Red Hook Ball Fields Edible Education: Mexican Huaraches from Martinez Taco Truck

Date May 6, 2009

If I could only eat one dish at the Red Hook Ball Fields, it would be a spicy enchilada pork huarache. The best way to describe a huarache is a huge open-face hybrid quesadilla/taco.   Start by ordering the type of huarache you’d like–the spicy enchilada pork is essentially shredded pork encased in chili powder. Make sure to say you want everything on it. Grated cheese is melted on top of a huge oblong sheet of homemade masa, a paste-like corn substance resulting from the grinding of nixtamal, corn kernels soaked in a limewater solution to remove the germ and hull. Masa is a major ingredient in Mexican cuisine as it’s used to create tortillas and tamales, to name a few. Once the cheese melts, the meat comes next, followed by lettuce, tomato, onion, cilantro, crema, and crumbly, soft queso fresco.

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Read on to find out how you can make your huarache even more delicious, plus learn how to identify the Martinez taco truck. Click here for info on how to get to the Red Hook Ball Fields from Manhattan, Brooklyn & Queens.

Once you receive your finished huarache from the truck, you’ll get a nice amount of heat from the enchilada pork, but I like to add some of the Martinez hot sauce, deep red and super spicy, and some of the bright-green, hot salsa verde. I pass on the mild salsa fresca because we already have chopped tomato on our huarache.

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The only way to eat your huarache without destroying it is to fold it like a taco. Be gentle because the masa is delicate. It’s a sloppy mess of deliciousness that I have to eat every time I go to Red Hook.  It’s so tasty, I usually end up greedily eating the fallen bits of filling from my plate. I’d recommend splitting the huarache if you want to make the most of your appetite. The silver-sided Martinez taco truck (front right of photo below) is usually on Clinton Street facing the corner. If you’re having trouble figuring out how to convey your order, ask for Claudia–she speaks English well. Tell her NYC Food Guy sent you.

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14 Responses to “Red Hook Ball Fields Edible Education: Mexican Huaraches from Martinez Taco Truck”

  1. Brian said:

    Food guy – my wife loves IKEA so this is a perfect excuse to make a trip up there. Other than the food, what else is going on at Red Hook ball fields on the weekend?

  2. The Marchesa of Mustard said:

    Interesting choice. I’m surprised you went huarache over pupusa. I was kind of looking forward to your review the Salvadoran treat, characterized, perhaps by its “cornmealy goodness” and “cheesy deliciousness.” Ah well, to each his own…

  3. frank said:

    they serve food at redhook ball fields all year round??? when is this available?

  4. BrooklynQ said:

    Love the new site design. Looks great!

  5. The NYC Food Guy said:

    Brian,
    There’s not much going on at the Ball Fields on the weekends except soccer but a 10 minute walk from the ball fields is Van Brunt Street, an up and coming street in Red Hook. There’s a great bakery there called Baked, a lobster farm with lobsters from Maine (check availability), and a nice pie joint called Anselmo’s. Definitely enough to keep you busy while she’s shopping!

    The Marchesa of Mustard,

    Have you tried a huarache? They’re very different from pupusas. Pupusas are my second favorite thing at Red Hook, keep an eye out and you’ll get some photos and a review very soon. Have you been out there yet?

    frank,
    It’s available only from May to October when it’s warm out. Some of the vendors set up year round at Brooklyn Flea.

    BrooklynQ,
    Thanks for the kind words Rob. Have you been out to Red Hook Ball Fields? This is actually just a temporary site. I’ll hopefully unveil another new look very soon.

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  7. cherry said:

    oh, those look so good. and i definitely need some instruction on what to order and from whom so this is perfect. now if only they would open that pool early than july (or end of june, whenever it is). Thanks for the tip.

  8. Anonymous said:

    I saw this featured on the Anthony Bourdain/Andrew Zimmern special in NY.. Totally piqued my interest!

  9. HowfreshEats said:

    Never had the spicy pork- always get the bistec, which I’m a huge fan of- not spicy, but great. I’ll give it a try this year. If I had to choose one dish at RH it would either be the huarache, ceviche or pupusa. And that would be based on the mood at the time. And horchata without a doubt.

  10. Alejandro said:

    Going this weekend and I can’t wait.

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