Fast and Fresh at 84 Hoyt St. gets toooooooons of praise around town – real ass kissing occurs. I was excited to go there. It’s a side-street, hole-in-the-wall deli where local Mexicans chow down and it’s acclaimed by Californians. Californians always know what’s up! (debatable) When we arrived, we ordered up chicken, salted beef, carnitas and, last but not least, goat tacos!  (goat is pictured above)

I’ll firstly comment on “Fast”. We waited about 15 minutes for 4 tacos and beans. Strike Uno! This is a deli with no one in it, not a restaurant. And believe me – the meats aren’t cooked to order. 15 minutes in a deli is the same as 4 hours in a restaurant.

The goat was a bit goaty as one might expect but it wasn’t bad. I think it’s preparation is where it failed. Dry, bland, chewy. Nothing tastes good like that.

The chicken (above) was actually the best one out of the bunch. It was grilled, a little crispy, and had a good sauce but was a bit…party? Meaning it included some parts that were not meat. It was also quite large.

Look at that pork! The carnitas looks delicious but for some reason was boring. It was also dry and chewy like it was cooked twice or maybe thrice. It was oily (in a bad way) and a bit dirty tasting (in a bad way).

Similar to the pork, the beef was dry, chewy and dirty. At this point, the tacos just aren’t appetizing so we failed to finish them. Overall, I found it neither Fast nor Fresh. The tacos did not embody any feeling of freshness. I felt kind of dirty afterwords. With the taste test over, we moved on to some beans!

I’ve been going to Los Pollitos II in Park Slope for many years now. Not because it’s great but because there isn’t any real competition close by (Mezcals is slop, in my opinion). Well, it was time to try their tacos as it’s been a while since I had them. I ordered 1 shrimp ($3), 1 pork ($2.25), and 1 chicken ($2.25)

The shrimp was taco was decent – it’s hard to fuck up shrimp. There was no discernible sauce on the shrimp so it was a little boring. And way too much lettuce (as pictured).

The pork taco was bland and was piled with lettuce – I rather call this one a salad taco. And lastly, the chicken taco; well, we don’t even have to talk about it. Sadly, I have to give these taco a rating of 2. With a few minor adjustments, they have a real chance of being good. But for now, I wouldn’t get them again. Los Pollitos’ specialties are enchiladas and burritos – go there for that. Not the tacos.

They have three kinds of tacos for $3 each – fish, chorizo and tofu. An extra buck gets you a deluxe version, which as far as I could tell only means that it has guacamole on top. Seemed kind of pricey to me, but it really is quite a trek out there so I couldn’t begrudge them too much. I guess I got used to eating the lunchtime half-priced tacos at Papacito’s during my unemployment and my sense of pricing has become skewed. So I ordered a couple deluxe fish tacos and a special elote (an ear of corn with mayonnaise, lime, cheese and pepper).

The tacos that were delivered by the cute surfer-girl-waitress looked pretty disappointing. The fish was battered and fried, held in one dry tortilla, covered in guacamole and lettuce with a few radishes as garnish. No sauce. Though, we were brought both homemade red and green salsas that vastly improved the tacos. Otherwise, they were pretty tasteless. The corn was also mediocre; boiled or steamed, not grilled, and kind of tough. The guacamole was delicious though; just the right amount of chunky versus creamy and super fresh. I immediately regretted not ordering just a side of guacamole, which they serve with tortilla or plantain chips. Yum.

My friend and I finished our tacos and were still hungry, but didn’t want to spend more cash so we walked back to the S train at 98th Street to make the long journey back to Northern Brooklyn. It’s not worth a trip and I am not sure if I will make it back there this summer, but if I end up nearby and hungry I will definitely be stopping by to eat more of that guacamole and maybe try one of their fruit drinks or quesadillas. They are off my taco list though.

I am secretly a beach bum Californian at heart trapped in the body and life of a New Yorker. Fish tacos and the beach are probably my two most beloved things. When I go out to LA my first stop is always a taco truck (where even the iceberg lettuce tastes fresh and delicious) followed by a trip to to the beach. So while I am trapped in New York during the summer, I often make the long trek out to Jacob Riis Beach and obsessively search for a decent approximation of my beloved fish taco. So far my favorite has been Papacito’s in Greenpoint. They are big and greasy but also delicious, fresh and cheap!

http://rockawaytaco.com/

We finally got to try out Calexico Carne Asada in Red Hook. It’s kinda off the beaten path so we rode our bikes over there. Our tacos came very fast and very fresh (unlike our experience at Fast and Fresh).  We ordered carne asada $4, chicken $3(above), and pulled pork $3 tacos.

