FindingdeliciousLatin food can be difficult, especially in a place as big as New York City.
So two of my HuffPost co-workers and I selflessly volunteered to food-crawl through New York City on a noble search for authentic tacos, Mexican street corn and as many versions of fried cheese as possible. We hit up three spots and rated each restaurant based on authenticity, decor, tastiness of food offerings and the overall experience.
Dorado Tacos is a tiny little taco haven in New York City's Greenwich Village. This place is definitely aesthetically pleasing with its vibrant papel picado decor on the ceiling, and then next to the checkout line is a fridge full of colorful Jarritos sodas and Mexican Coca-Colas.
Advertisement
We ordered three tacos (grilled steak, grilled fish and a veggie taco) with a side of elote (Mexican street corn) to split.
After the tacos arrived, we dashed to nearby Washington Square Park to unwrap and devour them on a park bench.
Even Martha Stewart had more photogenic tacos, but it's all about what's on the inside, right? For these yummy tacos, the salsa was the best part. Dorado packs on the flavor with a specific blend for each taco, from the classic salsa fresca to pineapple salsa.
Advertisement
The strips of zucchini and red pepper inside the veggie taco were deliciously charred, and the grilled fish and steak tacos were both excellent, too. Our key takeaway: Grilling every ingredient is the only way to go when whipping up a yummy taco!
Next up, we tore into our elote. The grilled corn smothered in lime juice, mayo and chili powder is exactly as perfect as you'd imagine. We sacrificed our lipstick and dignity as we viciously devoured the delectable corn kernels off the cob.
In response to our Snapchat picture, one user told us elote is even better with a little more chili powder, some cheese and cherry Jarritos. Because we neglected to properly indulge, a few points were docked from Dorado's score.
Since we're selfish and wanted to eat all the food slash celebrate all the people, we expanded our crawl to include a stop at Favela Cubana which specializes in Brazilian and Cuban food.
Advertisement
We ordered pão de queijo and ropa vieja for the table.
Thank goodness we decided to include Brazilian food because HOLY PÃO DE QUEIJO. The cheesy, carb-y goodness was soft and fluffy inside. It was like a classy, refined version of cheesy breadsticks.
Ropa vieja, which is Spanish for "old clothes," is a Cuban beef and vegetable stew named after its resemblance to torn rags. As the food crawl's only vegetarian, I can't comment on the beef, but I can confirm it didn't smell anything like old clothes.
If I have any food-crawl regrets, it's that I ate way too much of the very bland white rice and black beans at this stop.
The takeout half of this Venezuelan bar was closed, so we took a seat in the colorful dine in section. We ordered one coconut smoothie (called cocada) to split, a basket of tequeños (basically, more fried cheese) and two arepas or sandwiches with grilled and baked corn flour buns.
Advertisement
Cocada, or cinnamon-dusted coconut smoothie, was the perfect precursor to the best meal of the crawl.
The tequeños, aka pastry crust wrapped around salty queso blanco were melty deliciousness, and I'm glad they were the second form of carbs-and-cheese we consumed because they definitely won the prize over Favela Cubana's pão de queijo.
Our final dish was the heaviest (another food crawl regret). The three of us split two stuffed arepas. It took all our willpower to get through most of these, even though they were filled with tender shredded beef and fried plantains. YUM!
Advertisement
Rating: 8/10
Watch our entire adventure below, then add "HuffPost" on Snapchat to follow along on our future food crawl endeavors!
Also on HuffPost:
20 Must-Try Street Foods Around the World
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.