If you don’t love tacos or burritos, quite frankly I don’t want to know you. There is so much to love about them, in terms of execution of flavor, depth, ingredients, spice, and so much more, that you must have a really weird palate to not enjoy just how great they really are. With all of the “conglomerate” type of taco/burrito places infiltrating the city, many are finding that the unique “one off” types that make our city so fantastic are being drowned out by mass produced crap. One place that is defying all of that with some of the best tasting tex-mex food I have ever had, is Tres Carnes, with locations on 6th Avenue between 22nd and 21st Street, and 3rd Avenue between 56th and 57th street.
Tres Carnes and Manhattan Digest have had quite the love affair in the past couple years, given that I was introduced to it around this time back in 2014. As someone who inhibits the bigger “chain” type locations, I am always happy and quite frankly honored to visit authentic and interesting ones like Tres Carnes, as I always find things are made with a lot more thought, preparation, and honestly love. Tres Carnes does that and so much more.
Tres Carnes was founded by the absolutely lovely Sasha Shor, who I had the pleasure of meeting up with a couple of months ago. Sasha is originally from Russia but has lived all over the United States, including Tennessee and Nashville. She headed out of the south to the northern lights of New York City a couple of years ago, and developed the idea of Tres Carnes with her own recipes, ideas and more.
The location that I have primarily gone to is the one on 6th Avenue, as it is a lot more desirable for me geographically. Something that Sasha mentioned, which I didn’t realize until she said it, was that the area around her was very much like a strip mall, with stores like Best Buy, The Container Store and more surrounding it. Tres Carnes tends to stick out as it reads and feels like a local place, which is why its popularity has grown exponentially over the last two years of it being open.
I have a hard time describing just how freaking amazing the food is there. It is made so well that i almost want to shed a culinary tear each time i have it. This past time though, I was treated to some items that i haven’t tried before, so brace yourself, because it is going to be good. They have the traditional options of the burrito or bowl, but seeing as i wanted to pack as many flavors in my mouth (giggity) as possible, I opted to go with the burrito, and was satisfied in more ways than one.
I did a duo pairing of their Lamb and Brisket, which also included their absolutely delicious yellow rice, chili-lime corn, roasted seasonal vegetables, cotija cheese, spicy roasted tomato salsa and sour cream on top. Here is the thing, yes some of these items you can find at other locations, but the main point that i always find to be true with Tres Carnes is that you can really define each element when you bite into the burrito. It isn’t just hastefully mushed together so that one or two elements stick out more than the rest, each has a shining moment. They have a ton of taco and burrito options to choose from, this one however was tops for me and really filled me up that night. You can see the other options here.
Unlike other taco places, Tres Carnes really develops the BBQ Tex-Mex version into their options with choices of said Brisket, Chicken or Pork Shoulder. When these options are smoked for 16 hours, you know that you will be tasting a little bit of heaven as opposed to something that was just prepared and put on your plate five minutes ago. Attention to detail in the culinary world is a very important aspect, and Tres Carnes makes the grade and then some.
Their Chili-Lime Corn with Cotija Cheese, an add on or a side dish, is something that I would want jarred up and sent to me for my birthday. Same goes for their amazing Guacamole. Flavor, depth, and so much more make it the highlight to put as a side chick or the main boo for whatever you prefer. It is so beyond tasty and worth it.
Tres Carnes also does a ton of catering, so if you are ever looking for something on a larger scale for a party, office or more, they have you covered. You must try them out, it is worth it and so much more. For more information on Tres Carnes, check out their official site.