[CLOSED] Taqueria Sinaloense

MÉXICO 🇲🇽

[UPDATE: CLOSED]

Every now and then a restaurant opens around town and takes its name from the state of the owners. Chihuahua, Guerrero, Michoacán, and others have all made their way into restaurant names, but their menus have mostly disappointed with the same old round of antojitos and basic plates. Regional specialties are not the strong point of New York City Mexican food.

This is not the case at Taqueria Sinaloense, a brand new spot which seems to be taking pride in the foods that have origins in the Pacific Coast state of Sinaloa. On a first visit, machaca was written in all caps on the sandwich board outside. The joint first piqued my interest when tacos de machaca were posted on the Instagram account of @tacoliteracy.

Having had a wonderful meal in Los Angeles but only getting as close as Jalisco when visiting México, this restaurant was intriguing from the beginning. Seeing this excitement, the proprietors of the place were incredibly generous and friendly with my questions and requests.

The taqueria is super casual, with some grilling taking place up front and other items coming from the kitchen in back. If you sit down, someone will bring a menu, otherwise it is all listed up front and you can place your order there. It seems that most get their meals to go, but there are plenty of tables for dining in.

Sinaloans around the neighborhood (and probably some from other northern states that also enjoy machaca) seem to be excited as well. Machaca had sold out by 6:30pm on the first visit here. Luckily some other items I was eager to find were still around, including the custom plate of chilorio and frijoles puercos seen above.

Chilorio is dry pork in chile sauce, and exclusively from Sinaloa. It takes many many hours to make and uses a lot of lard while being cooked. As you might imagine, frijoles puercos are beans full of pork bits and flavor. They are truly wonderful here.

On a return visit, the machaca was available. The tacos de machaca ($3 each, below) use the dried meat and scramble it with eggs and onions, similar to how it is popularly eaten for breakfast. Squeeze some lime on, and add their housemade salsa made with chiles de arbol seen in a photo later.

Machaca is always paired with fluffy flour tortillas instead of corn, and while they are not making their own here, the chewiness is pleasant and pairs well.

Sinaloa is also known for great seafood, as the state hugs the coast. Another of the most famous dishes is aguachile, a shrimp dish that should be incredibly spicy in a soup or "agua" made with chilis and lime. When I asked about this, a broad smile and laugh was given in return. In New York City, the dish can be found on menus here and there, but is almost always disappointing. I was hoping some Sinaloans would rectify this problem.

They did have shrimp ceviche though, and when it was noticed that other customers were ordering tostadas (below) with a layer of frijoles puercos and the shrimp, we immediately followed suit.

A full array of regular tacos (below) are also available for $3 each. This order of birria and suadero was enjoyed, oversized (corn) tortillas filled with fresh meats.

I was raving about the housemade salsa made with chiles de arbol (below) and was given a container to take home because the proprietor was so sweet. If your table does not have the spread already, make sure to grab it from the fridge.

After the second visit, I stopped in the front to chat some more and snap the picture below of a new sign advertising their Sinaloan special.

Then as I waved goodbye, I almost missed it. Another colorful sign had also just been put up, advertising aguachiles. See you soon, Taqueria Sinaloense.

[UPDATE: Stick to the other foods mentioned, the aguachile ($11.95, below) was disappointing unfortunately.]

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ELMHURST Queens

40-08 Case Street