Carbon

Creamy and just a little spicy, the roasted-red-pepper salsa works wonders on the tacos at this superfriendly taqueria, which is tucked beneath a tangle of expressways somewhere just south of Chinatown, at the north point of Bridgeport. Doctored with sauce, the big chunks of grilled steak and tender chicken breast are good, but the battered-and-fried tilapia is our runaway favorite. Make it a meal with a side of elote (an off-the-cob take on the street-food staple), a Caesar salad (“originally created in Acapulco”—who knew?) and a Dos Equis (margaritas, though tempting at $3, are the weak, from-a-mix variety).