Post Haste

Just a couple of notes from my El Rey Del Sabor visit yesterday. In the frenzy and excitement that I wrote the post, I missed a few key points I wanted to make.

• Out of the 4 tacos I had, chorizo, pollo, carnitas & al pastor, the chorizo is the one that stood out the most. I might have to pass on hot sauces next time in order to fully taste all the meats. The chorizo was the only one whose flavor stood out over the sauce.
• The tacos would be better with some acidity. My coworker and I both agreed that a nice wedge of lime would have gone a long way.
• After having another tamale for a snack today, I don't think it can be beat value wise. For $1.50 you get a very good tamale. I haven't yet, but I'm sure you can ask for a side of mole which would make it perfect.

El Rey Del Sabor

For me, the El Rey Del Sabor Truck has been elusive. A friend had discovered the truck during Thanksgiving day visit to Manhattan. Filled with stories about these great tacos he randomly had during turkey day around the midtown Bloomingdale's, I searched high and low for this cart that I had never seen. I would walk around the exterior of the mega clothing store searching for a taco truck. It was a weekend. No cart. I would make a detour post-run around Central Park. Too late in the day. No cart. I would go try to visit pre-run. Still too late. No cart.

I was starting to think that the truck didn't exist. Until my friend moved to the city and his apartment happened to be a block away. Then he did his research. It pretty much catered only to the lunch crowd closing at 4:30 and open only on weekdays. I was about to give up all hope in every trying the tacos there until I overheard that there were other locations.

On a whim, I checked the trustworthy Midtown Lunch
and found that they had just opened up in my work neighborhood (43rd & 6th). Not only that, but there was a fight the day before! I had decided on a lunch place for the day.

First off, I have to say that the guys in the truck were awesome. They had had a slow start to the day after having slept in the truck overnight because of the ruckus from the day before. Plus, their groceries for the day didn't arrive until 10:30 as lines started form. They seemed to be tired but making the best of it and having a blast.


Tacos (left to right): chorizo, pollo, carnitas, al pastor.

The taco filling had some pretty good flavor. The pork and chicken from the Red Hook taco truck was better, but the beef wins here. The green and red sauce were nice and gave the tacos a nice medium kick. The traditional double corn tortillas are also nicely grilled. At $2.50 a taco, a lunch consisting of just tacos can get pretty expensive. But as a quick bite, I would take these over a hotdog any day.


Chicken Tamales

These tamales were a delight. I've been jonesing for some tamales for a week or so. So when I saw these on the menu, I had to have one. They did not disappoint. The masa was light and had some very nice flavors. The chicken filling was moist and had a nice kick. I actually had it after my tacos and immediately wished I had gotten another. At $1.50 it was definitely worth it. The only thing that the tamale could have used was some mole. Next time I might have to get my tamale with some enchiladas which come with mole.