Taco tune-up: The best new tacos in New York City

The setup: This West Coaster–approved newcomer—a Chelsea Market counter outfitted with Mexican Coca-Cola signs and hefty jugs of horchata—comes from three Pacific Shore lads: Tijuana native Christian Pineda, and Tyler Sanders and Kyle Cameron of Brawley, California.
The style: The street-cart-style, silver-dollar-sized snacks are doled out in bugle-shaped wax-paper bundles—making for easy transportation as you search for seating in the market’s cobblestoned hallways.
What to order: Small, from-scratch corn tortillas puff up on the grill like blowfish, easing down before they’re piled with al dente hunks of grilled cactus ($2.50) or superbly juicy adobada pork ($3): The red-chili–marinated pig is trimmed from a glistening spit, its natural sweetness jacked up with lime and pineapple shards. 212-256-0343, lostacos1.com

The setup: A boozy sibling to Hecho en Dumbo, Danny Mena’s rustic, brick-walled taqueria  is kitted out with a white-and-green-tiled bar featuring an ample selection of mescal.
The style: Mena’s meat-heavy taco menu focuses on al pastor (cooked on a traditional trompo spit) and al carbon (on the grill), inspired by the simple roadside wraps he grew up eating in his native Mexico City.
What to order: Armed with a golf pencil, tick off your preferred style (pastor versus carbon) and fillings on the checklist menu. For the refreshingly minimal two-biters, the soft, house-made corn tortillas are filled with primal grill-charred carne like pepper-flecked nubs of cecina (salt-cured steak, $4) and chili-rubbed pork-belly chorizo ($4). Doctor the bare-bones parcels with something from the with something from the four-sauce carousel, which includes a sinus-clearing serrano-and-vinegar salsa. 212-729-4206, sembradonyc.com

The setup: The graffiti-tagged snack shack welcomes Lower East Siders with blaring ’90s alt rock and enthusiastic high fives from owners Brad Holtzman, Barry Frish and Matthew Conway (vets of Restaurant Marc Forgione).
The style: Taquitos (three for $5, five for $8)—a staple in Conway’s native San Diego—are the focus of this single-dish spot. The tubelike rolled tacos are done up à la “classic” (with guacamole, lettuce and cotija),“cheesy” (gooey nacho cheese, sour cream and pickled jalapeño relish) or “chronic” (the works).
What to order: Twice-fried yellow-corn cigars give way to soft, succulent meat fillings. For the chicken variety, Frish braises a Bell & Evans bird in a Bloody Mary mix, lending a healthy hit of horseradish and mustard seed, while the top-notch beef—a moist blend of Creekstone Farms eye of round and short rib—finds delicious foils in salty cotija and homemade chili-garlic sauce. 212-780-0121, taquitoria.com

The setup: The brick-and-mortar offshoot of the beloved Red Hook antojito truck, this South Slope corner restaurant is rigged like an abuela’s kitchen: pale-pink Formica counters, plastic-wrapped tablecloths and Spanish-dubbed flicks on an old, buzzing TV.
The style: Puebla-born husband-and-wife owners Fernando and Yolanda Martinez turn out the humble tacos (two for $7) that won them a 2009 Vendy Award.
What to order: Upgrading from the truck’s prefab tortillas, the masa rounds here are patted by hand and warmed on the griddle, arriving with delicately blackened, oil-licked edges. Swine is the way to go, with a standout spicy pork variety—fired with a sun-dried red-chili salsa and tempered with bright pico de gallo—and a supreme chicharróns taco, packed with fried-yet-fatty rinds that butt against creamy guac and crisp lettuce shreds. 718-452-6079, countryboysfood.weebly.com

