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14th St-8th Ave (A, C, E, L)
14th St-7th Aves (1, 2, 3, F, V, L)
14th Street (PATH)
This thing is the path of my typical apartment sortie, and it's pretty good. You'll see a ton of central american spanish guys who just got off work, undoubtedly from a foodservice job in the area, and by the looks of it, they seem satisfied. I know, I know, how proletarian for the pages of yelp, but hey, this is peasant food not Confit de Canard, right?
My favorites here are the Gordita, the Cemita and the Tostada. The cemita is the most expensive item at $5.
Be warned, if you are not a spicy food eater, this food will send you to the shitter, no doubt. I like spicy food, and find myself dousing these little gorditas in all the green sauce tubs these guys will throw my way.
Everything from the spanish white cheese to the judicious use of avacados differentiates this from the more yuppified places around the area.
Anyone who gave this god-awful taco truck more than two stars needs to make a trip out to Roosevelt Avenue.
If you're too lazy to venture into Queens then at least go up 10th Avenue a ways to Hell's Kitchen.
And if you're some poseur who "doesn't go above 14th street" you deserve to be stuck eating this crap and we deserve a filter that excludes your reviews.
I don't care if you saw a few low-paid English-challenged Mexican immigrants grabbing a bite to eat here. Were you expecting to run into them in Crispo?
I tried three different meats here. All crap. The taco shells? Garbage. The "hot" sauces? Dishwater.
Granted I didn't try any of the offal. No real "foodie" or "chowhound" has ever had any offal they didn't like. If you don't love whatever offal is thrown in front of you, obviously you know absolutely nothing whatsoever about food.
This taco truck wouldn't last a week in a below average H.S. cafeteria. Not even after mayor-for-life Bloomberg's and lame-duck governor Patterson's monumental budget cuts. Not even after Ronald Reagan's former school lunch czar is appointed Menu Director.
But some Mexicans eat here so the food must be amazing. Because no Mexican has ever put up with bad food out of convenience or because they didn't want to go out of their comfort zone. Only idiot Americans would do that.
All food in Mexico is spectacular and all Mexicans eat like reyes and reinas every day. They come up here and take crap jobs for lousy pay just for kicks.
Yes, Mexicans are choosing El Idolo taco truck because it's far and away the best available choice over the plethora of other dirt cheap options for Mexican food surrounding the corner of 8th Avenue & 14th Street.
El Idolo could almost get me to enter a Subway "sandwich" shop. Subway! If only I knew the stench of that nasty "bread" wouldn't render me unconscious the moment I walked through the door.
Well that, and because I'm not afraid to go out of my comfort zone.
Unless you're talking offal; no stomachs, brains or kidneys for me, thank you very much.
I basically have to stop here whenever I find it. The truck moves frequently but there I see it most often around the West Village.
Luckily it has been parking outside my office right at the time I get out of work so I've had my fill of amazing tacos lately. It is SO good. I love love love their tacos. They add radishes which is cool and have a wide variety of hot sauces. I would also love to try their tamales but they are always sold out (who can blame them at $1.50)
Really, the next time you see this taco truck, stop and share in the experience.
These tacos were pretty decent considering they came from a truck at 2am. I had the carnitas and spicy chicken. Tinga I think??? Anyways they were great when I was drunk. Fast, Filling, Cheap.
BURNED!!!
Literally, I needed to add some flavor to the bland taco's I picked up here. I was obviously heavy-handed with the green sauce because I experienced the worst mouth burning I can remember. I wanted to stick my head in the toilet it was so hot.
BURNED!!!
I felt ripped off. I don't mind paying $10 for 4 tacos if they were good. These weren't. The 2 spicy pork tacos were flavorless, not spicy and rubbery tasting. The grilled beef was little better, but the meat was still tough.
I would normally attribute the poor quality of meat to being there quite late (3:30am) but they seem to cater to a late night crowd, it was busy while I was there. The service was fine, they spoke spanish and english.
This was lackluster drunk food, I can't imagine how bad it would be sober.
