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Cafe El Portal

174 Elizabeth St. between Kenmare and Spring, Little Italy

With all the restaurants around here, one would think that more than just a small handful could excel at preparing tasty, unpretentious, somewhat authentic Mexican food. Among the distinguished few, hype, pretense, and louche trust-fund lounger free (for the most part, its a rarity in this particular hood) Cafe El Portal prepares very good, very inexpensive, fairly authentic Mexican food. The menu is small, concentrating on tacos, burritos, and quesadillas, with a few, more expensive items dubbed house specials, all cooked by the owner's mother. I'll admit to only ever getting the tacos, so disqualify as you will, but damn, they are good. Moist, flavorful chunks of carne al pastor (pork) or pollo asado come wrapped in two corn tortillas--a key detail, especially if you've ever been to a San Francisco taqueria--topped with a fresh, piquant pico de gallo. Add salsa roja or verde if you wish, but why bother when when the base model nears perfection. Burritos are large, as burritos are wont to be, and filled with similar combinations of meat, cheese, beans and thankfully, no lettuce. Seriously, how Taco Bell could you get, especially in New York? Anyhow, the burritos have received good reviews from companions equally snobbish about their mexican as I. Wash it all down with one of several margaritas, including the standard on the rocks with salt, as well as a slightly unusual cucumber or a more prole pineapple. No off the shelf margarita mix here either, folks, each margarita is made with real fruit juices, and are often as pulpy as the local news and well worth a price equal to that of most menu items.