Tacos 1986 Serves Great Tacos in New York City | Eater NY

"A sliver of a counter-service spot, this West Village outpost has only a standing counter overlooking Cornelia Street that fits about six—no lingering; wolf your tacos and make room. Service is staffed to the hilt with shout-outs and peace signs, and the stated goal is to deliver every order within two minutes. The focus is typical Tijuana tacos: soft, handmade yellow corn tortillas piled generously with fire-roasted meats—adobada pork braised with red chile carved from a vertical spit, carne asada (my favorite), pollo asado (a close second), or some decent vegan hongos—plus onions, cilantro, chunky salsa, and creamy guacamole, all for $5; in a city suddenly flush with excellent taco options, these Tijuana beauties are in the top tier. Additional salsas sit in tubs from mild (the strawberry-based one) to seriously fiery, and they’re all very good; I suggest filling a crock of each and splattering away with Pollock-esque abandon. Beyond tacos, mulitas ($6) stack a second soft tortilla, vampiros ($6.25) fry both tortillas to a crisp, and the open-faced quesadilla on a single crunchy tortilla adds melted cheese ($5.75); in general, I prefer the soft tortillas because they taste cornier and are easier to eat, but you can’t go wrong—trust your cravings. Skip the extra bowl of guacamole, which doesn’t add much to an already guac-ed-up party, and instead get the punchy, generously seasoned pinto beans and red rice (the “small” sizes are plenty) to spoon onto whatever you ordered, or go for the Tacos 1986 bowl that uses the beans and rice as a base for any meaty (or mushroomy) topping; go to town on the salsas—it's a satisfying bargain at $13." - Scott Lynch