{"id":213090,"date":"2025-09-09T15:03:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T15:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/213090\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T15:03:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T15:03:18","slug":"tacos-1986-serves-great-tacos-in-new-york-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/213090\/","title":{"rendered":"Tacos 1986 Serves Great Tacos in New York City"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jorge Humberto Alvarez-Tostado, whom everyone calls Joy, likes to talk in superlatives, especially when the subject is tacos \u201a in particular, his tacos, and how he and his buddy Victor Delgado started what would become one of the most praised chainlets in Los Angeles, Tacos 1986<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201dWe started<\/a> on the corner of Highland and Lexington, November 3, 2018,\u201d Alvarez-Tostado tells Eater. \u201cAnd on the first day, we sold three chicken quesadillas, no onions. Made $16.43 total: I still have the receipt! I looked at my partner and said, \u2018We just have to show up and open tomorrow.\u2019 We are two persistent individuals from Tijuana and Baja California. We grew up eating tacos, and I knew that we had the best tacos in America.\u201d<\/p>\n

Granted, Alvarez-Tostado had some taco-making (and -eating) experience under his belt at the time. After starting his cooking career in places like Buvette and Aldea in New York City, his life changed on May 23, 2013, he tells me, the day Los Tacos No. 1<\/a> opened in Chelsea Market. That\u2019s when he realized, \u201cOh, I don\u2019t want to be a chef: I want to be the greatest taquero of all time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tacos 1986 has eight locations in the Los Angeles area and, as of last July, one in the West Village<\/a>, on the corner, at 1 Cornelia and West Fourth streets. It\u2019s a full circle moment for Alvarez-Tostado, who said he lived on Cornelia back in 2011, and \u201cdreamed of owning a restaurant on the block.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

The counter at Tacos 1986. Scott Lynch\/Eater NY<\/p>\n

The place is a sliver of a counter-service spot. If you\u2019re dining in, the only place to eat is a standing counter overlooking Cornelia Street, and it only fits about six. So: No lingering allowed! Wolf your tacos and make room for the next diner!<\/p>\n

This sort of situation only really works if the counter service is speedy. To that end, Alvarez-Tostado said that the Tacos 1986 goal is to get everyone their order within two minutes, and the place seems staffed to the hilt to do exactly that. Bonus: Expect shout-outs, peace signs, and the such from the crew.<\/p>\n

Tacos 1986 is only part of the story at what they\u2019re calling the One Cornelia<\/a> complex. Connected to the taqueria at street level is Mixteca<\/a>, an agave bar from Jeff Bell and his cocktail team from the legendary East Village speakeasy, PDT. You can order all the tacos you want while getting tipsy at Mixteca, and, according to the bartender I spoke with there, most people do exactly that. There\u2019s also a third component to One Cornelia, a Gilded-Age-vibing underground bar called Kees<\/a> opening in October.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the full report on Tacos 1986.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/a><\/p>\n

The hongo and adobada tacos, $5 each, at Tacos 1986. Scott Lynch\/Eater NY<\/p>\n

Tacos 1986 traffics in what Alvarez-Tostado calls the typical Tijuana taco: namely, soft, handmade yellow corn tortillas laden with fire-roasted meats (there\u2019s a vertical spit for the adobada, the pork braised with red chile), onions, cilantro, chunky salsa, and creamy guacamole. In a city suddenly flush with excellent taco options<\/a>, these Tijuana beauties are in the top tier.<\/p>\n

In addition to that pork, you can get your tacos topped with carne asada, which was my favorite; pollo asado, a close second; or some decent vegan hongos. These are piled onto your tortilla with a generous hand, and they all cost $5. Additional salsas reside in tubs on a little shelf in the back, arranged from mild (the strawberry-based one) to seriously fiery, and they are all very good. I suggest filling a crock of each and splattering away on your feast with Pollock-esque abandon.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

The carne asada mulita, $6, at Tacos 1986. Scott Lynch\/Eater NY<\/p>\n

The mulitas ($6) are built basically like the tacos, but with a second soft tortilla on top. The vampiros ($6.25) are like the mulitas, but the two tortillas are fried to a crisp. And the quesadilla \u2014 served open-faced on a single crunchy tortilla \u2014 adds a layer of melted cheese to the mix ($5.75). In general, I preferred the soft tortillas over the crispy ones, both because they taste cornier and they\u2019re just easier to eat, but you really can\u2019t go wrong with any of the above. Trust your cravings.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

The pinto beans and red rice at Tacos 1986. Scott Lynch\/Eater NY<\/p>\n

You can also order a separate bowl of guacamole, served with a stack of crackling tortillas, but this doesn\u2019t really add much to your already guac-ed-up party. What is a good idea, however, especially if you\u2019re looking to make a full meal, is getting the Tacos 1986 pinto beans and red rice. Sold in separate containers \u2014 the \u201csmall\u201d sizes are plenty \u2014 both of these are punchy, generously seasoned, and add a nice chewy texture to the tacos. Spoon a bit of each onto whatever you ordered. Or get the Tacos 1986 bowl, which uses the beans and rice as a base for any of the meaty (or mushroomy) toppings. Go to town on the salsas. This is a satisfying dish, and a bargain for $13.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Mixteca. Scott Lynch\/Eater NY<\/p>\n

\"Three<\/a><\/p>\n

The La Bandera at Mixteca, $12. Scott Lynch\/Eater NY<\/p>\n

One of PDT\u2019s founding staffers, Victor Lopez<\/a>, runs the night-to-night operations of Mixteca, and the room\u2019s basic design pays homage to his hometown of Puebla. Seating capacity is about 45. There are a few separate areas, including alcoves with banquettes in the back and a little room that hooks over toward Cornelia, that give the place a sense of both sprawl and intimacy.<\/p>\n

Also, it smells incredible. The staff burns chunks of palo santo \u2014 \u201csacred wood\u201d \u2014 at regular intervals, which, in addition to releasing a sage-like pleasant aroma, brings a calming vibe to the scene.<\/p>\n

Margaritas, micheladas, as well as tequila and mezcal cocktails dominate the Mixteca menu, with prices ranging from $14 to $22, but the sleeper hit has to be La Bandera, a trio of shots sitting up in a bowl of pebbly ice. Down them in this order: the jugo verde that delivers an incredible bite (it\u2019s like shooting ceviche juice); a blanco tequila which hits like … tequila; and a soothing, fruity sangrita to finish things off. This is fun and delicious.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to be part of the West Village forever,\u201d says Alvarez-Tostado. \u201cI would love to still be on this corner 30 years down the line. We\u2019re ready to be part of this community, and it\u2019s an honor to represent my hometown of Tijuana here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Tacos 1986 and Mixteca. Scott Lynch\/Eater NY<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jorge Humberto Alvarez-Tostado, whom everyone calls Joy, likes to talk in superlatives, especially when the subject is tacos…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":213091,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,16319,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,42511,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-213090","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-dining-out-in-ny","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-city","12":"tag-newyork","13":"tag-newyorkcity","14":"tag-ny","15":"tag-nyc","16":"tag-scene-report","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115174952718121992","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/213091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}