Hotel Tortuga Mexican Restaurant in NYC, New York

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Walking around NYU in search for cheap eats, we found this place called Hotel Tortuga. It is a Mexican restaurant that offers a large selection of vegetarian dishes for reasonable prices. Yes, it is called Hotel Tortuga, but it is not a hotel! In fact, they want you to imagine that you are in a hotel near Acapulco. The decor definitely feels like South America and is very cozy with its red booths and relaxed atmosphere. 

This restaurant serves traditional stuffing for tacos such as beef, chicken or fish, as well as a large selection of vegetarian ones: tempeh (soy protein), vegetable chorizo, grilled vegetables...

This is what we ate for less than $30:

A large side of guacamole with corn chips:

The guacamole was decent, but I do not think it was fresh. We could get as many chips as we wanted, as they offered chips and salsa.

Two vegetarian chorizo tacos:

One grilled chicken taco:

One fish taco (tilapia):

The tacos were made of two soft corn tortilla (you can pick flour instead of corn): they were good and there was a lot of stuffing in it.

The chicken taco was pretty good and the chicken had a nice grilled taste. The fish taco was perfect too: the fish was moist and did not taste fishy. However, the vegetable chorizo was not good: the first bite was ok and interesting as it was the first time we tried vegetable chorizo, but it was very salty and after a couple of bites, the saltiness was too much.

We finished with a Mexican hot chocolate:

It was hot chocolate with some cinnamon that was a fantastic combination as the cinnamon enhanced the taste of the chocolate. As you can see on the photo, they put a lot of whipped cream on it! This is definitely a must have, even for dinner...

I think that Hotel Tortuga offers a nice Mexican menu for good prices. My main disappointment is that they do not have homemade desserts, just cakes that they buy in a bakery in Vermont, cakes that are more American than Mexican. Despite that, this is definitely a good place to gather with friends and chill out.

Enjoy (I did)!

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

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Delicious food at The Food Truck Festival in South Street Seaport - NYC, New York

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Yesterday, Jodi and I went to The Food Truck Festival in South Street Seaport. This festival takes place couple of times a year, always at the same place, and features close to 30 food trucks from all over the city!

We decided to go in the morning, at around 11:30am as last year we went later and it was packed! This year, we picked the correct time! Not that many people, so limited wait! Our plan was to go to different trucks and try one of their dish on the menu.

We started with Chinese Mirch.

Mirch means chili in Hindi. This truck is a fusion between chinese food and indian food. We decided to try the Tibetan Momos, that are hand-rolled pan fried dumplings. We picked the vegetarian ones, made with cabbage, potatoes, carrots and some "secret" spices. 

The dumplings are served with a hot or sweet sauce. We chose the sweet as it was hot outside. The dumplings were pretty good: the shell was light and well cooked (I was surprised to see it steamed as they advertised pan fried!). The stuffing was delicious and flavorful. The only negative was that there was not enough sauce. Besides that, I really enjoyed it! The 5 dumplings costed $4.

The second truck was The Kimchi Taco Truck.

I love Korean food and was eager to try a fusion taco! What was great is that they proposed a tasting of 3 tacos for $7. Our pick was (top to bottom on the photo):

• Tofu edamame falafel: tofu, edamame and chickpea blended with Asian spices with kimchi infused refried beans, cucumber kimchi, pickled daikon and pico de gallo.
• BBQ beef short ribs served with their signature marinade, topped with red cabbage, apple, pear kimchi slaw.
• Fried chicken, battered in sweet rice flour tossed in organic blue agave nectar and ginger, garlic Korean pepper sauce and served with pickled diakon, queso blanco and sesame seeds.

They put the tacos next to each other and the shells were too small for the quantity of stuffing, so it was a bit messy to eat! The tofu edamame falafel was a bit mushy: I did not like it. The BBQ short rib was pretty good: it was tender and not dry thanks to the marinade. The last one I tried was the chicken one: I would have never thought it was fried chicken! Last, the taco shell was a bit hard on some parts of the tacos.

I was a bit disappointed: I think they put too many things on the taco and you lose the main flavors.

The next truck was Nuchas truck that serves empanadas.

They offer different types of empanadas: meat, veggie or sweet. We ordered the Argentine empanada ($3): ground beef, onions, pepper, scallions, potatoes and olives.

