Profile

At first glance, Tehuitzingo looks like nothing more than a Mexican grocery store. The façade doesn’t advertise anything but, and front area is cluttered with stacks of packaged tortillas, hot sauces, and a glass case full of tomatillos, cheeses, and cactus. But go in past the refrigerated cases of fruits, drinks, and beer, and you’ll find ten stools pulled up to counters against both walls. Visible through a tiny window all the way in the back are the two women who run the small kitchen—and who turn out some killer tacos, especially those made with carnitas (pork cooked in its own fat) and cecina (salted beef). Also excellent are the tortas, crusty rolls sandwiching avocado, tomato, mayonnaise, and your choice of meat. Besides these treats are tasty sopes (thick corn tortillas piled with beans, cheese, cream, and meat), a few specials served with beans and rice, and quesadillas filled with huitlacoche (an earthy, mushroom-like corn fungus) and zucchini flowers. Occasional blasts of accordion music and Spanish chatter from customers provide the soundtrack to an otherwise low-key experience, one that reminds you of how transporting New York can be. — JJ Goode

Tortas, $5; tacos, $2-$2.50