Tulcingo Deli Vl
“tacos arabes for 2.50 is an amazing deal
i also enjoyed their carnitas, pastor, chorizo, and barbacoa tacos.”
“My companion got tasty chicken sopes (3 to an order) and a carne asada taco, and we both left spending under $10 bucks each, both very full.”
“But, I am not a fan of the salsa that accompanies the complimentary chips.”
Tulcingo Deli Vl
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
6 reviews
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This place was hit/miss for me. I felt a bit like a pinata.
– I was happy they served up some good chips and a tomato based salsa. But the latter was inexplicably sweet. Some salsa makers add a bit of sugar, but this bordered on being beyond the expectations of any natural salsa ingredient. As such it lacked the semi sweet/salt/heat sparring match of a good salsa and chips +.
– I was happy my carne asada taco was a heaping fist-size pouch of meat, guac, onions and cilantro. Unfortunately much of the meat was in fact – fat, and the edible meat was, in turn, flavored like fat. While I do like fat as part of a meat dish, it comes down to technique. Here was a fatty meat that didn't have the flavor seared in or cooked out, but instead it simply steamed in it's own grease. Yes, cooked, but not properly. I ended up making a pile of inedible fatty bits on my plate. That was a stick blow to the head.
– Conversely, the Tacos Arabes were fantastic. Nicely cooked meat in a deep, spicy sauce, wrapped in a thicker version of a tortilla (reminded me of a Kati roll). I could eat these daily. Good beans as well, which is a simple, yet key indicator of a decent Mexican joint.
– The servers were friendly/nice but moved at their own, random pace. I had ordered a beverage, for example, and halfway through my meal it hadn't arrived. It eventually arrived but required 2 reminders. Waited 20 minutes for my check, but had to throw on my coat and head to the kitchen area to get rung up.
Overall I thought it was decent, but hit some sour notes so I don't share the same joys of other reviewers. They do have a pretty large menu so I'll probably re-visit – but not for their carne asada.
When it comes to Mexican food, whom would you trust?
Yelper A: I am from California. I practically cut my teeth on a Mission Burrito.
Yelper B: I am from California. No one beats LA's Taco trucks!
Yelper C: I am from California. Also, a Mexican busboy in SD once winked at me
Yelper D: It's all in the stars. I have Venus in Libra.
I would rather listen to Yelper D. The odds of being rightly guided are better because as per astrology people with Venus in Libra are balanced and blessed with good taste.
Mexi Californication…. is a disease where the patient prefaces all Mexican food reviews with "I am from California". In that hallucinatory state, it is difficult to fathom that: a) 'Bounded Rationality' explains why you stereotype or think that people all over Mexico eat food prepared in the SAME manner; b) Burritos and Tacos, alone, do not define Mexican food; c) Just because YOU haven't found good Mexican food in NYC, doesn't mean that there is none, a.k.a. argumentum ad ignorantiam (fallacy).
I can not confer authenticity to Tulcingo. I CAN, however, review based on whether or not I enjoyed the food: I did – Immensely. I CAN speak for my reviewing discipline: I review after multiple trials, and on a comparative basis – after sampling the competitive offering. I note my limitations (in this case: I don't eat pork), and I let the reader get a sense of my experience and enthusiasm.
But, if I were to speak for authenticity, if it weren't for the helpful yelp reviews I would have been Lost in Translation for it was immediately apparent to the server that even my "Hablo y entiendo un poco" was an exaggeration! This differed greatly from my experience at Tacos Matamoros where I had no communication problems given the patronage by H…… persons. In terms of food, the difference was day and night.
While I preferred Tulcingo's Cacina (salted beef) and Carne Asada tacos, given the perfect seasoning, generous use of Cilantro, and judicious use of guacamole – I simply loved the Tacos Arabes ("Arabian Taco") an adaptation of the Shawarma (introduced into Mexico City by immigrants) that consists of spit grilled meat served in a rolled, as opposed to flat, thicker flour tortilla (hybrid of tortilla and pita bread).
I also loved the Horchata, which had excellent consistency – neither too grainy nor watery. The Tres Leches cake was also superior to the nearby (drier) options. It was topped with a large strawberry that was flanked on one side with chocolate sprinkles and on the other by colorful ones and inspired somewhat by trifle pudding.
But, I am not a fan of the salsa that accompanies the complimentary chips. Nor of the television programming which incongruously kept repeating a feature on overweight people in various activities (working out, dancing, beached like a whale, etc.). {In my mind, that would explain why I wasn't able to finish the (huge) slice of cake}.
And, while I don't expect to cure the MC disease, I do want to help: This is New York, and there's a reason why you're here – so for your own sake: get over yourself.
Al pastor and carne asado tacos are bomb! Very fast service too. I want to come back to try the desserts.
I really was not impressed with the quality of tacos frome here. Ordered the Pastor, Pollo and Bistec tacos with a side of guacamole. They were $2.50 a piece and really not too hot when I opened them up.
It seemed like the food was either par-cooked or kept in a steam table and not cooked fresh to order. How I can tell that this is the case, tacos came out super fast. When I order tacos any other place it takes quite a bit of time not very long but not like fast food.
Same thing with the cebolla and pablano chile pepper these were definitely pre-cooked and not fresh to order.
Flavor was lacking severly and the guacamole was bland and limp. The guacamole was like pudding not chunky and very thin and drippy uggghhh why do I torture myself.
Pass Pass Pass!!
What do you tell someone that speaks Spanish? If you "Tellcinco" then you just asked them for 5 of something. If you "Tellchinga" then you will either get beaten up, or made love to. I'm not sure which of these concepts led to the naming of this deli, but it's open to interpretation.
What to get: Tacos.
What else: Tellchinga.
The tacos here were pretty standard. I had asada and pastor. They were nicely flavoured and enjoyable, and in a city with limited fantastic taco options, they may even have scored a 5, but I'm going to stick with a 4 for these ones.
The reason they only score a 4 is pretty simple. The service here is awful. The woman ringing up my partner in crime treated her like she absolutely hated her. There was snarkiness, resentment and pissiness. I'm not sure why. Partly because she wasn't sure what she wanted. But nobody else was ordering at the time, so I'm not sure what the big deal was.
In any case, due to the average food and horrendous service, I probably won't come back for a second try. However my rating is based purely on the food and it's a solid 4.
I realize that I'm updating this review yet again, but as the Dude said, "new shit has come to light".
And that is their tacos arabes. It's not a popular dish, or even one that's talked about a lot at Mexican restaurants, but I really don't know why. Imagine a taco, but in a tortilla that has a bit more volume than a normal corn or flour tortilla. Then it's filled with spit-cooked/marinated ground lamb and a red mole sauce, and rolled up. Holy cow is it amazing.
Their potato taquitos are also remarkably good, though a note to vegetarian diners, they have little bits of meat in there (which you absolutely do want if you're not a vegetarian, as they give the dish a bit of spice).
I also ordered dessert for the first time, and was of course pleased with the results. They bake the cakes they serve on location.
This is hands down, my favorite Mexican restaurant in New York.