BLOCHO'S TACOS

Cascabel Taqueria 1538 2nd Ave (at 80th St) New York, NY and Columbus Circle Holiday Market! The Holiday Season in New York is characterized by the multitude of holiday markets around Manhattan -- Union Square, Grand Central Station, and Columbus Circle are a few of my favorites. Whether you're shopping for yourself or for your friends and loved ones, there always are a multitude of gift options available at these markets. Today, despite the 28 degree weather, my friend Molly and I ventured out to the Columbus Circle market ready to browse. I've walked past the market hundreds of times since returning to NY for the Holidays and knew that a Taqueria had set up shop within the market. The time had come to indulge. I am back in my taco homeland. I approached the small Cascabel Taqueria booth and my mouth began watering. Although the actual Taqueria has an more in-depth menu (including brunch and tequila), the booth was offering chicken and carnitas tacos. Fine by me. I chose...

Dos Toros 137 4th Avenue New York, NY For weeks I have been meaning to stop by Dos Toros. When I was working, we ended right in front of this taqueria, but at 8pm on a weeknight the place is jammed! With a line out the door I knew I had to try the food, but I would wait for a slightly tamer time. My cousin, Jonathan, suggested I add Dos Toros to my list of visited taquerias when I told him about my blog. We made a plan and this afternoon we met at Dos Toros for lunch. The space reminds me of BurittoVille, a local NYC chain that disbanded a few years ago and left me quick Mexican food-less for some time. The wooden tables and leather-seated stools make the place feel comfortable, homey, and conducive to a quick bite or a drawn out lunch. I ordered 2 tacos -- one basic (rice and beans) and the other carne asada (steak) in soft corn tortillas (obviously). Watching them make the tacos at the counter allowed you to personalize it however you like. I went all in -- pico de gallo, guaca...

Hell's Kitchen 679 Ninth Ave New York, NY Good News: I'm back in NY where taco shops are easy to come by and tend to be pretty good. Bad News: I'm working like crazy and have not had enough time to sample all the tacos I possible can. Despite the bad news, I managed to try some tacos the other night with my dad. We met up at Hell's Kitchen, a restaurant I've passed numerous times but had yet to dine in, and settled down for a wonderful meal. The "corn cake" with black-bean dip they brought out as the "bread and butter" to whet our appetites was scrumptious. I particularly enjoyed the juxtaposition of texture and temperature (heat and spice) that the dip provided. My dad and I split an appetizer...some seafood tostada . (Of course I am blogging a little late and the online menu seems to have changed from my visit thus limiting the specificity of my post; but a good sign that they keep updating their food!) Delicious and...

Taqeuria Hernandez 6983 N. Clark Ave Chicago, IL After many months without a taco my hiatus is up. It started with the idea for a spontaneous bike ride with my friends Emily and Doug and ended in a taco tour through Roger's Park, Chicago. Unfortunately, Emily had to miss out on our taco eating, but got to come along for the ride. We started in Evanston and made our way down Chicago Ave which turns into N. Clark Ave. After biking through Roger's Park we decided to go a bit further, into Edgewater and Andersonville , to see if there was one particular taco shop that stood out. We didn't find one so back to RP we biked. I told Doug to stop at any place that looked appetizing and by the time both our stomachs began grumbling, we hit Taqueria Hernandez. We locked our bikes outside and entered into the long-forgotten world of yummy tacos. For my re-introduction I decided to keep it simple. I ordered one chicken and one steak taco and marveled at the simplicity of the sp...

Topolobampo 445 North Clark Street Chicago, IL Mexican Fine-Dining. The Obama's favorite Chi-town restaurant. TopChef Master. The number of words and phrases that spring to mind when I think of Topolobampo are endless. My mouth is still watering just thinking about the experience. Wednesday. 9pm. Julia, Ben, Maddy. Heaven. What is interesting about Topolobampo is it is connected to Frontera Grill, Rick Bayless' other Chicago restaurant that gets just as much hype at Topolo (that's what locals call it). Although the menu at Frontera look equally as appetizing, the cozy room of Topolo made the experience one of grandeur and comfort. The decor and service were great (Whitney was a fantastic waitress and so accommodating to my gluten-free lifestyle), but let's cut to the most important part: the food. We decided to go with the Celebration Tasting Menu along with some a la carte options to make sure we had a well rounded experience. And don't you just love a resta...

Topolobampo ! I have heard great things about Rick Bayless ' Fine Dining Mexican Restaurant and have been pining to go since I started calling Chicago my 2 nd home. When my sister visited in October, we attempted to walk in and dine, but there was a 3 hour wait. Yes, 3 hours! It must be good. Now, it's February, and the Mexican dining Gods are working in my favor and I am going to Topolobampo on Wednesday. Stay tuned for a review! Here's what Zagat says: Surveyors swear you get the “best high-end Mexican food in Chicago” (or perhaps “anywhere”), “crafted from the freshest ingredients”, at “creative” “celebrity chef” Rick Bayless ’ “must-go” River North “treasure”, the “upscale sister to Frontera Grill” (“with prices to match”); its “cheerful” servers are “extremely knowledgeable”, and the “fantastic wine pairings” and “awesome” margaritas are “standouts” as well; just know that the “intimate”, art-filled “white-tablecloth” setting is “always crowded”, so “make your r...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/dining/reviews/06unde.html?ref=dining The New York Time's review on Dos Toros Taqueria in NYC. The brothers who opened the shop are big fan of Gordo Taqueria in San Francisco -- one of my favorite taco experiences thus far. Glad the Bay area is coming to the East coast and I look forward to trying my own Dos Toros taco!