Tlayuda Oaxaqueña SR San Pablo

"The stretch of Roosevelt Ave. between Jackson Heights and Corona is lined with street vendors selling tamales, chuzos, seco de chivo, and more. To stand out, you can’t just be good. You have to make dreams come true—for $20 or less. Tlayuda Oaxaqueña Sr San Pablo, with its mound of fresh masa and sizzling cecina that lingers on your tastebuds, sets the current benchmark. The manhole-sized tlayudas are the marquee items at this cart across from Corona Plaza, and two people can easily spend an hour pulling one apart, grabbing messy bites of shredded lettuce, crumbled chorizo, and strips of Oaxaca cheese. But the huaraches, quesadillas, and tacos gigantes deserve your attention as well. We’d tell you to run over now, but you have all night. This place stays open 24 hours." - bryan kim, neha talreja, willa moore, will hartman, sonal shah

"Across from Corona Plaza, in the shadow of the 7 train tracks, there’s a street cart selling tlayudas wider than a steering wheel. We’re talking a crisp layer of freshly griddled masa, topped with cheese, beans, shredded lettuce, and your choice of meat. The correct choice is the combo with crumbles of chorizo, cecina that tastes like the salty essence of beef, and planks of both carne enchilada and carne asada. Grab a quesadilla and huarache as well, and plop yourself at the little table to the side where you can accessorize with hot sauce and pickled onions." - willa moore, bryan kim, will hartman, neha talreja, carlo mantuano, sonal shah

"Corona’s street food scene is lapping the competition. Starting around 104th Street, you’ll see carts and trucks every few feet, forming a chain of incredible and relatively affordable bites that stretches over a mile down Roosevelt Avenue. Any pitstop yields worthwhile results, but the center of this universe is Tlayuda Oaxaqueña Sr San Pablo. photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte In the shadow of the 7 train, across from Corona Plaza, this cart sells huaraches longer than your forearm, oversized tacos stuffed with deeply savory cecina, and quesadillas dripping with the ruby-red grease of crumbled chorizo that reached its full potential on a big, hot griddle. Fresh masa—pressed to size and cooked to order—is key, and hubcap-sized tlayudas are the main event. photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte Set yourself up on a short plastic stool at the adjacent thigh-high table, and accessorize your tlayuda with squeeze bottles of hot sauce and pickled onions. You’ll need at least one person to help tackle your $17 meal, although it’s a shame if you don’t get a huarache as well. So wrangle three friends who enjoy tearing at warm masa. The cart is open 24 hours, so scheduling shouldn’t be an issue. Food Rundown photo credit: Kate Previte Tlayuda Choose from cecina, chorizo, carne asada, or carne enchiladas, or do the right thing and get all four meats on one massive toasted disc. No matter which variety you order, your tlayuda will come piled with beans, shredded lettuce, avocado, and two types of cheese. photo credit: Kate Previte Huarache Huarache or tlayuda is a very tough call. The tlayudas are larger and more awe inspiring, but the huaraches are satisfyingly thick, with fresh, crunchy cabbage. Get both, ideally, and go the cecina route here. photo credit: Kate Previte Quesadilla This cart could only sell quesadillas, and it would still be essential. The combo of stretchy cheese, salty chorizo, and warm, crisp tortilla is tough to beat." - Bryan Kim

"There’s a new Mexican street food pop-up right outside of Cevicheria El Rey on Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights that specializes in tacos Arabes and cemitas. Served with cochinita pibil (roasted pork) on a giant tortilla that almost resembles a pita, the food at Tlaxcal Kitchen traces back to the city of Puebla, where 19th-century Arab immigrants intertwined kebabs and shawarma into central Mexican cuisine. Check out their Instagram information for more information on hours and specials." - matt tervooren

"In the shadow of the 7 tracks just north of Corona Plaza, Tlayuda Oaxaqueña Sr San Pablo is a newly arrived cart named for Saint Paul and dedicated to making some of the city’s best tlayudas. These crunchy and outsize Oaxacan corn tortillas are a predominant street food in the Mexican state and are often eaten late at night. Here they remain relatively rare, and are sometimes presented in diminutive form at fancy bistros. The cook begins by putting the round irregular flatbread on the griddle to heat and soften it, slathering it with liquid lard and then black beans flavored with avocado leaves and other herbs. Next, she tosses on shredded cabbage and Oaxacan cheese. A few slices of tomato and avocado provide decoration, and then grilled sausage and the dried beef called cecina are added. Red and green salsas squirted on at your discretion complete this symphony of sharp, mellow, and earthy flavors ($12). Two can easily share this treat, washed down with cafe de olla or Jarritos." - Eater Staff