Tasty Mexican street food is hard to come by in NYC, so this no-frlls tacqueria is worth the trek to Williamsburg. The tacos here, served on diminutive palm-sized tortillas, pack loads of flavor and at $2.50 apiece, are considerably cheaper than those you’d get at Mercadito in the East Village. (The tortillas also didn’t disintegrate while eating like my Mercadito tacos did, a good thing since at La Superior there was not a fork in sight). The carne asada taco was delicious by any standard, yet paled compared to the rajas taco–tender roasted poblano peppers drizzled in “Mexican” cream, and the chorizo toluqueno taco. The chorizo was like nothing I’ve tasted; a medley of spicy flavors that I devoured too quickly to contemplate. The flautas ($5.00) arrived hot and crisp from the deep-fryer, rolled around tender chicken and heaped with romaine and mild cheese, and the chips ($3.00) came with an assortment of sample-size salsas to satisfy any spice comfort-level. Two things you will NOT find here are dessert and alcohol. La Superior is BYOB but luckily there’s a deli right on the corner where you can pick up a few bottles of Pacifico or Bohemia. I can’t yet comment on the plates, which range from $8-$13, and include slow-cooked pork in banana leaves, grilled skirt steak and cheese with corn tortillas, and “torta ahogada”–sourdough bread stuffed with carnitas and beans, topped with hot arbol sauce. But you know a place is good when the waitstaff shows a clear passion for the food. When asked for a taco recommendation, one waiter said “that’s like asking me to choose between my children.”
La Superior in NYMag (3 stars)
La Superior 295 Berry St. at S. 2nd St. Williamsburg
Sun-Thurs 12:30pm-midnight, Fri-Sat 12:30pm-2:00am
cash only
The pizza at Alligator Lounge might just be a miracle of modern budget boozery, because no one can quite figure out how it’s free. Well, it’s not exactly free—you must purchase one drink, at about $5 a pop, to get a free pizza ticket. Once you’ve completed this task, you simply march up to the brick oven, and present your ticket. If you want toppings, it’ll be $2 for the first and $1 for each additional. But assuming you don’t, in about ten minutes you’ll have a piping-hot 12-inch pie to accompany your beer at a cost of ZERO DOLLARS (but if you’re classy you’ll leave $1 for your pizza guy).
How? How is it possible? Because the pizza actually isn’t half bad. True, it tastes better when it has some liquor to soak up in your belly. And you might want to blot the grease with several napkins and go heavy on the crushed red pepper and oregano to give it some extra taste. Better yet, you might want to carry along your own personal pizza spice-rack, with plenty of fresh basil, for just these kinds of situations. But if you spice it up just right and be sure to eat it fast before the cheese congeals—this is the miracle of which I speak.
The ambience is, I think, cheesy-tropical: potted palms and bamboo shades, flamingos and rainbow lights, with a decent digital jukebox and a pool table. In other words, it’s a perfect late-night hunger fix (until 3:30 am), or a place to get the party started before moving on to some serious drinking at Spuyten Duyvil.
If you don’t feel like hopping the L, there’s even an East Village outpost. And while I don’t advise this, if you can handle two pizzas, you get another free one with your second drink. Of course, this place does draw a crowd. I’m even a little reluctant to spread the word. Beware the crapshoot that is comedy Tuesdays.
Free Pizza!
Brooklyn: Alligator Lounge, 600 Metropolitan Ave. at Lorimer St. Open Daily 3pm-4am
East Village: Crocodile Lounge 325 E 14th St. at First Avenue Open Daily 12pm-4am