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We love some cheap tacos as much as any New Yorker, but there's an added thrill when those deliciously filling, low-budget bites come from a lofty source. In Esse Taco's case, that source is Enrique Olvera, the chef-restaurateur known for his acclaimed, high-minded Mexican cooking at the three-Michelin-starred Pujol in Mexico City as well as at Cosme and Atla in Manhattan.
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At his vibrant new Brooklyn taqueria with Santiago Pérez (of Casamata hospitality group)—which opens at 219 Bedford Avenue and North 5th Street on Thursday, May 2—the standing-only digs are leagues more casual than at Olvera's other World's 50 Best dining rooms, but the menu is thoughtfully focused.
The tortillas are made with heirloom corn, nixtamalized and hand-pressed on-premises. And tacos hover around the five-buck mark: rib-eye steak with salsa guacachile ($5.95), citrus-marinated grilled chicken with spicy Xnipec-style pickled onions ($4.95), al pastor pork loin with pineapple butter ($4.95), and a mesquite-smoked oyster mushroom option with salsa tatemada ($5.45). There's the option to make any one of the above "Gringa" with a flour tortilla in place of the traditional masa round, with added chihuahua cheese for a dollar extra.
Rounding out the taco-focused menu are sides like totopos with guacamole or a salsa trio, a range of beverages including tequila and mezcal margaritas, beer and refreshing agua frescas, and a fast-casual take on Olvera's famed corn husk meringue from Cosme, one of the best desserts in New York City. Here, the dessert—which is made crunchy, ash-dusted meringue topped with a velvety corn mousse and vanilla cream—is smartly transformed into a mini ice cream sundae, just the thing to soothe after all those chile-fired tacos.
Check out photos of Esse Taco's delicioso-looking offerings below, including those meaty tacos and that corn husk sundae:
