Cochinita's Tacos
Clinton Hill’s still-developing food scene added two trendy taquerias in recent weeks: Cochinita, at 922 Fulton St., and Salva Vida, at 291 Greene Ave. Brendan Spiegel tried out both and evaluated them head-to-head in our first neighborhood food showdown. Here’s how they fared:
|
|
Cochinita
|
Salva Vida
|
Point |
|
Pedigree |
Los Angeleno-turned-Brooklynite Adam Frank offers house-made tortillas and an all gluten-free menu. |
The team behind The General Greene expands east with this hole-in-the-wall on the Bed-Stuy border. |
Cochinita. When it comes to Mexican, West coast rep
|
|
Atmosphere |
Oddly sleek for this stretch of Fulton, with 12 stylish red chairs at two-top tables, arty wall fixtures, an iPad cash |
Just slightly fancier than your typical taqueria, with exposed brick, subway tile, wood floors and eight swivel stools lining the small counter, plus two small benches outside.
|
Salva Vida. The classic low-key neighborhood taco |
|
Scene |
Hipster heavy |
Diverse; lots of families |
Salva Vida
|
|
Best Taco |
The namesake cochinita pibil is like a Mexican version of pulled pork:
|
Chrorizo con papa—ground spicy sausage mixed with soft slices
|
Cochinata. The fresh tortillas and slow-cooked |
|
Toppings |
Choose your own from a checklist of cilantro, lime, radish, queso fresco, pickled onions, red and green salsa. |
Unless otherwise requested, every taco comes with cilantro, raw onions, radish, lime, lemon and one of three salsas.
|
Close, but the pickled onions put Cochinita over |
|
Extras |
The rice and beans—brown rice cooked with sofrito, and stewed pinto beans—can be served with all of the above toppings ($3). Plus there are cajetas—freshly made goat milk-caramel candies ($1.25)
|
A fresh corn salad ($5), plus most of the taco options (including chicken, pork, veggie, steak and chorizo) are also available as burritos or quesadillas. |
Cochinita. The sweet and gooey cajetas are exactly |
|
Mexican Coke? |
Yes. |
Yes. |
Tie.
|
|
Free chips and salsa? |
No chips?!? |
No, but $3 for freshly fried chips and pico de gallo. |
Salva Vida. While we strongly reject the trend of
|
|
Price |
Definitely on the higher end of the taco scale. Each small taco is $3.65, meaning a full meal of three tacos plus a side and you’re topping $15. |
Surprisingly affordable, the menu of hearty tacos is priced to scale, ranging from $1.50 for a bean-and-cheese taco to $3.50 for steak. |
Salva Vida. |
Salva Vida, pre-opening. Photo by Linnea Covington via Grub Street
The Verdict: Salva Vida takes an equal number of categories—including atmosphere and price—but taco taste has to be the tiebreaker, making Cochinita the best new addition to the nabe.
conchinita is delicious — but you’re right, the price is tough to swallow. a “budget approach” to eating — restraining yourself to two tacos, say — still puts you over $7. and a bottle of water is $2.75!
I’ve been to Salva Vida and Conchinita each about 3 or 4 times, that being said I would have to make Salva Vida the winner if it were my call. The Chorizo burrito is bomb there. Conchinita has its advantages, the drinks and pork tacos, but I think I’ll be headed to Salva Vida much more often as the tacos are twice the size, cheaper and in some cases better.