 completely different places. I only had one more in me. I was left with Big Enchilada and Paquito’s. I hadn’t heard of Big Enchilada (again, sorry, I’ll make it there someday) but I knew Paquito’s as a hole-in-the-wall favorite, so in keeping with my theme of diversity (and wish lists) I decided to head there.

Paquito’s was exactly what I thought it’d be. Bright yellow sign, a little divey, mixed crowd of students and locals. When we got there, a couple in front of us told us the thing to get was the fish tacos which were not on the menu. But when I got to the front I was told they were sold out. So much for secrets. A guy behind me said I should go with the chorizo ($2), which I also didn’t see on the menu, so I went with that. I sat down and soaked up the decor.

Robyn had already decided she was done for the evening so I was eating for both of us. The taco was stuffed with chorizo that had been chopped up and grilled so it had a nice crunchy texture.

There were no surprises here. It was a decent, low key taco. If I lived in the area and it was late and I needed a taco fix, this would probably be my go to. As it is, I probably wouldn’t travel for it. The only thing that bummed me out was that I could have really used a glass of horchata to cap off my night, but it was $2.50 and I wasn’t willing to pay more for my drink than I did for my taco.

Paquito’s
175 3rd Ave (btwn 16th and 17th)
New York NY 10003
www.paquitosrestaurant.com

Overall, I thought the taco crawl was a huge success. The variety was amazing. The quality was great. They were all within close distance of each other which makes it even more crazy that we were able to hit so many different places. From Hecho en Dumbo’s classy take on Mexican, to Pinche’s laid back cali vibe, to Dos Toros chain feel, to Paquito’s classic city taco. I was really impressed with the amount of great places I was able to hit up in an area that’s not necessarily known for tacos. It’s going to be hard to just eat at one taco place a night from now on.