Tribeca Taco Takedown Part 2

Hello again and welcome to our continuation of the Tribeca Taco Takedown coverage. This evening I will be presenting to you, my esteemed readers, the competition portion of today's programing, accompanied with various pictures for your viewing pleasure. Our journey begins with an overwhelming encounter that quite frankly, left me speechless.

Pork Tacos w/ Tomatillo Sauce (Chipotle)

First off we have Chipotle Tacos. Remember when I said this experience left me speechless? Well I meant that literally. Now I consider myself to be able to handle spicy foods with grace, and while these tacos did have a nice tomatillo sauce flavor, it was so incredibly spicy I couldn’t taste much for almost a full 15 minutes after. I think Chipotle is great for when you’re out and about and want a quick bite, but when in NY, there are so many better taco joints to choose from that I would have to go elsewhere.

Tuna Ceviche Taco (Dos Caminos)

The next taco sampled was more of an aperitif than an actual taco. But don't let that fool you, the folks at Dos Caminos were very clever in their choice of taco to compete with. They presented with a Tuna Ceviche taco that was utterly sublime. These little hor dourves sized treats were an explosion of sweet and delicate Asian flavors with a buttery soft tuna that just melted in my mouth. I plan on making a trip to this place soon to see what other delicacies they have to offer

These little bite size morsels were followed up by a duo of tacos from Nixtamal. They were serving up tacos with authentic and fresh flavors. I thoroughly enjoyed both their shrimp and carnitas tacos. A lemony corn pico de gallo topped them off and complimented both pork and shrimp beautifully.

Pork Tacos (Dos Toros Taqueria WINNER)

Next up we have Dos Toros Taquerira, the winners of the Tribeca Taco Takedown, and rightfully so. These tacos were out of this world. The pork tasted, no lie, like my father’s cooking. It just fell apart and had so much flavor you didn’t know which way was up or down. I had the sour cream topped one (my mouth couldn’t take any more spice at that point) with guacamole and some unholy sauce that I went back for seconds, thirds and fourths. I plan on putting a day’s worth of meals aside to visit this place, because if that taco made me want to cry, I can only imagine what the rest of their menu will make me want to do.

I followed up Dos Toros with Rockaway Taco and a magnificently made fired fish taco that you can read about in yesterdays post.

To cap off the afternoon, I visited the table for The Harrison/The Red Cat for a devilishly good treat. Technically a crepe, this restaurant provided the one part of the meal that no one should ever have to live without. DESSERT! A spiced banana “taco” this dessert was a light and satisfying end to the afternoon. The pastry chef works at both The Harrison and at The Red Cat and I am certainly planning a trip to both to investigate what other desserts I can get my hands on.

Dos Toros Taqueria Leo and Oliver Kremer

Dos Toros Taqueria earned a well deserved win that the crowd seemed to agree with and in the end, this was an awesome experience that I thoroughly plan on repeating next year and every year after that.

Till next time,

Love, Peace & Bacon


P.S. - You can view these pictures and all the others from that day at http://www.facebook.com/carolinep86