The Next Great Taqueria Is...
Review: Santo Taco in Nolita serves a steak trompo taco for the ages. Plus: Mole nachos and vodka sodas at Superbueno
Today’s multi-visit review of Santo Taco is paywalled. Subscribe to access the full column, along with city guides like The Sushi List and The Sandwich List! But first…
The Artist | Marcela Avelar
Diego Rivera once told a very specific, yet very timeless story about New York.
He painted a stratified panorama of the city, with rows of unhoused folks sleeping above moneyed aristocrats. José Clemente Orozco did something similar, literally placing his working-class subway riders into the shadows — a vision of the hard life from a century ago. I’ve written about those great Mexican Muralists in recent columns; their works resonate now more than ever — especially as our country’s new oligarchs enrich themselves at the expense of those who voted them into power.
But today, I’m dedicating a few words to a more contemporary figure. I’m going to write about Marcela Avelar, a Jalisco-born, Brooklyn-based artist whose creative writings on depression and mental health feel as relevant as ever — especially as more Americans struggle with loneliness in a post-COVID world.
Marce has painted in front of live audiences at Art Bath, an experimental salon that you should all attend, and at Carnegie Hall, a little performing arts center in Midtown. And if you’re a careful reader of my columns, you might’ve seen a few of her food photos here and there.
A few summers ago, Marce asked me to give her draft poetry book a close read. It’s called “Kiss Me Goodnight,” a meditation on depression, melancholy, and joy. I spent a few weeks with it, and I’ll tell you almost exactly what I told her: that it’s an important and courageous work, with a stunning economy of language and beauty of form. She displays a remarkable fluency in conveying the raw emotions that swirl inside so many of us, yet that so many more of us struggle to understand — let alone express in writing.
Last week, Marce launched “Kiss Me Goodnight” at a small event in Soho. It’s a phenomenal collection of poems, and you can order a copy here. I haven’t re-read Elizabeth Wurtzel’s “Prozac Nation” or Kay Redfield Jamison’s “Night Falls Fast” in years, but if either of those books have moved you, I think you’ll appreciate this entry into the field. And like with Rivera and Orozco, I’m certain we’ll all be talking about Marce’s art in New York (and beyond) for some time to come.
Behind the paywall: What to order at Santo Taco and Superbueno!
Why the mushroom tacos at Santo are so damn good
A few notes on the “lime program” at Santo
Battle of the steak tacos: Esse vs Santo
The case for vodka sodas and nachos at Superbueno
Santo Taco, your next steak taco destination
Last week in Nolita — underneath a giant Yves Saint Laurent billboard — a Cosme co-founder opened up a little restaurant where everything’s under $7.
It’s called Santo Taco. It’s by Santiago Perez. It’s located in the space that once housed La Esquina’s takeout spot. And it serves one of the city’s greatest new steak dishes, a taco where the sirloin does its best impression of thinly-sliced charcuterie.
I’ve been three times already. A fourth visit will follow soon, though a few other folks have the same idea; I queued up for 45 minutes on Saturday.
The line wrapped around the block.