El Idolo

Had the best cemita I’ve ever had. The food is fresh and amazing and I’m sad that I didn’t eat close by otherwise I could have gotten more food to go.

I’ve only had the steak and chicken tacos. Steak quesadilla and chicken tamales but all were delicious. Everything is made ready to order. Oh and they have delicious horchata. I have them four stars instead of five because sometimes the truck isn’t there, then every blue moon they have a cook who doesn’t put as much love into the food as I’m used too and they went up on the prices but offer the same quality. All in all tho they’re good. Fresh ingredients. Convenient location. Speedy service.

Tacos are trucks are everywhere, but the Queens based El Idolo taco truck has found a home here on 14^th & 8^th for the past few years. It’s not the only El Idolo around (Midtown and Corona, Queens are the other locations), but one is perfectly situated to address the late night crowds from the Meatpacking and beyond.
Unlike most taco trucks that only feature a handful of tacos, quesadillas, and burritos, El Idolo (aka «The Idol») offers so much more. Their robust menu consists of quesadillas, tortas, huaraches, tamales, sopes, gorditas, flautas, and cemitas. Don’t get too excited, some things are *much* better than others.
Taco enthusiasts may have little to rave about. Pueblan style meats with double tortillas for soakage can be fun, but the tortilla to stuffing ratio is going downhill by the day. To make matters worse, the tortilla is already dry prior to grilling, making it tougher to eat. One would almost hope the juice soaks in after awhile. At the new NYC standard of $ 3 each and with popular meats running out often, it leaves much to be desired.
Cemitas in all of NYC taco truck rarity are passable, though the bread and the frijol spread are a bit clumpy. I’m a sucker for tamales, but I’ve learned to pass on these ones as they’re constantly way too dry and the corn husk almost looks like it’s been sitting out for more than a while. Both the tostadas and enchiladas are messy to eat, but nothing like their burrito, which should always be ordered with sauce on the side. The tacos arabe is an interesting choice, but not impressive enough to warrant ordering each time.
The food may have its flaws, but it certainly is better than nothing at all. The guys in the truck are a friendly bunch and are willing to customize each item to one’s liking. Speaking Spanish is always a plus, but the staff here does a perfectly suitable job handling the orders in English. Cash only of course and being stupidly drunk will help it all go down much easier.

I had an enchilada torta for lunch during the week. It came out quick enough but I was a bit disappointed with the taste. It was fairly bland and not spicy in the least bit even though I was specifically asked if I’d like it spicy. The torta was a decent size and the ingredients seemed fresh enough. I’ll probably stop by again but I wan’t particularly impressed.

I walk by this truck after work, usually after 9:30pm, and they’re still open and taking orders. They’re there whether it’s the middle of winter, or middle of summer, so it’s always an option.
As a Mexican, I have eaten my fair share of Mexican food. And let me tell you, the food is great! My personal favorites are: chicken burrito and a chicken torta. You can’t go wrong with either one. Oh and get yourself some jarritos or a sidral.

I was assaulted by a man that frequents this tack truck regularly. I posted his picture as well. He is 6’5″ white male and 35 or older. He lives on 14^th and 8^th too and after our interaction he walked back into his appartment building here’s what happened.
He misconstrued my interaction with the taco vendor and took it upon himself to push me from behind. He then started harassing and cursing at me for no reason. He is violent towards women and I had to cancel my order because I was scared for my safety with him coming back soon.
My rating for the truck is also because I feel the quality of the tacos has been going down for the past few years. After this I definitely won’t be going back again.

I don’t even want to think about how many times I’ve eaten here, drunk. The tacos are good and the guys are nice. They serve lengua and it’s not bad at all. Spicy hot sauce! Also, once I witnessed a girl start hysterically crying after dropping her tacos down the subway stairs — whether this speaks to the quality of the food or just her level of intoxication, I’m not sure.

Got the asada (grilled beef) taco and not really a fan of it. I thought it could’ve used more toppings and it was a bit too dry. I went around 9:30pm on a wednesday night and it was very busy. They took a while to get our orders out, and they completely forgot one of my friend’s order for an enchilada (unfortunately, she was also the hungriest…) I do like the containers they put the tacos in, makes it easier to eat on the go.

I came here yesterday on my home from volkunteering. I ordered the spicy chicken taco. It was made with two small flour tortillas and was topped with raw diced white onions, a few slices of red radish and a lime wedge. I stupidly added the green salsa. I say stupidly because it was apparently already very hot so I just added heat on top of heat. My fault entirely. Even a sprinkling with the lime wedge seemed to increase the heat.

