Carnitas El Viejon

Excellent taco truck specializing in carnitas. Big fan of the mixed one but they also have a pork shoulder one if you’re not into the other parts. Very generous portions and there’s a variety of topping/sauces you can add on top! Quick service and there’s some seating outside if you want to dig in right away. It’s the perfect snack before grocery shopping or after!

The real deal. Yes it's $5 per taco but you get a lot of meat. Good spicy pickles and salsa. Every New Yorker should try it once.

This is a hard review for me to write. I was taken aback at the tacos being $5 a piece, but it was a very loaded taco with lots of meat so maybe I understand the high price. The carnitas were also very authentic. They make it the real way which is to cook the pork in its own fat. So delicious. The biggest issue I had is that they only gave me one tortilla which causes the taco to fall apart as you eat it. This is a major design flaw and if they fix it this could be one of the best tacos in the area.

Tacos were amazing and I can’t wait to have more. This is going to be apart of my new ritual every time I go to Hmart.

Delicious! Good amount of meat and the tortillas are great. Just as good as the tacos in San Diego or LA, especially if you like buche

They have been coming to Astoria occasionally and I’m so grateful. BEST CARNITAS I HAVE EVER HAD. I might lose my SoCal native credentials for saying that, though 😭😭😭

Yummmmmm~!!! My fav taco place in New York :3 the green salsa is superb

Concurring on 5 stars. As good as carnitas El momo in LA

Carnitas El Viejon is camped out Saturday and Sunday mornings across from HMart and recently started doing Thursdays and Fridays in Astoria (31-30 30th Ave) too - which is great because one visit has already got me hooked! This truck does only one thing - carnitas - and they do it extremely well. You can order a plate of 3 tacos for $15, or a pound of meat for $24, and you can pick from a menu of different cuts (oreja, cueritos, buche, maciza, or surtida if you want a mix of everything together). Luckily, unlike many of the trucks in town that force you to do a set of 3 identical tacos, here, you can pick and choose any 3 tacos. Each taco is huge (nearly twice as big as an average street tacos), even by non-nyc standards, and well worth the price. Since my partner and I were planning to do a taco night at home and had just purchased all the ingredients for fixings, we went with a pound of surtida to bring home and a plate to split for a quick post-grocery trip lunch to try out different cuts. Buche (pig stomach) - the buche is really clean and fresh (minimizing the funkiness of the offal) and tender. I prefer my buche fried and crispy, but this one is well cooked, simmered until soft and not too chewy Cuerito (pig skin) - the cueritos have been simmered long enough to be soft, with an ooey gooey gelatinous texture, which happens to be one of my favorite texture, but this quickly because almost too rich on its own for a full taco Meciza (pork butt/shoulder) - if you're not into offal cuts, this is the one to get. Meciza is what the average person probably thinks of for carnitas but the one here is far better than any other I've had. Meciza is usually made from lean pork, so I tend to think of it as very dry and lacking in flavor but the meciza here blew those sad stereotypes away. It's super tender and moist, rich without being overly fatty, and completely changed my perception of carnitas (which I've long thought of as dried out, too lean shredded pork). Surtida (mix) - this is my favorite - it's got enough maciza to make for a meaty taco but a good mix of the other offal cuts to keep the texture interesting Overall, I love the variety and the fact that they serve up some offal cuts that can be harder to get elsewhere - and they do each cut very well. These tacos come pretty packed though and a whole taco made up of cuerito or buche quickly becomes too rich to finish, so I suggest ordering surtida for a mix or meciza and another meat or two to make up your own custom mix. We tried ordering a pound with a mix of cuerito and meciza, but were only able to get surtida so you may not be able to get a specific mix. There's a salsa bar with a green salsa, orange salsa, and different condiments (pickled onions, radishes, limes, cucumber) where you can dress up your tacos as much as you like. Be forewarned - the orange salsa is spicy! As are the pickled onions, which are addictive but have habanero mixed in. This is my new favorite taco spot in nyc, and their carnitas have opened my eyes (and my tastebuds) to a world of carnitas that's infinitely better than the sad pulled pork I've had before. My only wish is to find other spots in the city doing other types of tacos as well as Carnitas El Viejon does carnitas.

An excellent taco truck located across the street from H Mart just outside the BJs parking lot. The surtida Taco of mixed stewed cuts was very tender, definitely a different type of taco than your al pastor or bistec. Would definitely come back again and recommend you stopping by if you are in the area

Be warned, this is not your average taco truck. They specialize in carnitas and carnitas only. For $15, you'll get 3 tacos of your choice. Freshly made tortillas and The portions were enormous. The meats are tender and juicy and tasty. There are 4 different cuts of meat to choose from. But why choose when you can have it all. Go with the Surtida, which is the mix of all meats! And don't forget the condiments and the sauce if you order to go.