When the empanada came, it looked like the cocas that my family cooks with sheshoukah! It really liked it although it was a bit greasy. It had nice flavors and was just a bit spicy, but not too much. 

Then was the long awaited Valducci's pizza truck!

We were looking forward to get a slice from that truck since we tried it last year! It was so good! So we reordered the same slice: thin crust, pizza sauce, just a bit of cheese and olive oil.

This pizza is the proof that less is more! The crust was incredibly crispy and the sauce amazing! I think it is one of my favorite pizza in New York! I would not have liked to try other trucks, I would have gone for another slice! The slice costed $5.

Next to Valducci's was the Gorilla Cheese truck, specialized in grilled cheese.

They have standard grilled cheese as well as more elaborated ones. I decided to try a standard one and picked the Cheddar grilled cheese with white bread.

For sure there was a lot of cheese.

But, for $6, you can expect a better cheese and a better bread! I can make a better grilled cheese home for cheaper! Disappointing!

Then, we were on our way to leave when we saw the Red Hook Lobster Pound! Last year, I ate a fantastic lobster roll there! With all the food we ate, I was not sure I could have one. But Jodi knew how to find the good words to convince me: "If you do not get one, you will regret and keep talking about it!". I did not need more to order the $16 Connecticut lobster roll:

It is pricey, but there is a lot of lobster in it (I got 2 claws for sure as you can see on the photo), making it a bit challenging to eat! I love the Connecticut one: it is poached in butter! Better than with tons of mayo that could overpower the lobster taste!
The bread was deliciously buttered and toasted. If you do not like butter, it is not for you! I love this place!

After that, I was full and could not even try any of the desserts trucks. This is a great festival and I am looking forward for the next one!
On a side note, it was funny to see people eating at the terrace of the restaurants next to the festival: why would you pay overpriced food when you have an incredible event like this next to you?

If you went to the Food Truck Festival, let me know what you think!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Tacos at The Taco Truck (Hoboken, NJ)

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The Taco Truck is a good example of a food truck that succeeded. Imagine that: they started with a truck and now they have a storefront. Trucks are really becoming popular. When you go in the City, you see so many different trucks: tacos, cupcakes, sweets, dumplings, pyrogies, pizza....Soon, you will find: dentists, doctors, opticians...

So, let's go back to the Taco Truck: the adventure started in 2009, when two friends, inspired by their experience in Mexico and California decided to create their own spin on food shop (taqueria) and food truck locally. The Taco Truck was born and became popular quickly. Their truck goes either to Hoboken, Jersey City and to the Highline Mondays and Sundays! If you are in Hoboken, you can also go to their restaurant close to the path. Important to keep in mind that their food is all natural and prepared right away, a la minute: you cannot miss the freshness of the ingredients! 

I have tried several of their tacos. My favorite is the Pescado or fish taco (photo 1 below): crispy catfish, red cabbage, pico de gallo, Mexican tartar sauce and chipotle salsa. The crispiness of the catfish, the crunchiness of the cabbage and the different layers of flavors create an incredible experience. On top of that, if like me you add guacamole and cheese, you are in Heaven!

Of course, they have other good tacos:

• if you want to eat vegetarian, the Hongos (mixed mushrooms, seasonal vegetables and epazote with lime-pickled onions and chipotle salsa - photo 2 below) is perfect. As I mentioned before, the ingredients are fresh and you will really feel it in this taco.
• Pollo Asado (guajillo marinated grilled chicken with lime-pickled onions and roasted red salsa).

There are some that I did not really like, such as the Barbacoa de Costilla (pasilla braised shredded beef with onions, cilantro and roasted red salsa). The day I tried it, the meat was dry. Might have been a bad day! 

If you are not into tacos, they also have salads, soups, sides or great Tortas (mexican sandwiches that are toasted). The Hongos, similar to the taco is great. 

When we went, they had a special: Aguacate Tostado Tacos (fried avocado, black beans, sesame seeds, pickled onions and tortillas fritas with sesame ancho crema - photo 3 above). I never had fried avocado and I have to say it was dam good! They really have a way of creating the perfect pairing of ingredients!

Definitely, The Taco Truck makes great tacos. The drawback is that it will be your reference and will spoil any other taco experience you may have...Too bad! Or maybe too good!!!

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to eat!

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