El Idolo

I’m on my way to the AMC Loews Kips Bay theater, and there stands lonesome Idolo. The land was barren with nothing but a whiskey tavern on the adjacent corner. I asked myself why would a truck be in a somewhat isolated area that is not in the direct path of frequent foot traffic. There stood a movie theater yonder, but far enough that you wouldn’t even notice this food truck existed. One customer stood on line. Usually, I’d be wary of trying such places. Primarily, because of worries that my stomach wouldn’t agree with me. Unilocal reviews were sparse. It only made my job tougher. But I’m a Unilocaler and there’s a reason why we pioneer and pave the way for others. Curiosity also got the best of me.
The menu was pretty standard: tacos, flautas, sope, gordita, tamales, tostada, quesadilla, burrito, huarache, nachos, torta, cemita, and enchiladas. Choices of meat ranged from: bistec, chorizo, lengua, pollo, carnitas, tripa, oreja, enchilada, chivo, asada, and tinga. It was actually quite a spread for such a small truck. To play it safe, I ordered just one taco ($ 2.50 each), the carnitas, which is fried pork. In a few minutes, my taco was served in a small styrofoam container with a lime wedge. I squeezed the juicy lime wedge to give the taco some acidity, then took a bit of this steaming, almost too hot to handle, taco. The carnitas was cut in chunks, moist and very fatty. It included your basic ingredients: onions, cilantro, and radish on a double wrap. Decent, though it didn’t have a lot of flavor. Some hot sauce or a sprinkle of much-​needed salt could have been added to give it some extra depth, but regardless, I left satisfied and not disappointed.
And here I am, a day later, stomach still intact. No bacteria has invaded my immune system. Next time I’m in the area to catch a movie, Idolo will be on my radar for a no hassle, quick bite before watching a movie.

I needed a quick bite before going into Kip’s Bay theater and since Waterfront was crowded I decided to give these guys a try. Only 4 reviews on Unilocal didn’t make me very confident but my nose told me to trust the smell of the meat wafting from the truck. I got two tacos:
Chorizo: Okay but kind of bland. 2.5÷5
Lengua: Decent flavor and they put a lot of tongue in there (that sounded gross but you know what I mean!). A bit on the dry side, but I’ve noticed many people tend to overcook tongue. 3.5÷5
Overall Pros:
–Good sized tacos
–Plenty of meat.
–Keeps it authentic with just the meat, tortilla, cilantro & lime (though I could do with less onions).
–Sliced radishes on the side.
Overall Cons:
–A bit too much onions.
–The exhaust fan is placed on the front and that blew all the smoke towards me as I was trying to read their carne choices. I got some of it in my eye and smelled like oil afterwards.

Good stuff. Almost as good as Mexican food from home. Could use a little more veggies on their tacos but the meat is great. As good as you will find in Manhattan for this price.

Raised in California, Mexican food was a staple in my diet. Having access to great Mexican food (hole-​in-​the wall joints, taco trucks, street vendors) in LA, I will admit that I may be a little spoiled and have pretty high standards when it comes to Mexican food. Unfortunately, good California-​style Mexican food does not seem to exist in NYC. There really isn’t a place to go if you want a simple and authentic taco, or a tostada. A lot of the places I’ve been to in NYC are just simply not authentic,
try too hard to make it high end, or added a fusion twist to it. So when I saw the truck parked on 2^nd ave (not at 30^th street), I was skeptical.
Finally, one day, just decided to give it a try. The prices were reasonable and the menu had all your authentic Mexican food (tamales, burritos, tacos, tortas, tostadas), and meat options. The tacos (carnitas and carne asada) are decent, but nothing compared to California tacos which are much smaller and more flavorful. My favorite item so far has been their lengua (tongue) tostada. It is the one thing that is comparable to the tostada from El Taurnio in LA, even the price at $ 2.50! I definitely will be coming back, and coming back often.

I like meat. No, not THAT kind of meat, I’m talking about the kind of meat that PETA doesn’t want me to eat. But you know what, PETA can go suck it, I’m a proud carnivore. Meat on a stick, meat on a sandwich, meat on a plate… I love me some meat, what can I say — again, not THAT kind of meat — so it should come as no surprise that meat wrapped up in soft corn tortillas is right up my alley. Admittedly, I’m not the biggest taco connoisseur, so the breadth of my experience with tacos filled with lengua and tripe is a bit limited (read: nonexistent). But really, I don’t think you need to be some sort of elite taco-​chomping veteran to appreciate the delicious little bundles of joy that are the well-​made tacos from El Idolo. These tacos come loaded with your choice of meat, diced onion, cilantro, and radish, as well as your pick of hot sauces. On the two occasions that I’ve eaten from El Idolo, I’ve tried the carnitas, lengua, tripe, steak, and spicy pork. I thought that the spicy pork was the best of the lot, with delicious chunks of juicy pork bathed in spicy pork juices. C’mon, when something is bathed in pork juice, how can it NOT be good?! The steak was a bit on the dry side but otherwise tasty, and the other three options were all very good as well. Again, you really can’t go wrong with meat-​stuffed corn tortillas. And to top it off, these tacos are $ 2.50 each, making them a good value proposition as well. Two or three tacos and you’ll be good to go.
tl;dr:
— El Idolo makes some solid tacos that are generously stuffed with MEAT
— Good value
— Pork juice is tasty
— Meat is tasty

They say that the most important things in life are often the most unexpected.* El Idolo is a great example.
I just noticed this truck last Monday, on what I think may have actually been its first day here. I don’t know what brought them to our humble little area, or if they’re planning on making this a permanent location, but I’m already terrified to ask because I don’t know what I’ll do if they leave.
You see, there are a few things in life that can make me swoon. When a cute girl suddenly lets out some sort of inner awkwardness/​quirkiness. Justin Timberlake. A good lengua taco.
El Idolo hasn’t come through on the first two yet. But they’ll give you a big fucking taco for $ 2.50. Stuffed with tasty, tender lengua. Or packed with deliciously fatty carnitas. Or full of oreja (OK I’ll admit I wasn’t a big fan of the cartilage-​fest that is an ear taco). I also got a fantastic cemita with lengua for lunch, because if anything can make lengua better it’s stacking it with avocado and cheese. The food here is simple Mexican street food, but it’s delicious, it’s fresh, and it’s filling. Win all around. PLUS, they give you a couple of awesome hot sauces with your food, both of which have some actual taste beyond the spiciness, and both of which pack enough heat to cause some pain but without burning your tastebuds into flavorless oblivion.
They seem to be running decent hours so far — I stopped in for lunch at around 1:30 or 2, and I’ve seen them out as late as at least 8:45 or so. All of which means I’ll be passing by here quite often to swap saliva with some beef (have I mentioned that I love lengua???).
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* I don’t know who says this. Or if anyone does.