Tres Hermanos

All images © Valery Rizzo

My husband and I went to an opening at the Arch Collective Gallery, part of Beat Nite in Bushwick last week. After viewing paintings, photography, installations and mingling for a while we decided to leave to hunt for something light to eat. One of the artists in the show, also a friend, directed us to a place just around the corner where his girlfriend had gone with family to have a bite.

Upon entering, the place was filled with a mix of hipster and neighborhood locals, happily eating in this neon surrounded casual style restaurant. As we spotted our friends we searched for chairs to pull over to join them at a small table. Looking at the menu the first thing you’ll notice is wow! the great prices. Taquitos, tacos, tostados, tortas, picadas and quesadillas all with several varieties of fillings, chorizo, enchilada, carnitas, chicken, steak, cecina and vegetarian all with prices between $1.50 and $3.50. Run by a few Mexican women, two behind the grill and one behind the counter there seemed to be an honor system in place. You place the order, choose your own drinks from the freezer and they bring you your food and then afterwards before you leave you can tell them what you had to eat and they ring you up. I have not seen that since I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn. As our friend raved about how good the food was, another group of people entered with nowhere to sit. Before you knew it, a few tables and mismatched chairs were set up in the adjacent tortilleria (tortilla factory) which was on the other side of a glass wall and at the moment looked more like an empty garage.…e viola! a table for eight. This restaurant is fancy in no way, but I loved the laid back fun atmosphere, and the authentic Mexican vibe and cuisine. Tortilleria Taqueria Tres Hermanos, we like it so much we decided to go back this past weekend. We had the vegetarian tostadas, a Carnita Torta and some Guava soda, really fresh and simple. Tortilleria & Taqueria Tres Hermanos, you have to see the video on their website.

As an extra bonus if you are into thrift stores or prop hunting like I am, there is this crazy thrift store called Green Village, directly across the street from Tres Hermanos. I nearly died when I walked in and saw this enormous space packed with rows and rows of used clothing, furniture, books and yes! three rows stacked to ceilings with kitchen utensils, baking supplies, dishes, glasses and more. It’s like one big giant estate sale or more like digging through someone’s messy basement, but I found some good things. So if you are into that sort of thing I recommend a day of thrift shopping and tacos.