Carnitas Ramirez in Alphabet City serves up some of NYC's most authentic and tasty tacos, featuring a diverse selection of pork cuts and fresh, flavorful toppings.
"Your uncle might call this pork-only taco shop on 3rd Street a swine-dining establishment, but we're not your uncle so we won't. Carnitas Ramirez makes carnitas the traditional way by braising every piece of the pig in lard. And they do this very well—not a shocker given that the Taqueria Ramirez team is responsible. Grab a surtida taco, which includes all the cuts, and at least a few tacos filled with specific piggy parts. We love the irony, tender lengua, and the sweet and salty cuero: chopped-up slivers of pig skin that eat like pork-flavored gummy worms." - will hartman, bryan kim, willa moore, kenny yang, neha talreja
"Taqueria Ramirez is a hit in Greenpoint, so now the team is replicating its success across the bridge in the East Village, which made it on Eater NY’s 2024 awards list. This new taqueria sells carnitas tacos made with different parts of the pig. There is trompa (snout), which is rich in collagen, and chamorro (flank), which has crunchy, fried skin. In total, there are around a dozen cuts of meat on the menu, including oreja (ear), buche (stomach), and seso (brain)." - Emma Orlow, Eater Staff
"Those who don’t eat pork, avert your eyes. Every edible surface at this East Village taqueria is covered in a thin slick of pork lard—and that’s exactly why we love it. From the same team as Taqueria Ramirez (which we also love), this counter-service spot serves every part of the pig, from trompa to rabo. The surtida taco, which includes all the cuts combined on a freshly griddled corn tortilla, is mandatory. Follow that up with a survey course of Ramirez's other offerings to find out just how many different textures come from a single animal: chewy skin that eats like pork-flavored gummy worms, tongue that’s creamy but with a little chew, and gelatinous tail. It’s educational, yes, but also delicious. Everything tastes even better when eaten on an overturned paint bucket overlooking 3rd Street and Avenue B." - bryan kim, neha talreja, willa moore, will hartman, sonal shah
"Taqueria Ramirez is a hit in Greenpoint, and the team has replicated that success across the bridge in the East Village. This new taqueria sells carnitas tacos made with different parts of the pig. There is trompa (snout), which is rich in collagen, and chamorro (flank), which has crunchy, fried skin. In total, there are around a dozen cuts of meat on the menu, including oreja (ear), buche (stomach), and seso (brain). It’s no wonder Carnitas Ramirez was named in our 2024 Eater Awards as the year’s best counter-service option." - Eater Staff, Robert Sietsema
"When this follow-up to Greenpoint hit Taqueria Ramirez opened in the East Village, it was only open on the weekends. Now it has expanded service to Wednesdays and Thursdays — for lunch, too. There are almost a dozen types of carnitas on the menu, once more unusual to find in Manhattan." - Eater Staff
