Birria-Landia Tacos New York
NYTimes 2 Star Food Truck
This truck, usually parked on the north west corner of Amsterdam Avenue (10th Avenue) and 70th Street West, is brand new and beautifully tricked out in chrome and cream, with an awning, food trays and a hustling, eager staff.
There are only four main items: tacos, quesadillas, tostados and a hot, chunky beef based soup they call consommé composed of birria, chopped onion, cilantro and squeezed lime.
The three corn tortilla offerings are similar taste wise—delicious (and their similarity is fine by me)—but the hot soup wins my favouritism being rich, flavorful and hearty, and even on a very warm Spring day I used it for dipping first, then finished by drinking it from its cup.
All items have risen in price from $2.50 (on Roosevelt Avenue, Queens) to either $4 or $5 (here), which, in this neighborhood, is a bargain.
Nearby are brick and mortar food outlets, none offering this kind of easy acquisition cuisine. There is no seating, but you can walk two blocks north (same direction as traffic flow on Amsterdam) to Verdi Square where there are benches galore and people watching that will be as good as your consommé.
Pete Wells wrote a NY Times article a few years ago in which he described the uprising of interest in Mexican food operations like this one along Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens.
He now gives Birria-Landia two NYTimes stars which are displayed with evident pride above the windshield on the front of this elegant truck.
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