After getting some pie, Donny and I went to check out the relatively new bar Mission Dolores. We had the same problems with it that many others do: it was way too crowded and WAY too loud. After our friends Matt and Phaedra joined us for a drink, we moved next door to the beautiful and quiet Rock Shop, where we could actually relax. After a while we got hungry, so a couple of us ran across the street to Oaxaca Taqueria to get some takeout.

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This past weekend marked the first appearance of the Red Hook Ballfield Vendors this year. All of the vendors were out, and though the crowds weren’t too bad there was a strong hipster/foodie presence. One of the best things I had was called rellenitos, simply translated as “little stuffed things” — in this case plantains stuffed with black beans. I had them last year when I went with my Dad, but this time they offered to sprinkle some granulated sugar on top of it. It didn’t really add much, because the plantain was already slightly sweet and contrasted nicely with the slightly salty beans. Not quite as good was the mango with chili, lime and salt; mostly because the mango was not nearly ripe enough. Still, the weather was just about perfect, and it felt great to reconnect with this quintessentially Brooklyn experience.

Is it possible to live in a city for over 20years and practically know nothing about it? How was it possible for me to only recently found out about all these street tacos wonderness in my own backyard (even if the backyard is about an hour drive away)? I guess I know why. I didn’t REALLY get into everything food until I moved to NYC and started this blog. I didn’t REALLY appreciate awesome authentic tacos until I became obsessed with the trucks at Red Hook. And I didn’t REALLY get into the street food scene until this whole street food wave that took over 2009. But then still I wasn’t able to grasp just how many street taco vendors are in Highland Park, Eagle Rock, Boyle Heights and etc… Not until I came upon Dylan Ho’s post about street tacos in LA. And after watching Dan Delaney taco crawling with Dylan, I wanted to go street taco crawling as well and actually pondered about asking Dylan as my tour guide. But decided not to, seem so out of the blue and he probably either ignore my email or say no. Then I thought about, hey I can just write down the locations of all the taco stands he blogged about and have my own little taco tour! And two things really set this tour into stone were Jonathan Gold, from LA Weekly, writing about Antojitos Carmen and Breed Street Scene in Boyle Heights and included their Twitter accounts. The second thing was my friend Sandy wanted to have a street taco tour as well and actually lives near to most of the vendors.

I’ve done many food tours before small and big so I wasn’t expecting any different from this taco tour. It was like okay, let’s go get some tacos. I wasn’t prepare massive this whole thing was and I still don’t. I thought the 2 nights that I went pretty much covered most of the vendors but then on Yelp and a closer look at Dylan’s blog, proved that there were many many more.

Anyways let’s start this frakkin epic journey and I do mean E P I C.

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What is the one important thing that you need to have to keep you going in your job? Dominic, owner of Don Chow Tacos, said fun. You definitely need to love and be having fun at your job. Especially when you’re running on a 2 hour sleep. I was surprised to find out from Dominic that he and Lawrence, the other half of Don Chow Tacos, still have their day time job. Dominic works in the IT department while Lawrence runs the family business. It’s also why they only do 3 nights a week from 10pm to 2am. With that kind of schedule you REALLY need to love what you do. I bow down to these guys. It’s what I call ultimate foodie passion. “I just love to eat” said Dominic. And I thank you and Lawrence for that because I can’t get that bbq pork taco out of my head!! Ugh! Want one now.
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Habana Outpost in Fort Greene is the kind of place that seems to bring together groups of people that wouldn’t normally be frequenting the same places. On a recent weekday evening we shared the outdoor seating with young couples, hipsters, and families with their young children. I think there’s something about the eco-friendly/sustainability ethic combined with the festive atmosphere that draws lots of different people. Or maybe it’s just the excellent frozen mojitos.

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On one normal March Sunday, Steph and I walked down Court St. After missing the Ikea shuttle and the B61 we decided to just snack around in Boerum Hill and Carroll Gardens. After snacking our way down Court St. we walked over to Smith St. We noticed, on the corner of Sackett St., there was a sign that said “EMPANADA.” I was definitely intrigued because I love empanadas and I usually get my empanada fix at the Red Hook ball fields. So to find a street vendor selling empanadas in winter, yes please! She also had tamales and tacos on the menu. Sadly we didn’t get anything from her that day and I didn’t get a chance to visit the empanada lady till much later. It had been so long that I totally forgotten about her until one day, there was a street fair on Smith St., I found her again. So the next day I was determined to get my ass out of the apartment to see if the empanada lady was there. Though just to make sure she was on Sackett St, I consulted the internet and found many people said she was on Degraw St. Okay, I left my apartment, feeling lucky about it. As I approached Degraw St., I noticed nothing but a sad looking lamp post. Boohooo no empanada lady sign but just to make sure I walked down to Sackett. And….

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