The setup: This narrow East Village takeout taqueria—emblazoned with a street-art rendering of the fictional, sombrero-sporting Diana—squeezes in a nose-high counter and three tiny tables next to a steamy back kitchen.
The style: Shuffled out on paper-lined steel trays, the West Coast–style tacos ($3–$3.50 each) are inspired by the Mission food trucks that owner Matthew La Rue (the Meatball Shop) grew up with in San Francisco.
What to order: From a hulking spit visible behind the counter, La Rue shaves off quivering, yielding bites of blistered pork for his al pastor taco, piled high on house-pressed corn tortillas with chopped onions and optional dollops of smooth guacamole and morita-chili salsa. The flavorful chicken version features a double dose of poultry: Along with the moist meat—plucked from a rotisserie bird—the taco is topped with fried bits of skin. 646-422-7871, taqueriadiana.com

The setup: Lunchtime lines wind through this quick-service eatery, an industrial cement-and-wood corner space. A smattering of barstooled tables hug a mural-painted wall, designed by art duo Sheryo x the Yok.
The style: Mike Rodriguez—who stoked the pits at legendary Driftwood, Texas, barbecue joint the Salt Lick—mans the grill, scorching Lone Star-style proteins for South-meets–South of the Border fusion tacos.
What to order: The aptly named restaurant features three meaty fillings: moist smoked chicken, kissed with sweet paprika and cumin ($8.04); tender, dry-rubbed pulled pork butt amped up with tart pickled onions ($8.04); and a 16-hour-cooked low-and-slow brisket ($8.73), infused with a campfire gusto that pairs tastily with a topping of smoky-sweet roasted corn. 212-989-8737, trescarnes.com

The setup: Alex Stupak’s electric East Village cantina delivers au courant Mexican plates in digs to match—the sleek black-and-cream space showcases a dark-blue bird mural behind the bar and contemporary Day of the Dead–inspired paintings in the dining room.
The style: The always outspoken Stupak once swore he would never serve tacos at his East Village hot spot, but then changed his mind, declaring entrées “boring” and doing away with mains altogether for his fine-dining reimaginings of the street snack.
What to order: At most taquerias, carne-centric fillings rule the menu. The terrific carnitas here, zipped up with salsa verde marmalade, are no slouch (although the short-rib pastrami is an unfortunate mash-up flop). But it’s the whimsical vegetarian offerings that steal the show: In one offering, bright yellow pineapple batons get a light porky touch from a blanket of silky lardo and earthiness from achiote—an elegant remix of the old Hawaiian combo. In another, the nutty sweetness of charred brussels sprouts is teased out by a musky almond mole, all folded into soft flour tortillas. 212-780-0999, empellon.com

The setup: BrisketTown’s smoked-meat pro, Daniel Delaney, puts a tortilla-wrapped spin on his acclaimed ’cue at this taco pop-up, running through October 25 at Flatiron’s alfresco market Madison Sq. Eats.
The style: Riffing on BrisketTown’s popular breakfast tacos, the booth hawks Austin-style Tex-Mex tacos ($5 each), with Delaney’s acclaimed barbecue loaded onto flour tortillas.
What to order: The tough fried chicken will send you straight to the dentist’s office, but you can’t go wrong with the pit-smoked red meat. A liberal topping of fresh cilantro and red-onion relish livens up Delaney’s white-oak-fired brisket, while soft, unctuous pulled pork—dressed in its own fatty juices—gets some contrasting crunch with red cabbage and crispy chicharrón bits. delaneybbq.com

The setup: Owners Clara Melchor and cousins Eric and Modesto Perez (Pampano) pack in Crayola-bright string banners, peppy mariachi tunes and mismatched tables at this tiny East Village spot.
The style: The fold-ups range from Mexico City street-food creations (carnitas, carne asada) to California crowd-pleasers, packed with grilled shrimp and battered fish.
What to order: The tongue-tingling house special ($2.95) is padded with paprika-laden chorizo, roasted poblano peppers and potent salsa árbol. But it’s the Baja-fresh fish taco ($2.95) that’s the real star of the menu: The tempura-fried crust shatters around flaky tilapia, with lime-infused crema adding richness and red cabbage echoing the batter’s crunch. 646-692-9268