Yo Quiero the Taco Truck

As you emerge from the 96th Street and Broadway subway station, it is probable that nothing about the intersection will strike you as exceptional. And nothing should—or at least, not immediately. But arrive after 6 p.m. and you should notice a sizable queue—a disproportionately large crowd in front of a large, silver truck parked at a curb near the intersection. Displayed across the truck’s side is the title “Super Tacos: sobre ruedas,” which translates to “Super Tacos: on wheels.”

The crowd appears to be strictly regulars. This is always a good, if slightly intimidating sign for the outsider. Upon nearing the counter, however, the atmosphere is anything but. The guy who takes my order is Al Gonzalez. He speaks with a clear, loud voice and laughs frequently—when I talk to him later, this enthusiastic laughter begins and ends each of his responses.

I figure I should order the standard, so I get two tacos: one beef, one pork. Gonzalez hands me two plates, each with two warm tortillas beneath a mountain of meat, lettuce, and cilantro, sloppy and topped with a slice of tomato—the way it’s supposed to be. Everyone eats standing up off of the metal, shoulder-level counter running the length of the truck, our food moving in a vertical line to our mouths. The taste doesn’t disappoint either. It’s the wonderfully dependable and infinitely comforting taste you anticipate—a taste often absent in New York Mexican cuisine. “I’ve been living in New York for nine years, and I’ve tried it all. I know good Mexican food,” says Gonzalez.

“This place is the best.” You know too much thought wasn’t put into it (as in you don’t have to wait long), and the price is right: at $2 per taco, you get your stomach’s worth.

Gonzalez, a native of the Puebla province in Mexico who has worked at Super Tacos for a year and a half, is relatively new to the crew: the business began serving tacos to the people of 96th and Broadway over 15 years ago. “They [the owners] told me once how it all started,” says Gonzalez. “It was little, like one of the little hot dog carts you see. At the beginning they were on Broadway” —he indicates a piece of sidewalk 20 feet away— “but they wouldn’t let people park there, so they moved it over here [around the corner].” Super Tacos has an intimate relationship with its small slice of Manhattan pavement.

As the business grew, so did the menu. Besides tacos with nine choices of meat (including lengua—don’t translate, just eat), Super Tacos offers tortas, or Mexican sandwiches: all the makings of a taco, but between corn bread. Grill it, and you’ve got a gordita. Sopes are analogous to pizzas, with a thick, corn, tortilla-like base and toppings of beans, cheese, red and green sauce, and cilantro. Also on the menu are quesadillas, enchiladas, and tamales. To drink, they have a selection of sodas and traditional Mexican drinks like atole, aqua de Jamaica, and horchata, a refreshing drink made of chilled rice milk and flavored with cinnamon—each for only a buck.

Each regular claims he knows the best dish. One man swears the tostadas are the best, “without a doubt,” and holds up his dish of what looks like open-faced tacos on crispy shells. Another guy, who ate hovering over the selection of spicy sauces, says he always gets the taco al pastor, or a taco filled with a pork-and-pineapple mixture and covered in the hot sauce. Gonzalez gives me a different answer: “The Friday special: mole poblano. It’s from my province. It’s a thick sauce, like a chili, with chicken, and served with rice, beans, tortillas. Delicious.”

During our conversation it starts to rain, but the steady flow of devoted customers doesn’t slow. The place is clearly a local favorite, and since its beginning has added to its menu and moved from small cart to large truck. Why then hasn’t Super Tacos moved into something more permanent? “Right now there are plans to get another truck,” Gonzalez tells me. “And they’re looking for a spot, somewhere near here, to open a restaurant, but, I mean, this is like a restaurant. We have regulars.” He pauses. “But they’ll miss the truck.”