Taqueria El Chato

From the people behind Aldama , El Chato is a tiny taqueria in Greenpoint, no bigger than the living room of your first NYC apartment. Cheffy touches like finely diced pickled onions, and tortillas made with freshly nixtamalized corn set this otherwise casual place apart. The smell of tortillas on the griddle fills the space, and an al pastor taco with crisp, well-seasoned meat comes out dripping satisfyingly with pork fat. The taco here is simpler than Aldama’s taco de trompo, replacing the upscale restaurant’s pineapple and serrano gel with just a thin slab of juicy pineapple—plus whichever smoky salsa you add from the molcajetes to one side. But it works. Go early if you want to sample a few things: they have suadero, carne asada and more, and tacos start at $5.