INTEL: Where to go for (really good) tacos
Where to go for tacos that truly hit the spot?
After the 2020 lockdown, upstate was teeming with tacos. Not just mom-and-pop taquerias in bodegas, but new riffs slinging handhelds for the street. We had Mex-Italia, an Mexican-Italian fusion taqueria-and-pizzeria catering to the college kids of Albany and Saratoga’s favorite tacos-meet-donuts combo at Taquero. Troy soon had a taquerias on every street. We lost some favorites too like Tatu Tacos & Tequila (Troy), Buena Comida (Guilderland), El Cilantro (Ballston Spa) and Bodega Aguila Real, off-Warren Street in Hudson. This year we have fresh blood with the smashing lads, Los Hermosos, a new taco pop up out of Kingston but frequently serving the Capital Region.
For five years, we’ve kept tabs on the situation, eating every new taco that comes our way. The result? We could name 30 taquerias across the Capital Region and Hudson Valley, but we’ll start you off with these.
We’re not focusing on larger operations restaurants like Toro Cantina on Wolf Road or the fêted Casa Susanna. We’re talking about more unassuming spots where you’re welcomed like family and language is probably a barrier for those without high school Spanish. Trust the the hand written specials and photo-aided menus. Smile and point if you need. There’s a reason these picks are at the top. - SDP
1. Taqueria Guadalajara, 2007 Doubleday Ave., Ballston Spa. Visit
While many upstate taquerias are Oaxacan, owner Gilberto Padillo hails from Guadalajara and the flavors and colors of his hometown light up the menu and muraled walls. It’s a bright spot with a few tables, a tiny service counter, and a nook filled with Mexican groceries and breads. Order tacos (four to an order) in one of a half dozen fillings from shrimp to lengua or chorizo, classically topped with cilantro, onion and lime. Wash them down with tequila or cerveza. This is one of the few taquerias with a liquor license.
2. Taqueria Tren Maya, 23a Lower Hudson Ave., Green Island. Visit
Taqueria Tren Maya is a tiny, unassuming spot in a Green Island strip mall decorated brightly with strung faux flowers and flags for a warm welcome. It’s located (no joke) in a strip mall behind a shooting range, but is home to a surprisingly broad menu from breakfast chilaquiles to birria tacos matching the broad 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. hours. Sit at a table or booth with a checkered cloth and sip a cerveza or a tamarindo and horchata while you wait. Oaxaquen owner, Anatolia de Jesus Cornelio, also owns Taqueria Central on Central Avenue in Albany and Al Punto Picante in Rensselaer. Read The Dishing’s feature review here.
3. La Capital Tacos, 161 4th St., Troy. Visit
The tagline “Real Tacos by Real Mexicans” says it all. Chef Yair De La Rose, a native of Mexico City, is behind La Capital’s much loved street tacos like asada (strip steak), calabacitas (grilled veg), carnitas (slow-roasted pork), al pastor (pork over pineapple), fish or shrimp. Buy mixed trios of any 3 fillings and choose “con todos” (loaded with guac, lettuce, pico de gallo and cheese) or classic with cilantro, onion and salsa. The original location has fun, colorful, outdoor patio seating; the satellite is in Galleria & food court in Latham. (FYI: The Saratoga location at the Night Owl is closed.)
4. Mex Cocina La Catrina, Troy. Visit
Open all-day from 8am to 6 p.m. daily, and 9 p.m. on weekends, the sunny, downtown space of Mex Cocina La Catrina on Monument Square is our go-to spot for a breakfast of egg-topped huevos rancheros or steak-topped chilaquiles. Owner Hector Gonzalez, a local Shaker High graduate, held onto this space through the pandemic while running Taco Libre in the since closed River Street Market. Mariana Alvarez, a young chef from Oaxaca, and Gonzalez’s mother are behind unusual dishes like vegetarian pumpkin-blossom tacos, slow-cooked pork shank tacos de chamorro seasoned with chiles and citrus, and homemade masa tortillas naturally colored with vegetable dyes. The birria tacos and dipping broth is excellent, as is a refreshing mango-chamoy manganada smoothie on a hot day. Decor includes cushions, Mexican flags, and a huge mural of La Calavera Catrina and their outdoor parklet seating is a perfect downtown view.
