Long Island City is starting to turn into another North Williamsburg but with less hipsters. There is a flurry of restaurants and stores that appear to be opening up soon. Along with Vernon Blvd, Jackson Ave is starting to show some liveliness especially around the Dutch Kills bar area. This Tacombi outpost just opened very recently within walking distance from our residence.

Tacombi is a NYC chain taqueria with several establishments across the city. We had been to the Flatiron location of Tacombi several times before, but I’ve never made a proper Tacombi post. Because we actually took pictures of the food in the new LIC location, we’ll share those here.

Summary

I had been to this Michelin 1 star restaurant with a friend for brunch. We were underwhelmed as we’ve been to several Mexican restaurants in Southern California. My partner hasn’t tried this before, so I thought to give it another shot for dinner. Note that the restaurant does not take reservations. We were able to walk in at 5 PM on a Saturday evening and be seated indoors right away. Take note that there is usually a line outside because people want to wait for outdoor tables.

Summary

Every few weeks, we make a market run, and we pass by this small area in Astoria that is relatively close to the market. Nearby, they have a few chain restaurants as well as some NYC specific restaurants. This Mexican restaurant seems to always be happening, so we decided to give it a try this time around. They have a ton of tables, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem securing an indoor or outdoor table.

Summary

This is a local neighborhood spot that has plenty of outdoor seating and social distancing. It’s an interesting place in that it’s kind of in the middle of nowhere. The restaurant reminds me a lot of Williamsburg areas in that they take a warehouse and convert it into a nice comforting eatery. We sat in the outdoor patio area which is very airy and has plenty of comfortable space. We saw they had some electric heaters mounted in the roofs of the patio, so it seemed they are prepared for the colder months.

Summary

This place is located near the James Hotel. They have an outdoors garden that has a decent view.

The chilaquiles was basically 2 eggs, crema, salsa verde, and crispy tortillas. There wasn’t much else here. I thought it was pretty primitive and uninteresting. The salsa was good, but you wish there was some more meats and maybe avocado or something else to give it a little more flavor.

Summary

This is located in the backside of Chelsea Market along 14th Street. Basically walk towards Tippler, and it’d be on your right side. Can’t really miss it. It seems to be a semi-throwback to Baja style fish tacos.

I got shrimp ceviche, 2 fish tacos, and 1 spicy shrimp taco.

I wanted the fish ceviche, but they were out for whatever reason. The shrimp ceviche was pretty good, although I’m not too much of a fan of it being put on a big tostada shell. I thought it’d be more peruvian style but who would have thought.

Summary

This apparently received a coveted 1 Michelin Star at this time of writing.

Went here for brunch, and I’d love to go back to try the dinner. Just like Casa Enrique, I find it pretty good but pricey for what you get.

The horchata was tasty, but does not beat those horchata machines back in LA. Also, it was loaded with ice, so the amount of liquid you get is pretty small for $6.

Interesting Chipotle/Dos Toros style but feels a little more ghetto? Food was ok but cheap.

Got the pozole here which seems to be uncommon here in NYC. Spicy, but pretty good.

Too bad it’s CLOSED.

Pretty good for NYC. Still cannot compare to LA.