Tongue Tacos Are My New El Rey Del Sabor Fave (But the Vegetarian Quesadilla is Good Too)
After my out–of-control delicious tongue taco experience in San Francisco a few weeks ago, I was ready to get back on the lengua train here in Midtown. Easiest place for that? The El Rey del Sabor cart. If you haven’t been yet (there are now three of them in Midtown), what the hell are you waiting for? There’s one on 60th and 3rd Ave., 49th and 3rd, and 43rd and 6th. I decided to hit up the one on 49th, because it gets the least amount of love! (And yet the highfalutin, more expensive Pampano Taqueria across the street, is a mob scene. Figures.)
Unlike the thick cubes of tongue stewed in red sauce you get in the Mission’s La Corneta, the El Rey del Sabor version is chopped finely and grilled on their flat top. A completely different taco experience, but totally enjoyable. The tongue is easily El Rey del Sabor’s most tender option, but it also had some of the little crispy bits you miss out on when getting stewed tongue. Topped with onions, cilantro and their fairly spicy salsa verde, it was muy delicioso and I’d recommend it to anybody- even those who don’t think they’d like tongue. The one downside is they don’t always have the tongue… you just have to get lucky.
As a side note, I had a good friend of mine with me who is a vegetarian (yes, I have friends who don’t dig the swine) and he decided to try their pumpkin flower quesadilla (known in Spanish as flor de calabaza.) It’s a pretty standard Mexican dish, and happens to be the only vegetarian option at the El Rey del Sabor cart (aside from just getting plain cheese empanadas or quesadillas.) Stupidly I didn’t try any of it, but he was completely blown away. So if any of you are vegetarian, and have steered clear of El Rey del Sabor in the past, here’s something you might totally enjoy!
El Rey del Sabor (3 Locations)
- NW Corner of 49th & 3rd
- SW Corner of 60th and 3rd
- NE Corner of 43rd & 6th
Posted by Zach Brooks at 11:45 am, November 19th, 2009 under El Rey Del Sabor, Offal, Review, Vegetarian.
15 Comments | RSS comments feed for this post
15 Comments
-
-
Samwich, hold your tongue.
-
I had the lingua tacos at el rey de sabor this week on 43rd and they were phenomenal!!!
-
Can’t bring myself to try the lengua, especially when my standard three spicy pork tacos with extra red sauce is a home run every time. Damn. Just thinking about it has me in the mood — El Rey Del Sabor, daddy’s on his way.
-
oh tongue is so under rated.
i gotta try this. -
dude…i just got a tongue taco from 49th before reading this…I must be psychic! I also got a chorizo quesadilla and a beef pastelillo…mmmmmmmm (just drain some of the grease first).
-
I love tongue tacos. Tongue is such an underrated meat. So tender. Good find. The taqueria near where I moved to doesn’t serve tongue tacos like my old taqueria does. I have been in withdrawal.
-
Oye! Cuanto dinero?
-
tongue is awesome… will try this next week
-
i just had the tongue taco from the cart.
Good and spicy!!! my mouth is on fire..i should have asked for mild. -
Ahhh. Tacos were extra good today. mkim: you’ve got to have some chocolate stashed in your desk to take care of the after burn. Having a Kit Kat after spicy food is one of life’s simple pleasures. Commencing food coma…
-
thanks for the heads up on the squash/pumpkin blossom quesadillas. i love those things.
-
They have veg tacos and cheese enchiladas which are amazing as well.
-
Maaaan, the two times in the past month I hit up 60th and 3rd, they were out of or never had the tongue that day.
-
get the tongue torta! So good
i am not adventurous enough to eat tongue and return to work…perhaps i lose 5 midtown lunch points for that. =(