I like this place. They're open all night, hook it up fast, and have a nice selection of items, including gorditas, tortas, cemitas, burritos, and of course tacos. To the reviewers below bitching about the "bland tacos"--STFU! It's a TRUCK, not a fine dining experience. Think about what you're typing.
The vegetarian tacos are giant-sized, and the spicy pork taco is far from bland. Who could diss this spot? If you're looking for fast & cheap in Chelsea, look no further.
Raging hangover.. I found myself downtown.. Had to stop by Ottomanelli's to pick up a 14 pound pork roast.
I was l carrying this side of pig up towards Union Square Farmers market when i spot the truck..
I order the intestine taco, tripa... It comes out crunchy and cooked perfectly..
I take a bite and the battle for stomach supremacy begins. In the battle between whiskey and fried intestines, the victory can go either way.0
Spicy crunch tripa wins.. Fatality.
Dont get a burrito here just got a taco and keep moving to the next place
On a whim, I decided to finally try this place, as it's been parked just outside of my fiance's apartment for about as long as I remember. Now, I also decided to try it sober, as it appears that this is the spot to hit up when you're drunk off your ass.
Anyways, as has been said once or twice before, this is about as legitimate a taco as you'll probably get in NY. I was a little peeved by the $2.50 price for 1 taco, til I actually ordered one. Sucker is huge. Sure, I can get tacos for about $1-$1.25 at any of the hundreds of taquerias in my neighborhood back in West LA, but this was easily twice as big as those. Taste-wise? I had the spicy chicken, and yes, it was a wee bit spicy. If I have the time in my last few days here, i'm trying their asada, which I really should have tried first.
Now... to try that Calexico jazz in SoHo. But $4 for ONE taco?
Could I ask you some simple questions?
Do you like your Carne Asade Burrito from a Taco Truck to be shaped like a fat ass wide load rectangle that falls apart in a styrofoam takeout container with the beans and sour cream on the side and not inside it? I don't.
Do you like your soft Chicken Taco & Beef Taco to be double-wrapped and taste like dry Home Depot wall paste? I don't.
Don't you like your burritos, especially from a Taco Truck, to be held tight in wrapped aluminum foil or greasy wrapping paper, shaped like a cot damn nuclear missile with the beans and sour cream inside the mutha-f*ckin joint?
DUH!!!
On the recommendation of a friend I stopped by this shady taco truck. To the disgust of most New Yorkers (I say this as a "snobby" California native), I was hoping for actual Mexican food. So be it, this taco truck is the closest thing I have found to actual Mexican food in NY - not Puerto Rican Mexican, or Cuban Mexican, or Mexican-fusion, but actual Mexican food from Mexico.
Although I have yet to end my search this place gets props for being cheap, fast, and good. I'll eat here in the interim, but I'm still looking.
The BEST FOOD in Manhattan.
The truck has moved to west 3rd St and 6th Ave though. It usually doesn't open until 9pm. This delicious baby serves up the real. The really real.
2.50 for a huge satisfying taco with the filing of your choice. They provide you generously with radish (to smooth out da heat) and limes. The taco has TWO tortillas backin' it up like a true real. Smother that puppy in homemade green salsa, never go home again.
HOME IS EL IDOLO TACO TRUCK
The perfect treat after work, drunk, studyin', walkin', chillin', eatin', breathin' oxygen.
Everything with cheese is cheeseylicious, gooey and stringy like a classic pizza. Each flavor is bright and fresh. The taco truck is god, the taco truck is my mother and my sister.
AH HAHAHAHAHA
PLEASE CAN IT BE TIME TO GO TO THE TACO TRUCK NOW?!?!
I'll admit that I've never actually eaten at this place without being intoxicated. And while everything might taste better if you're drunk, the fact of the matter is that New York City has set a very low bar in terms of good Mexican food.
El Idolo easily passes the bar.
This would barely be memorable in San Diego, but it's as close as I can get to good, cheap, greasy Mexican food here. And while it won't make me want to go out and take Spanish classes, es muy buena.