I don’t know if I went on the wrong day or what. But unfortunately these reviews didn’t match up to my experience. I always pass by this truck and was skeptical to try but I finally did. I ordered a chicken tostada and it was so bad. I always order tostadas at random spot and have never been this disappointed.
The shell was not that crunchy. It was rather hard to bite into. The lettuce didn’t look too fresh and I wasn’t crazy about the chicken either. Altogether horrible. So this is officially the worst taco place I have visited thus far.

Simple, delicious, and inexpensive tacos that are as pure as they get — meat, onions, cilantro, lime. A great food cart to grab a quick snack or a full meal if you want. They even serve lengua!

Why is good:
— Open late night
— Cheap and solid
— Fast
What to get:
— Semita of asada is the best. Chipotle, aguacate and cheese. So good
— Torta of beef or chicken Milanesa is very good
— Enchiladas with chicken are good. They come with rice and beans
— Flautas are good and cheap. You get 4 for ~4 bucks. The beat option if you are down in cash
— Taco de asada. Decent taco. Nothing amazing
What not to expect:
— great tacos. They are just decent
— great salsa. Same, just refrigerated average salsa. Salsa of enchiladas is decent though.

$ 3 veggie taco — lettuce, cheese, crema, tomato, fresh avocado, rice and beans! Probably as close as it gets to a California taco truck in this city. With less fresh ingredients but I’ll take it! They don’t offer whole pinto or black beans, but refried pinto does the trick. Their green sauce is really flavorful and tasty too
Unilocalers are right that the guys are really grumpy here — can’t blame them in this freezing polar vortex of a winter. But they do the job and give you everything you need. I can’t believe I work right next to here, and I never tried until now! Will definitely become a staple.

I always stop to get tacos here when I’m in the area and they never disappoint.
I am however disappointed in Manhattan as a whole where there appears to be a citywide ‘cheese’ shortage at taco trucks and pizza joints. I was asked to pay extra for a few sprinkles of finely grated cheese, when these same vendors used to provide large helpings of stringed mozzarella!
Also, it is true that unless you’re speaking Spanish with these folks, they’re usually quite grumpy.

$ 2.50 per taco. Got the chicken and the chorizo. It comes with hot sauce on the side and lime and radish.
It’s not as good as the taco you find in Queens (Queens comes with Guacamole for same price) but it’s pretty darn Okay for the price. 2 taco was enough to fill me.
I agree that the meat lack flavor but the lime and the hot sauce compliments the entire bite. I prefer the chicken over the chorizo only because it was meatier.

Default the one of the better taquerias in Manhattan as so many of the «Mexican» restaurants are really imposters (see Dos Caminos, Rosa Mexicana).
Their salsa rojo is a little bland but this place is good enough to save me from the random taco cravings. The availability of horchata by the bucket (I kid but literally a large plastic bucket-​like container) is a massive plus.
Really wish they would park the truck in another location — somewhere not so close to the drainage — so the awesome smell of the grease isn’t corrupted by the sewage…

The best Taco Truck in Manhattan!
There are 2 go-to’s here the chorizo and chivo burritos. I cant walk past this truck without getting one. It’s not gourmet just street food at its finest. My only complaint is that they run out of ingredients from time to time, but thats because they serve so many customers.
Do yourself a favor and head on over!

A friend picked out El Idolo as our destination for late night drunchies & it did the trick.
Prices are good & cheap, especially for the tamales. I ordered a chili verde tamale, lengua taco, & carnitas taco. Everything was OK — good if you are drunk & hungry, but overall nothing particularly memorable. The lengua was a bit dry, and it didn’t help that the limes were dried out too. The food generally relied on hot sauce for flavor.
Overall, El Idolo is fine if you are in a pinch for late night Mexican food, but I would not go out of my way to eat here again.

In the day of the cool food truck, you walk by this one, thinking this is old school, it has a fifty fifty chance of being good. I was with some friends that I just met, so I did not want to be a snob, so I went on and ordered a sweet corn/​hot peppers tamale and a chicken tamale, lucky for me, they had just arrived, so they were piping hot. They were almost too hot to eat. Amazing! I can see why all the hubbub about this food truck. And the girl with me that I just met, she said that truck is always parked there and, «if that truck isn’t there, you don’t need to be there.» Funny stuff! Delicious enough not to be able to walk by it without getting a little snack. Why did I have to be a country mouse?

Walking down 6^th Ave, I smelled the familiar scent of taco truck. Instantly, a flood of memories of many a lunch break back in California.
This would have gotten four stars if the pork in the Taco Arabe wasn’t salted to death. It was so salty that the lime juice I squeezed from the complimentary wedge couldn’t cut through the salt.
I’ll be back when I have the chance, perhaps they are covering up the fourth star with all that salt.