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Chinese Tacos?

Mexican foods are slowly popping up
at fast food Chinese restaurants.
Sure they have 2 different menus -
the chinese one and the mexican one.
But I still can't get over ordering a chicken fajita from el chino!

Seems like I'm not the only one that thinks so!
Two Taco Bells in Shanghai closed earlier this year.
The idea was "little rice and no beans",
less spicy to accomodate the Chinese palate,
and let's add sombreros to the waitresses.
meandchairmanmao.com explains it best:

No my friends-- or should I say amigos?--
this is not the Taco Bell you are used to.
Here in China, it's a bit more upscale:
it's actually a sit-down restaurant with menus
instead of a reader board;
nice chairs and tables instead of easy-to-clean
but incredibly uncomfortable plastic booths ...
All that, plus free chips and salsa. ...
When it was all said and done,
I would have rather had a soft-taco supreme.

Sadly, that wasn't on the menu.
There's no Starbucks in El Barrio

"We don’t have a Starbucks in East Harlem yet,
but we can imagine the scenario playing out.
[it] will bring a Home Depot and a Target to the neighborhood.
... It’s not that we don’t want a better business climate in the
neighborhood. We want more people visiting East Harlem’s
historic treasures" says Exec. Dir. of Hope Inc. Robin LeBaron.

Well now there's no need for Starbucks
because right on the very corner of 104th and Lex is
The East Harlem Cafe
Launched by El Barrio's own Michelle Cruz,
who btw was also a delegate for Barack Obama!
See her interview  on nytimes.com

Spacious, terracotta brown decor, display of local artists' work,
the unabashed  Michelle Cruz says,
"the really hard part starts now that it's open.
Making sure the customers keep coming. "

If opening day was any indication,
Ms. Cruz better keep the coffee brewing
because it was attended by such notables as
Adam C. Powell IV and Jose Serrano Jr.,
and with a live performance of the quintessential Boricua,
Bomba and Plena musician Tato Torres.  

Rumor has it that coffee will not be the only thing brewing
at the East Harlem Cafe because it is becoming
a meeting place to brew up ideas on keeping Starbucks out
and preserving the authenticity of Spanish Harlem.

One cup at a time!
Hot Dogs ... Make way for the Chihuahua!

Street food vendors are pushing
more than just hot dogs these days.
In fact there is an annual street vendor awards- "Vendys".
This year's winner of the coveted Vendy awards goes to...
Calexico Carne Asado corner of Wooster and Prince Street.
You can't miss this bright yellow cart with the word
"Eat the Street" emblazoned on it.
The 3 Brothers ironically named Vendley,
originally from Calexico - town between California and Mexico
are serious about their food!  They even have a website!  
calexicocart.com   

One of the 5 finalists was a pupusa stand
owned by Rafael Soler in Red Hook Park in Brooklyn
Soler originally from the Dominican Republic started by
sewing pants for $3 a dozen when he came to this country.
Now together with his Salvadorian wife they make pupusas.  
He says, "Sometimes I don’t sleep, because it’s very, very hard
[but] I don’t lose nothing because
I feel super happy when they come to me every weekend.
Sometimes they don’t buy nothing — they say,
‘Hi, paisano! You O.K.?’ This is what I like.
This is better than money.”

Rafael... I'll give you $2 on Tuesday for a pupusa today!
See pics of opening day virtualboricua.org
Check out the youtube video of the finalists

Rafael Soler -  Nobu of Red Hook
nytimes.com

Holy Guacamole! Calexico Cart Wins the
Vendy Awards on seriouseats.com

Rafael Soler review on seriouseats.com
calexico cart review on seriouseats.com