All tacos seem to be served with a bed of raw cabbage in them, which adds texture but not flavor. The chicken was grilled, tender, and juicy – all wonderful things. Not overly interesting but fresh and delicious.

Next up was carne asada, which better be good since it’s 2/3 of the restaurant’s name! Well, the steak was pretty good but a little over cooked. I have to say, I enjoyed OAXACA’s steak taco a bit more.

The pulled pork had great texture, but could use some more TLC in the seasoning department. When I think of Mexicans and pork, I think of sabor! It was also a bit drippy which I never understand.

Did I have a few complaints? Yes. However, was it still damn good? Yes. Am I annoyed it’s in the middle of nowhere? You bet. Am I giving it 4 sombreros? Si.

We stumbled across the street fair on Smith Street last week so I decided to try a taco at El Pitayo . We’ve eaten there before with little success (I can’t remember what I ate) but $3 is worth trying something twice. First off, this thing is huge! The tortilla is almost the size of the plate. It was the end of the day so maybe they were trying to get rid of food; I don’t know. For $3, it’s a pretty frugal purchase. The tortilla is flour (as expected at a Tex-Mex place) but I liked it. The chicken was not hot – blame that on the street-based kitchen. It was also wet and dripping, which I always find obnoxious in tacos or burritos. It was also stewed which can usually yield a pretty flavorful chicken, yet flavorful this was not. The salt was there but other basic seasonings were lacking. Overall, I wouldn’t eat it again but I appreciate the value so I’m giving it 2 sombreros

After a long night of drinking with our friend America, Marisa and I decided to remedy ourselves with tacos from the previously mentioned Oaxaca at 251 Smith St. Oaxaca had its soft opening last Saturday and is having its grand-opening at the end of this week.  The owner, Moe, is a Cobble Hill original and grew up right on Baltic St. He’s been working in the food service industry since he was 13 years old and now he’s opened this great taco joint at the ripe old age of 21!

251 Smith Street

Moe (owner)

I ordered the 3 tacos with rice a beans for $9.95 ($1 more for each fish taco, so mine was actually $11.95). My selections were pascado (chilled fish), especiale (shrimp), and carne asada. Each taco is topped with cilantro, onions, tomatoes, green sauce, pickled red onions (yes!), and queso fresco.

First thing I dive into is the shrimp taco. The shrimp is cooked perfectly. The sauce (some kind of garlicy chipotle sauce) is amazing, a little spicy and it’s topped with all the good stuff. I never expect too much from Shrimp tacos but this one was awesome – I could probably eat 3 or 4 of these guys.

Next up we have the carne asada taco which was grilled and cut up just moments before. It appears to be hanger steak; which Marisa cooks all the time at home because it’s cheap and has enough fat to make it quite tasty.  Well, this taco was quite tasty indeed. It also seems to be a popular favorite there and this was Marisa’s vote for the best one. I was torn between it and the shrimp.

Here is the chilled mahi-mahi taco. Fish tacos I’ve eaten in the past are grilled or fried so this was something new for me. Surprisingly, it was slightly refreshing eating the chilled fish. Coupled with the fresh toppings, this was a decent taco but the texture of the chilled fish might not be for some people. I also think there could have been an accompanying sauce for the fish (if there was, I couldn’t detect it). Overall, I enjoyed it but I can’t stop thinking about the steak and shrimp tacos!

Conclusion: We’re pretty excited about this place and we’ll definitely be back. If they go for extended night hours, I think they can cash in on some nightcap tacos. My only minor complaint was that the tortillas (which were put in an oven) weren’t warm for some reason and a little hard/dry. Other than that, this is exactly the type of place we’ve been waiting for near our ‘hood. Best of luck Moe – see you soon!

4/5 Sombreros

More photos…

Menu

Delicious steak being cut!

Chicken

Carnitas