Calexico- Red Hook
“The chicken burrito with crack sauce is spectacular as is the pork tacos.”
“I've tried the Carne Asada, Bean, and Ground Beef options and I'd rank the first two ahead of the Gringho ground beef.”
“Several complimentary salsas (habanero and pumpkin seed arbol are great additions) and pickled vegetables provided.”
Calexico- Red Hook
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
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One of the wonderful surprises walking around aimlessly in the city is to realize a place you really wanted to try has another location – and it's right around the corner. This unexpected happiness happened with Calexico.
The food brought me in and the $3 beer late night happy hour had me stay. Enjoyed one of those while waiting for my Carne Asada taco ($4) and Pollo Asado quesadilla ($8). I was skeptical because the price is higher than most Mexican food joints – but man was everything delicious. That crack sauce is a sweet and spicy punch to the tongue. And unlike other similar spots, I was considerably full after I finished, so cheers to that.
They were unfortunately sold out of the Elote when I was there, so that'll be on the "to-eat" list for my next trip.
I was ready to give this place 3-4 stars because the tacos aren't a typical cheap Mexican taco shop price, but that's because these aren't typical small tacos! They were big and delicious! Two is all you need. I also tried the quesadilla, which I NEVER get from Mexican/Tex Mex eateries, but this one was the BEST quesadilla…ever. It will be so hard not to get EVERYTIME. The cheese was so melty, the onion so gently sweet, and the steak…the steak is sublime.
Andale! Andale! You should already be there now!
I'd only been to the 5th avenue Calexico before, so I thought I'd give the "Red Hook" location a shot. I was initially disappointed that they didn't have the fish tacos on their menu board, but was told that it was available. They should really do something about that. So I ordered that, a side of nachos, and their special taco of the day, which was the pollo verde (chicken with green sauce). We wanted it to go, and they quoted us 15 minutes. It actually ended up being half an hour. Luckily, there was room to sit and it was air conditioned, but still a kinda crappy experience. Especially because we were hungry. The food was good though. The fish tacos are still my favorite. The nachos are heavy as all hell though, and you get a crap ton of them.
Man, this place is awesome! Their bowls are delicious (I had pollo asado, minus the rice) and I tried a bit of my friend's pollo asado quesadilla which was amazing. I love that you can come here and either be really unhealthy or really healthy; everybody's happy! Since I was being healthy the day I came, I'll have to come back and be unhealthy next time. Definitely looking forward to it 😉
Meh. Atmosphere was nice, and parking wasn't too hard to find. I was here to meet up with a friend and it was a good low key and cheap spot to hang for a bit. The tacos were ok. I had the carne asada and pollo tacos. Both were ok but could have used some more flavor. You get what you pay for though- at least it's a low key, cool place to sit and chat. Beers are available here too, but don't expect cocktails or margs.
Ordered pickup online here many times. Almost always takes 15 minutes from the time I order. This time, it was 45 minutes. Uh, okay. Weird, but I let it slide.
I arrive to pick up my order 45 minutes later.
When I get home, I find out that my order is a soggy mess.
Guess what that means? They probably had it ready in the usual 15 minutes and gave me a pickup time of 30 minutes beyond that.
You know what nachos that have been sitting around for 30 minutes taste like?
DISGUSTING.
Like, I am literally eating my nachos with a fork right now because the chips are too soggy and crumbled to hold up under the cold, congealed cheese goop and toppings.
Seriously Calexico, get your act together.
I've encountered various small problems with my orders in the past and I've just shrugged it off, but this one is too much to ignore.
On my quest to find SoCal-style Mexican food in NYC, this is as close as I've come for tacos. My burrito hunt is still incomplete, but when it comes to a street taqueria this place is pretty incredible.
First off, this place is no-frills and you gotta make sure to order sauce on the side (it's like 60 cents) and well worth it. There are a few beer options, all that pair well with spicy grub.
The carne asada tacos were flavorful and the ingredients were certainly super fresh. Next time I'll have to try the veggie options, but the meat ones should please any carnivore.
Pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this place. I was expecting to get the taco bell taste at champagne prices but actually got close-to-mexican flavors.
Cheap, fast, and the service was really friendly.
Recommended: Chipotle pork tacos and the spicy peanuts by the counter.