I guess I went on a good night cause at 1230 1AM ish this place was pretty damn good.... I mean I was drunk but 3 Tacos con pollo for $5 dollars and they were actually pretty damn good. And I found the sauces that sit on the side to be spicy and good. I cant comment on the burrito but usually when I'm at taco truck I follow the old motto eat tacos. Oh and when at a Seafood restaurant dont order the chicken. I have been out to Arizona and I know its not quite west coast mexican but this places tacos are on par with the mexican food I found out there Or at least it was last night maybe this place suffers from inconsitency...
P.S. It probably helps if you order in spanish just a thought..
Tacos El Idolo is real Mexican food. Not Taco Bell mexican food, not El Torito / On The Border Mexican food, not even upscale trendy chef restaurant Mexican food. I'm a San Diego native, so I'm as picky as it gets when it comes to my burritos and tacos; even San Francisco taquerias can't scratch my itch for a good carne asada.
But Tacos El Idolo? They're the real thing. The right ingredients, cooked fresh to order, and at great prices. I'd normally scoff at paying $2.50 for a taco, but it's a taco that contains as much food as most $6 burritos. I asked for avocado on my asada taco, and they just threw a couple of strips of delicious fresh avocado on top without charging me a penny more. There's still nothing quite like real Mexican street food, but this is hands down the only place I've found outside of southern California that even comes close to approximating it.
Ahhh, Mexican food....sigh.....
Pardon my nostalgia for good Mexican food, but I'm afraid it's few and far between in NY. And while I know that NYers get very offended at the idea that NY might not offer everything on the planet, I'm afraid they're just going to have to accept the fact that they do not have the best Mexican food.
That said, El Idolo was quite the find! Deliciously prepared chicken, green salsa, radishes, and lettuce wrapped in soft, scrumptious tortillas. Yummy! I only tried their chicken taco and their carnitas taco, but both were quite good. I found the carnitas to be a little too fatty for my taste (I prefer more meat and less fat), but the seasoning was still right on.
Wanting to give El Idolo a 2nd chance to redeem himself- I went back to see if they had Aguas Frescas in stock.
Guess what, kids? That would be a negative.
I guess my role-playing of being the pill-popping, booze-guzzlin' Paula on American Idol wasn't the best bet...I shall continue to be the wedgie-totin' Simon Cowell of Tacos (wiiiiith some booze-guzzlin' & mayhaps some pill-poppin' to add a lil' drama to the show...ya dig?).
El Idolo...you are NOT an American Idol...and you will NOT be making it to the next round.
Funny, I had been meaning to Yelp about this place, forgot about it & was divinely reminded via the… Read more »
Yeah--typical taco truck you'd find in LA. Only THIS ISN'T LA. And there aren't taco trucks zoomin all over the city parking wherever's convenient. So that's why, here in New York, El Idolo, and all the other taco trucks out there, are worthy of idol status. Plain and simple.
Had a carnitas taco here and it was spot-on. I hail from Southern California and miss the taco action just as much as anyone else. But unless you're destination dining for tacos in LA (see The Great Bandini taco blog) then this is a perfectly good taco. Nice crunchy, fatty pork piled on double corn tortillas, topped with a little chopped onion, cilantro and a few radish slices for good measure.
Light years ahead of any of these pathetic Mexican restaurants in the East Village/LES that just plain suck, because they should stick to the stuff they know--black beans and plaintains. No problem with that...love Caribbean food. But don't slap a big sign out front that says "Mexican Restaurant". But rest assured. El Idolo is not a false idol. You can worship freely, as you please. And I'll take a little hot sauce on that.
I can't tell you how many times I've been here....and hardly ever sober. Seriously, they couldn't have found a better corner to be situated to entice ppl like me stumbling off the runway on 8th ave after a night of hard boozing. While it may not be the "best" taco in the world (there was one visit where I thought the chicken was a tad bit dry), it's what I would consider "reliable" street food. When I expect a convenient, quick, cheap and decent meal, this truck gets a check mark for all four.
two words: STEAK NACHOS!!!!!
i know it's not authentic but it's delicious and possibly a cure for my hangover.
one order is enough for a couple of people unless you're greedy, which i am, so get your own.
Don't you love it when you can get delicious food off a truck? I do.
Not in the mood to make dinner?…
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You can find this Taco truck parked at the NE corner of 14th Street & 8th Avenue most nights after 7pm (they said they serve until 6am!).
