Papacitos: Brooklyn Goes Veg! Day 4
Tucked away among the ethnic markets and discount stores in Greenpoint is Papacitos, which purports to sell “Mexican street food in Brooklyn.” Papacitos is different than the other restaurants I visited during the Brooklyn Goes Veg! week. It is the only restaurant that I went to that was not exclusively vegetarian, and it was also much busier than any of the other restaurants I went to. I wonder if there is a connection between those two things?
One thing that Papacitos does have in common with the other restaurants I went to is that it doesn’t seem to know how to operate a business quite right — for the dozen or so tables crammed into the tiny space, there was one guy trying his best to be waiter, cashier, and busboy while brewing the coffee and expediting the kitchen. They also ran out of guacamole, and then out of iced coffee (although they had just brewed some hot coffee, they didn’t offer to put some ice cubes in it for the customer who wanted the iced coffee). Then again, it seems to work ok for the regulars, who apparently understand how crazy things can get there and don’t mind waiting around for the food.
For the Brooklyn Goes Veg! week, Papacitos was offering a special on 3 veggie tacos for $5 (instead of the usual $7). When I tried to order them the waiter told me that for lunch the tacos were even cheaper than that anyway — $1.50 for each (definitely street food prices). So I got three veggie tacos, and splurged on an order of homemade chips and salsa for $4. The food actually came out pretty fast; I overheard the guy saying they had just fried up a batch of the chips. The chips were warm and fresh, and although the salsa was not as chunky as I would have liked it, it definitely was good and fresh. It did benefit greatly from a splash of hot sauce though.
The tacos were pretty good, over stuffed and super messy. The tortillas were the best part; the filling (broccoli, zucchini, onion) was only mediocre. Nowhere near as good as the food at the Red Hook Ball Field, which feels much more like authentic street food (though the food is admittedly more expensive).
And so ends my Brooklyn Goes Veg! adventure. I had some pretty good food, and found some interesting new restaurants. Sure, I only went to three of the participating restaurants (I tried to go to a fourth, but the hours posted online were different than the actual hours and they were closed when I got there), but that’s three restaurants I would not have gone to otherwise. I hope that next year more restaurants decide to participate.
Papacitos — 999 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn
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