Before all of this craziness surrounding COVID-19 began, I took a trip with @alexisstanstacos to El Sombrero in the Lower East Side. We were going to a rock and roll aerial burlesque show later that night and we figured, we might as well go to a happy hour and get some new content for our taco fans! We saw that El Sombrero was close by and had $5 margaritas. Naturally, we decided that this was the place for us. I can say that the margaritas did not disappoint. They were delicious, and quite strong, especially for cheap happy hour drinks. That being said, I would definitely recommend this place for happy hour if you find yourself on the Lower East Side (once we can leave our houses, of course).

Now, to get to what I really wish to talk about (or should I say taco-bout). There were a couple of items on the menu that we wanted to try, and one of the things we were interested in were the “Chino Latino Pork Tacos.” They were served in pork buns, filled with Korean-barbecue style meat and topped with pickled onions. And of course, what wouldn’t be great about that right? Although they were tasty, we couldn’t help but think about how these were not really tacos at all. I am all about fusing different cultures’ foods together to create something delicious, but this was a place that advertised itself as a Mexican restaurant and served variations of Mexican food at highers prices. For example, these three tiny tacos cost us $12. This reminded me of what we had talked about in class and taking advantage of the food of a certain culture in order to maximize your own profit. I think that the whole experience taught me that this class has definitely changed how I view food that I order. It is no longer just a matter of how delicious the food is, but also about what the restaurant values and how it gained its success.

But as I said, these “tacos” were delicious, and maybe if they altered the name, then this post could solely be about that.

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