I found this place accidentally while driving away empty handed from the 'Choke at 1AM (they were closing early on a weeknight, they sold out of everything). But when I saw the crowd of patrons lined up, I had to park and see what the commotion was about.
From steak, chicken, pork, "goat beef", tripe, and even a scrumptuous veggie taco -- they are all cheap at $2.00 a piece - see my pic for the complete menu http://www.yelp.com/bi...)
Note: They DO NOT have shrimp or fish tacos *bummer*
Almost all the patrons were speaking Spanish to the cooks, so I remembered my traveler Spanish and ordered, "Una carnitas y Dos Veggie tacos, por favor." His response, "You want a pork taco and two veggie tacos, yes? What to drink?" I also got a bottle of grapefruit Jarritos, paid him $8 and patiently waited.
Soon, many people were crowding around the taco truck and placing orders. So much Spanish was being spoken I couldn't make out everything that was said. But when my order came out I took it to the car and shared it with my partner-in-crime.
My first impression when I opened the styrofoam container was the generous size of each taco -- these aren't "two bite taquitos"! They come double wrapped in a soft-corn & flour tortilla (packaged, not homemade on premises). But more outstanding is how they fill these tacos with a generous heap of ingredients in the veggie taco: shredded lettuce, mexican rice, queso fresco (Mexican cheese), sliced tomato and avocado. The construction of the soft taco shell is also commendable: the tacos did not fall apart upon biting into it. The carnitas taco was also delicious -- the pork was flavorful and charred, and the crunchiness of the lettuce and the mildness of the queso fresco made this taco a tasty treat to savour.
Overall, pretty good food (I agree with Rocky P., if it's frequented heavily Mexican clientele, that's got to be a good tip off), incredible value. If it tasted this good while sober, I could only imagine how deliciously satisfying it would be after a night out drinking.
MENU: * * * *(NO FISH OR SHRIMP TACOS)
AMBIENCE: * * (what do you expect, this is street food!)
QUALITY: * * * * (Tasty!)
VALUE: * * * * * (C'mon, $2 tacos! You can't beat that!)
OVERALL: 3.75, ROUNDED UP TO 4-STARS
I tried the Chorizo Tostada and the Veggie Taco - both much better than the beef burrito (which tastes so bleh that I didn't even want to finish it - I would actually let it go to WASTE [which was a big no-no growing up] rather than take up precious room in my stomach!
Chorizo Tostada: while it is harder to eat than your soft taco or even regular hard taco shell, gotta love the crunch factor. The chorizo is mucho yummmm.
Veggie Taco: loaded w/ avocado and refried beans it has me feeling I've OD'd on the mush factor. So while it's WAY better than the beef burrito I had on my first visit, it's not a MUST
MUST GET (in order of priority):
Chorizo Tostada
Carnitas Taco
I was browsing on yelp the other night and came across a "review of the day" and it featured a taco… Read more »
El Idolo is a Mexican food truck parked at the corner of 14th St. and 8th Ave. that serves some of the BEST Mexican food in the city. It's only there after 9pm, and I still haven't figured out it's schedule since it's not there every night, but lately it's been there a lot.
How do I know it's good Mexican food? Actually, I don't. Having grown up on the east coast, I wouldn't know good Mexican from a Gordito. But the nearly all Mexican clientele is kind of a tip-off, as was the all Spanish menu plastered on the side of the truck.
When I spotted this for the first time, I thought, it can't be that bad. So I sauntered up to the truck, conjured up the remnants of my high school Spanish and said, "Yo deseo uno taco con chorizo!" thinking I was all down and shit ordering my sausage taco.
The worker looked at me and replied, "You want just one?"
Me: "Uh, why don't you make it two."
Damn good! The price for a taco, $2, is comparable to most places in the city but this place gives you much more bang for the buck- more meat, double layer soft flour shell, fresh toppings other than lettuce (radishes and limes). Ees goood.
Since then, they have added a second menu in English. I'm guessing they got tired of dorks like me.
