Finally! A taqueria on Smith St.! Oaxaca opened on July 1st and has been getting rave reviews. The website ihearttacos.com gave the new eatery 4 out of 5 sombreros (their version of stars). I went down and had to try it out myself. I absolutely love Calexico on Union St. in the Columbia waterfront district (which also just opened, you can read the Calexico blog HERE) and since Calexico is the closest you can get to Cali style tacos this side of the Mississippi, my standards were quite high. When I arrived I was a little disappointed that they were out of shrimp (camaron: stewed shrimp), so I decided to try the frijoles taco (bean & cheese). It was served on a fresh corn tortilla with pickled onion, cilantro, avocado salsa and cotija cheese and although messy (luckily your taco is served with a fork) was totally delicious. I also sampled the pescado taco which is a twist on the original fish taco, filled with chilled fish rather than grilled. Strange, yet flavorful and yummy! The tacos will run you $2.95 to $3.95 each and the menu also features rolled tacos (enchiladas), tortas (Mexican sandwiches on talera bread), five home made salsas (roja, verde, chipotle, black bean, & avocado lime) and handmade tamales (steam-cooked corn filled with sweet or savory filling wrapped in a corn husk), my favorite! So tasty and so hard to find on the East Coast!
The owner, Moe, is only 21 years old and grew up in the neighborhood, on Baltic St. His mission is to provide his customers with traditional Mexican fare. All of the produce used is organic and they never use frozen or canned ingredients. Everything is made fresh daily. There will be a patio open soon and the best part, Oaxaca stays open until 12 midnight and soon will remain open until 2am on weekends! The location, 251 Smith St. is in the heart of the Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens bar scene and a late night "healthy" fast food joint has definitely been lacking in the hood. I look forward to going back and being able to try the camaron taco (0nce they have shrimp again), yum!
The verdict? Oaxaca is authentic, centrally located and the hours are super convenient. Good Mexican in Brooklyn take two! Gotta love it!!!
Oaxaca
251 Smith St. Brooklyn
718.643.9630
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