Sombrero Cart

The sombrero got the best of me and I grabbed a burrito from here. I wasn’t expecting super authentic food but I am happy with it. I ordered a chicken burrito for $ 6 which came with a side of rice and beans with a little dab of nacho cheese on the rice. The chicken is stewed and is really tender, juicy, and flavorful. The refried beans were actually really good as well. I wouldn’t walk a mile to find this truck, but I would go if it’s convenient. It’s a nice break from the flavorless Chipotle’s and the Halal trucks in Midtown.

I can’t believe there are negative reviews for this cart. I haven’t been there in about 6 months (I haven’t worked in the area in a while) but I have eaten there about 50x, and it might be my favorite place in the city. I have NEVER had any sort of problem (hint, hint, Mexican street food, stomach). I always get the beef tacos with rice and beans. Both the rice and beans are homemade and taste like it. Some people complain because the beef is ground (like tacos a non-​Latina mother might make for the kids) but I’m fine with it. When I work in the area, this is an every week place for me. Another common complaint I have heard is that they put nacho cheese on your rice-​solution-​just ask them not to. The taco shells are crispy, so yes, they are going to get soggy. You need to be able to sit down and have a fork at the ready; this isn’t walking around food. The people are extremely nice. If you are a foodie who wants authentic regional cuisine, this might not be the place for you. If you like tasty, homemade, comfort food, you’ll love it.

The good: very nice people, seem to genuinely appreciate your business. Portions are always good sized, especially the tacos (they jam them full). Prices are very fair for the area.
The bad: I don’t personally find the beans to be good. I actually don’t even care for them, which is strange because I usually like beans.
Overall: As others have said, it’s decent food, decent prices, decent people. But there isn’t anything all that memorable or addictive about it. I will go maybe once a month and just get a couple of tacos.

To be honest, nothing memorable about this cart… Although the people at this cart seem to be nice, the food was average at best…
The portion was decent (brito came with rice and beans), but the burrito itself was a little dry. If I were to pick the best part of this lunch box is the black beans, which I think had good flavor.
Hmmmmm… I might come back if I really wanna get a burrito in this neighborhood since don’t really have many Mexican lunch options around here.

I really hate to write a bad review for this cart because the people working there were so nice, but the food just isn’t that good. The tacos only come in a hard shell which was kinda soggy. i was not a fan of the rice they use and the beans were meh. The best part of the meal is the cheese they use on the tacos, it was really good. 2 tacos with rice and beans for $ 7.50 isn’t bad but there are better mexican carts in the area.

I’m a regular with their chicken platter — HUGE portion of spicey chicken with beans, rice, lots of salad, salza and jalepenos. LOVE these guys.

Edible, but certainly not good…
Even if you’re in a rush, take your shoe off and ingest that instead, at least you won’t have to pay for something you won’t enjoy.

I suppose there is a certain amount of hit and miss here, but when the mom is serving it’s quite good. Perhaps she’s the cook only sometimes.
Yea it ain’t Mexico City or Pampano of the eastside, but it ain’t bad.

I’ve passed by this cart so many times that I thought I’d finally give it a try.
I got a chicken taco combo, which comes with rice and beans, for $ 5. The portion was generous, the food was ehh. I was quite disappointed especially since I had seen other Mexicans purchasing from him :(Isn’t that kind of an endorsement?!
I ended up eating my chicken/​tomato/​lettuce minus the taco shell since it was soggy and gross… so basically I had a halal chicken over rice meal.
Truly disappointed.

These days, one would think that any self-​respecting Mexican food cart would at least TRY to have some resemblance to actual Mexican food… not so much at this mid-​town lunch gem. My beef tacos tasted exactly like the ones the cafeteria lady used to dump on our trays in 4^th grade. No joke. Even the corn chips were sub-​par! So unless you’re looking to rekindle some sense memory of your 80’s era public school lunch fare, I suggest taking your pesos elsewhere my friend.

For some reason, food stands feels more entrepreneural to me than establishments who invest in fancy accoutrements like doors and plumbing. Everything equal, I’d buy lemonade from a kid’s stand than from a bodega — feels like I’m giving back to the community.
This food stand is hard to miss b/​c it’s got a big sombrero on the top of it. It can be spotted among the sea of food carts that populate 50^th b/​w 6^th and 7^th.
Their specials — which include beans & rice — are pretty cheap. A burrito special (beef, chicken, or veggie) is $ 5. The two taco special is like $ 6 and you can get a burrito and taco for $ 8.
The food here is rather average. The burrito needs more fillings (cheese, pica de gallo, beans) and less sour cream. The tacos are a better choice. The rice and beans are subpar. Not sure what it was about the beans that tasted off — maybe freezer burn?
So I can’t really recommend this cart too heartily but at least the line is shorter than Chipolte (bread lines in the USSR were shorter) and the unwarranted satisfaction I take in helping out a street-​level entrepreneur almost carries me past the inevitable post-​lunch crash one gets from eating this food.