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This casual, Mex mini-chain expanded from Brooklyn into the East Village in early 2011, bringing some south-of-the-border sunshine to a dead-end alley off 1st Street. Every morning, owner David Schneider selects antibiotic and hormone-free meats from his local butcher, Piasano’s, on Smith Street, while tortillas are delivered daily from Queens. Chilies and tomatoes are selected with care then lightly roasted and pureed to preserve the flavor. While enchiladas, tortas, and quesadillas are all made with fresh, quality ingredients, it's the tacos that deserve your focus: cabeza combines beef cheek and tongue in a smoldering mole sauce; chorizo gives a sharp kick of heat; and a Korean-leaning variation blows the corrugated tin roof off with super-tender steak and a creamy kimchi sauce. Not traditional pueblo fare…but maybe it should be. Thanks to a late-night happy hour (Monday through Thursday, certain tacos are $2 from 10 p.m. onward) and a B.Y.O. policy, the industrial-looking space works well for a post-bar pit stop. — Edna Ishayik

Cabeza, chorizo, and Korean tacos, $4.25; elote, $3