Papacitos: Mexican Street Food in Brooklyn

I’ve had a little hiatus, mostly due to a laptop accident (apparently you can’t drop your laptop from 5 ft and expect it to work) and a trip to Boston for the AAMC conference. Anyway, the night I got back, I decided to venture out for a late dinner at Papacitos.

Papacitos is a lovely looking place in a neon-signed-dia-de-los-muertes sorta way, always busy and always with a crowd.

Dear Papcitos,

i have wanted to try you for a while. You have been open for about a year and a half and always seem pretty busy (which is sorta weird for Greenpoint). You inspired me to write a story. Here goes.

I came in around 8:30 on a Monday night and I was HUNGRY! I sat down, got some water. And waited. And waited. And WAITED! Just then, the one waitress on staff walks by and takes the order of a table nearby that came in after us. “WTF?” I think and the more sedate Mike says, “Calm down, no big deal that she took their order, if she goes back to the kitchen, that’d be different.” He says this as I watch her turn the corner and run back into the kitchen (of course).

Oh man. I’m talking to my timid dining partner friend about leaving. He’s like “Wanna?” and my Id was like “Hell to the yes!” My super-ego was being all rational, coming with comments like “but you’re hungry” and “but you love Mexican food” and “BUT THE BLOG!!” Luckily, at this very moment the very nice countergirl/waitress/bartender/good-multi-tasker came over and asked if we were doing ok. Very perceptive! She saved us a likely-disappointing pilgrimage to some other restaurant nearby at this hour (9:00 on a Monday, at this point).

Offering free beer as a concession, she hooked us back in. Clearly the Id is like, “Free beer is ALWAYS worth it,” so, ok, I’m a cheap date, but honestly, I was just hungry and wanted to try the place out, and it was a nice addition. So we order. Lucky for you, Papacitos, you were not out of guacamole (which I hear is a common complaint for you) and we order that to start. It is sorta mild but tasty and comes out with deliciouss and hot, freshly fried tortilla chips. It’s also a couple avocado’s worth so be hungry.

For dinner, I was feeling nostalgic for my summer in San Diego and I get fish tacos. Fish tacos are like a little slice of heaven when they’re done well. From there menu: Grilled Tilapia, House Pickled Red Cabbage, White Sauce, Cilantro and Onions. 1 for $4, 2 for $7, 3 for $9. Not only a great deal for dinner in New York but they were extremely delicious. Ask for some jalepenos and/or add some hot sauce if you like spicy because they are pretty mild but the fish is grilled perfectly and covered in a chili spice. The cabbage is marinated and tasty. They come wrapped in two tortillas each: eat one to save the calories, eat both to save your napkin/shirt. DO NOT leave any fish leftover. It’s too good.

Also tried the chimichanga burrito. It is huge (that’s not what she said). 12' flour tortilla stuffed a 1# 1/2 of mexican rice, FRIED (whoa!), black beans, monterrey jack cheese, homemade salsa, sour cream, olives with meat or vegi option. You can choose your filling from the list: anjito pork (lime and chili carnitas) [AMAZING!] grilled chicken, chorizo, carne asada, ground chili spiced mexican beef, chili verde pork, grilled tilipa ,grilled vegi, spicy tempe, seitan asada, soyrizo…your choice. My only complaint was that I think they might have been out of fresh jalepenos because the ones we had were definitely from a can. Hopefully this is not the case all the time because I love me some spice. Everything else tasted super fresh so fingers crossed because I’m definitely going back. $10. What a deal, folks.

This reminds me, Papacitos is gaining notoriety as a great veggie/vegan place to eat in Brooklyn so nobody who hasn’t already been there should have an excuse not to try it out. While the service is a little slow, the prevailing atmosphere is all good. Dark blue walls, local art and fresh food. They also deliver (see the map on their site) to most of north brooklyn (north of Dumbo…LIC and South of McCarren Park will get you a $3 surcharge otherwise it’s free).

Also, They have a serious hell of a patio and outside dining area. Something to look forward to on the less frigid days somewhere in the distant future (photos courtesy of papacitos website/blog and yelp users).