Pupusas and Tamales at Red Hook Ball Fields – NYC

pupusas @ el olomega corn @ red hook
tamal @ red hook zuchinni pupusa @ el olomega

Years ago, when the Red Hook Ball Fields was still flying under the DOH radar, and mom and pop Latin food stands were still prevalent, I remember having the most amazing meal of tacos and horchata. Now, all the food is in trucks, and while the spirit is different, great food still abounds.

pupusas @ el olomega

On my last visit, I first started off with a pupusa platter ($6) from El Olomega, coincidentally, the winner of this year’s Vendy Awards. A platter is any combination of two pupusas. I ordered one chorizo and cheese for myself and one zucchini and cheese for David. Pickled jalapenos, curtido, and salsa was self-serve.

zuchinni pupusa @ el olomega

Although the tortillas were a bit too loose, they were fresh with a good amount of filling. When it comes to pupusas, freshly made pupusas trump pre-made ones any day.

tamal from solber pupusa

Pupusas were also an option at the Solber Pupusas Truck (winner of the 2011 Vendy Awards), but I wanted a tamal and ordered a chicken tamal with sour cream ($2.50). If you’ve never had a Salvadoran tamal, it’s similar to softer Yucatecan-style tamales wrapped in banana leaves but filled with more stuff, like vegetables, chickpeas, and sometimes even raisins. In burger terminology, it’s like a meatloaf as opposed to a burger. (Cornloaf?) Solber Pupusa’s rendition was solid, and while the filling was generic and probably from a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, I loved the moistness of the masa.

tamal @ red hook

Personally, I prefer Mexican tamales, but unfortunately, the chicken tamal ($2) one truck over was dry and hard.

corn @ red hook

The elote ($3) from a truck a few more trucks over wasn’t much better. It was also dry and barely slathered with any mayonnaise.

Tacos next time for me if I want Mexican, in addition to a few pupusas. If you want to try either yourself, get thee quickly to Red Hook! The trucks are moving on in October.

Red Hook Ball Fields
Clinton & Bay Streets (map)
Brooklyn, NY 11231




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