5. Cielito Lindo, 31 Central Ave., Albany. Visit
A stroll from Center Square is Cielito Lindo which translates to “sweetheart” or “honey” and is prettily decorated with flowers, hanging baskets and blond wood tables with modern white chairs. Oaxacan owner Rufino Vazquez-Suarez and his family always offer an array of Mexican specials from chilaquiles to the house Cielito Lindo tacos which vary from potato with chorizo to steak with onion and cream cheese. Order classic tacos as a mixed trio from a choice of eight fillings like chicken tinga (chipotle) to pre-dunked birria with cilantro, diced onion and lime. Notably, the double-layered tortillas arrive warm and puffy from a spin over comal heat.
6. Oaxaquena Triqui, 77 N. Lake, Albany Visit
I first wrote about Oaxaquena Triqui in 2016 long before it took off as one of Albany’s best known “secret spots.” The hightops and ordering counter are tucked in the back of the store behind shelves crammed with spices, chiles, bottles and jars. Owners Gricelda Herrera and Hector Hernandez make their soft flour sopes and fluffy tortillas by hand, baked over an imported comal for a fresh taste of southern Mexico’s Triqui cuisine. The Oaxacan menu flavored with epazote, hoja santa, fresh tomatillo and huitlacoche features traditional taco fillings like lengua (beef tongue) and chapulines (crickets.) Check their Facebook page or the updated board for weekend specials that may include huitlacoche, the tasty purple-black fungus that grows on ears of corn, chivo (goat) or menudo (tripe.) We keep hearing that they’ll be moving into a larger space at 68 N. Lake but it hasn’t happened yet.
7. Sabor Latina Taqueria, 117 Lexington Ave., Albany
Sabor is truly one of our favorites and might make you feel as if you have slipped through a portal into Mexico. Handwritten menus line the walls beside Mexican football jerseys, shelves are tightly packed with religious photos and religious candles, and the counter is lined with bowls of various dried chile peppers next to figurines of Jesus and the Madonna under colorful flashing lights. There are a surprising number of tables in the slim L-shaped space. Chef-owner Sabrina Santacruz, from Oaxaca, bustles pans over stoves, helped by her family while children happily race through the place. Order three tacos in any single choice of 10 possible fillings. The usuals are there along with the less commonly found mesquite chicken and chopped smoked pork, all topped with cilantro, onion and lime. Customize them with the squeeze bottles of habanero yellow sauce, salsa verde or salsa roja.
8. Viva Cinco de Mayo, 809 Madison Ave, Albany Visit
Another bright spot with orange walls and festive decorations and striped tapestries is a fitting home for tacos filled with chile-stained pork and sticky roasted pineapple in al pastor, shredded chipotle chicken, cumin-seasoned pork confit and pan-crisped tongue done right. No chapulines (crickets) here, but an occasional tripe special. Tacos are served in double-layered soft corn tortillas blanketed in cilantro, onion and juicy wedges of lime. It’s bright and fun. A great spot to hang with friends or go for a casual date night.
9. La Mexicana Restaurant + Grocery, 1759 State St., Schenectady. Visit
There’s no doubt La Mexicana is a grocery store first with some of the narrowest aisles and shelves absolutely loaded with hot sauces, dry beans and Mexican bread. But persevere through and order your to-go tacos at the rear counter (don’t overlook the trays of sugared fruits) where you’ll see cooks in a tiny kitchen through the pass-through window. But continue to your left, pass the Jarritos Mexican sodas, and you’ll find a fairly large restaurant painted yellow with long tables and a full bar. La Mexicana’s recipes are from the Oaxaca and Jalisco regions of Mexico. Tacos are traditional soft flour tortillas in choices from carnitas to lengua.
10. El Sabor de Oaxaca, 364 Warren St., Hudson. Visit
Although Bodega de Real is much missed and La Mision is a fun Mexican restaurant on Warren, El Sabor de Oaxaca slipped seamlessly into the diminutive former home of Warren & Vine. Their focus is Oaxacan regional dishes with popular Oaxacan tlayudas and birria goat stew and several less commonly found dishes like entomatadas (saucy rolled corn tortillas). Open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, it’s a perfect spot for a snack. Order at the counter and sit at a table in the small dining room or out front.
Got another favorite taco spot? Tell us here.