#41 – TACO DE HUEVO, NOPAL, POBLANO, Y PAPA at TACOMBI

Once again Time Out New York released their Top 100 Dishes of the year and once again, I’m going to eat my way through every one. And no price point or subway delay will stop me. In no particular order, here’s my take on their Top 100.

Huevo, Nopal, Poblano, and Papa. Those are a lot of big foreign words for one list item. Good thing I have enough high school and restaurant Spanish to help guide me because the menu item at Tacombi reads simply: Cactus Taco.

And while I was able to figure out that the rest of the taco contained eggs (huevo), cactus (nopal), peppers (poblano), and potatoes (papa), I had a more difficult time figuring out exactly how the service works at Tacombi. There were two separate lines for food – one out of a window in the back and the other from a stationary food truck. The menus weren’t much different. I suppose the truck offered tamales and meat tacos while the window served breakfast and fish tacos. So we split up and stood in line to try a little of both.

When I ordered my cactus taco the guy asked me for chips. I wasn’t interested in nachos so I was very confused. Turns out you have to buy poker chips in advance and then wait in line and order. Very confusing and rather pointless (except to create an illusion that you’re at a beach side food stand). So I had to get out of line, wait in line to pay, and then get back in the food line to wait for my food. Fortunately the guy started making my tacos while I went through the whole ordeal but I’d think a simply (and even stylized) sign could alleviate this problem.

The entire experience occurred in an ultra-hip and trendy warehouse-like building called Fonda Nolita. It felt like a big open food patio with relaxing tables and chairs. If it weren’t for the roof, I’d have guessed we were standing outside on some fashionable beach in Mexico. I imagine that’s the ambiance that celebrity chef Aarón Sánchez is hoping to create. But it’s all a bit confusing for the uninitiated and the food is not as good as I’d expect street tacos to be in the Playa del Carmen (the Mexican beach which is the home to the original Tacombi taqueria).

My overall complaint was that the tacos (all priced at a hefty $4) were rather bland. The breakfast taco had nice textures – crunchy cactus, soft potatoes, and firm fried eggs – but it was lacking much in the flavor department. It was garnished with a green tomatillo sauce that I expected to pack some heat, but let me down with just a bit of tanginess. It also desperately needed some salt and I noticed salt shakers on all the tables. Could this have been a DIY sort of thing (maybe another nod to Mexican beach food?) and if so, where were the bottles of hot sauce?

I had the same issues with both the tamale (which was pretty small and needed some more shredded chicken) and the fish tacos. Considering most of our food was from the back window, I wonder if the food is better at the truck. If I do return here, I’ll have to try more of the meat tacos and ignore the back window. But really the only reason I would come back is to introduce the really cool space to friends or show off my limited Spanish. Muchas gracias!

Would Tacombi’s Taco de Huevo, Nopal, Poblano, y Papa make my Top 100 of the year? The food was missing big flavor so it gets a 5 out of 10 but I do admit the space is a fun place to hang out. As long as you can figure out the proper way to do it.