The Great Tacos of Bushwick, Ranked

It’s been two decades since Bushwick distinguished itself as a taco destination: before that, it was an important locale for tortillerias, of which Los Hermanos, founded in 2006, is one of the few remaining. Now, by my unofficial count, there are around 50 places in Bushwick slinging tacos — in the backs of bodegas, in full-blown restaurants, from trucks or vans, and in shiny new taquerias.

It’s been six years since I did a taco crawl in the neighborhood so I decided to undertake another one. I favored fast locations, and bought two tacos in each place: one either al pastor or carnitas, and a second wild card taco, playing to the strengths of the establishment.

I came to the conclusion that Bushwick tacos are the city’s best. Here are my observations in the order visited, followed by the five I liked best.

THE DESTINATIONS

Day One

My Taco

My taco crawl started with a bang at this cart right outside the Myrtle/Wyckoff station on the L and M trains. The red al pastor was flavored with slivers of pineapple; the carnitas consisted of plump tender chunks. The white corn tortillas ended up glove-like in softness, and a thick guac was liberally applied, $4 each. Corner of Wyckoff and Gates avenues

Taqueria Acatlán

The name refers to a town in Puebla, Acatlán de Osorio, and the restaurant is all kitchen with a narrow front porch. From the long list of tacos, I picked carnitas and poblano peppers with eggs. The carnitas was cut in fatty cubes, the vegetarian taco was a botanical tour de force, and the range of salsas was amazing, $5 each. 298 Irving Avenue, corner of Myrtle Avenue

Cholula Deli

Next door to this bodega under the M tracks has evolved into a restaurant, but the taco counter remains in the grocery, with tables in the back. Carnitas and pernil were the choices, the latter a little duller than the former, which was a little dry. Homemade salsa verde especially thick and tasty, $4.50 each. 1481 Myrtle Avenue, near Menahan Street

Taqueria Santa Fe

Named after a district of Mexico City, this mini chain serves tacos on double small corn tortillas with free guac. The carnitas were great with plenty of pineapple, but the barbacoa was disappointingly like beef birria, but nice spicy salsas, green preferred, $4.67 each. 214 Stanhope Street, near Knickerbocker Avenue

Santa Ana Deli

This sentimental favorite, around nearly four decades, may be the oldest bodega taqueria in Bushwick. The carnitas taco ($4) is made with pork belly, and better than average, while the Arabe taco ($5) is transcendent, marinated pork strips with sauteed onions and guacamole in a flour tortilla. 171 Irving Avenue, at Stockholm Street

Day Two

Taqueria Cocoyoc

Founded in 2001 and named after a city in north-central Morelos, Cocoyoc is among Bushwick’s taqueria gentry. Of the two tacos, the carnitas ($3.75) was great, finished on the flat top to add a nice sear, but the unusual enchilado barbacoa ($5) was spectacular, swimming in chile sauce. 211 Wyckoff Avenue, near Harman Street

Taqueria Al Pastor

When this gleaming place opened, cynics noted the similarity to Los Tacos No. 1, but in the intervening years the place has grown into its own. Corn tortillas are hand patted when your order is placed, but the namesake al pastor taco ($4.50) takes second place to the chicken gringa ($6), the flour tortillas stuck together with cheese. 128 Wyckoff Avenue, at Stanhope Street

La Abuelita

La Abuelita (“the little grandmother”) presents as a bodega, but deep inside tucks a darling three-table dining area, with a counter where a woman wields a wooden quesadilla press. The carnitas were amazing, dotted with bits of chewy pigskin, but the chicken tinga was boring, $3 each. 123 Wyckoff Avenue, near DeKalb Avenue

Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos

This lovable place made a friend of mine from LA marvel that he’d never seen a combination tortilla factory and taqueria before. The al pastor can be had as smaller-size taquitos (3 for $11), which are tasty, overstuffed, and fun to eat. The regular $4 tacos come with lettuce, tomato, and crema, which is an asset with the chewy cecina. 271 Starr Street, just north of Wyckoff Avenue

Derek Truck

No it’s not named after the legendary Allman Bros. guitarist! This spotless red van perpetually promised two dozen kinds of tacos, including pork ear and beef paunch but the list had been reduced to three, the taco guy apologetically admitted. Accordingly, I ordered al pastor and carnitas, both of which came with bonus guac and radishes, $4 each. The red hot sauce is killer. 29 Wyckoff Avenue, at Starr Street

Nenes Taqueria (aka Taco Chingones)

A couple of years ago, this place was called Eric’s Mini Market, and Nene’s was a small counter on one side. Now it’s a hopping place, with red-stenciled signs and a rollicking crew. Both the al pastor and the chorizo tacos ($3.90 each) are top notch. The tortillas are the coarse, yellow cornmeal kind, made on the spot, very LA. 660 Degraw Street, near Central Avenue

MY FIVE FAVORITE TACOS

1. Chorizo taco at Nenes Taqueria: Made with pungent, spicy, oily, crumbly chorizo and a superlative tortilla, with guacamole as fresh as you might make yourself.
2. Carnitas taco at My Taco: The carnitas taste like they just came out of the cauldron, and they are obviously made with love.
3. Goat barbacoa enchilado taco at Taqueria Cocoyoc: The goat was flavorful enough already, but when sluiced with red chile sauce it made me want to run shouting down the street.
4. Taco Arabe at Santa Ana Deli: This historic taco still echoes its Middle Eastern origins with its flour tortilla, spice-slicked pork, and guacamole.
5. Carnitas taco at La Abuelita: A delightfully fatty, squishy, and fresh-tasting carnitas.

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