I ordered a chicken taco and it was disappointing. The chicken taco came with lettuce, radish, lime, and a cup of green chili sauce. The sauce was too spicy for me, so I did not put it in my taco. Therefore, since I had no sauce action in my taco it was very bland. Also, there was a bone in my chicken. A friend of mine ordered the chicken burrito and it was huge. I think he enjoyed it, but he complained his burrito did not have beans. How can a burrito not have beans?
The best thing about this taco truck is the price, because it sure isn't the food.
Was let down. The chicken tacos I had were on the bland side. My expecations were high though, cuz it had all the right things going for it.. open late night, taco served in a truck, hispanic patrons lined up, cheap prices, and the range of meat.
Great Burrito still serves the best tacos I know in the city so far.
i'm going to be a little harsh on this idolized truck of taco manufacturing because as much as i associate kick-ass tacos to la, sf, socal, or texas, i gave this emulative establishment a chance.
yes, they speak spanish and are as hard working as any other mexi-owned truck in so-cal. yes, the menu is in spanish and english for the authenicos and gringos alike.yes, they are efficient in pumping out the orders quickly and will not joke around behind the grill as they do in some taco trucks that i've visited in my heyday. and i'll admit its a little overpriced for taco-truck standards, but hey we live in nyc!
as my roots to the mexi-forefathers goes, i always order the pastor and judge from there. the pastor was a fatty, ill-marinated, burnt, and just plain in all factors of the word. the ingredients were piled low and the only thing going for it was the crema fresca that accompanied it. i don't know if catering to blandness is part of the tri-state standard of mexican food, but DAMN i can cook something better than this with ingredients from the foodbank!
oh and i lied about judging a mexi-truck to the pastor only! i do consider how awesome a salsa is with the correlation of how awesome the food is going to be. when i can sip the salsa roja by itself and not feel a single bit of heat, and can conclude that the salsa was made with pepper flakes and not fresh peppers, i call it a charlatan!
so i suggest that if you can hit up the foodbank for some donated meats and tortillas, you will be able to make a better meal than this great fraudulent so-cal mexi-taco on wheels establishment.
The notion that there is no good Mexican food in New York is a kind of Mantra for many west coast transplants. El Idolo, a taco truck that parks at the corner of 6th Avenue and Washington Place challenges this very idea. For the faint of heart, pig ear, beef tongue and tripe served from a diesel operated vehicle will represent serious challenges, but for those in the know a few tacos and tortas garnished with shredded cabbage, pico de gallo, and tumbling fistfuls of radishes and limes make a perfect meal when paired with a sugary aqua fresca. Stop by in the evenings before you get on the subway, or leave $5 at the window and supplement a pricier, and much lighter, meal.
It was a cold night last night. I had to walk from the free drinks i was having at comix all the way to PDT to meet my cousin for more free drinks. I clearly needed a quick something to gird myself for the walk. What is this I see? a taco truck!!! hooray. I ordered one taco, not the regular taco the one that costs 50¢ more, with the cilantro sauce. I'll be damned if I can remember what it is called. I told them i wanted them to throw on whatever salsa was mas picante. They did. A squirt of lime, and down 14th street i walked, with a perfect, spicy, warm, fresh bit of edible hooray. How good was it? It was so good that i want to live closer to W 14th street. It was so good that as i finished up and turned south on 7th avenue, i contemplated where I could find me some internet so i could yelp about it right then and there. It was so good i was sad that i am rarely in that 'hood, because i need to explore more of their menu. I thought no one could ever fill the hole in my heart that appeared when Paty's taco truck disappeared from the upper east side - and these guys did more than that - that might have been the best single taco i can remember. (hence the 5th star - but that is based on only one item)
people who stick to the old canard that there is no good mexican food in new york, have not been paying attention to the changes over the last 5 years. people who stick to the old canard that there is no good mexican food in new york, have not been to Taco El Idolo.
A burrito is not defined by beans. Nowhere is it written that a burrito is not a burrito without stinking beans.
Ah - the novice mexican food eaters...
Fantastic tacos, though sometimes they put the delicious radish slices ( nice generous portion) and sometimes no radishes at all. Also ---- good to know: you can get a side of rice & beans for a dollar, though it's not on the menu posted on the side of the truck.
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