Taqueria Cielito Lindo review
A trio of tacos served at Taqueria Cielito Lindo in Riverhead includes, from left, campechanos (in the style of the province of Campeche, made with several different kinds of meat), de lengua (tongue), and al pastor (shepherd style, with spit-roasted pork and grilled pineapple). Credit: Gordon M. Grant
A sign reading "Julia's Pizzeria & Restaurant" still hangs above the downtown Riverhead storefront whose true identity, as Taqueria Cielito Lindo, is proclaimed by a banner in the window.
This friendly, authentically Mexican eatery is owned by married co-chefs Jasmin and Edgar Diaz-Leal, who emphasize food over ambience. Do you really care if plastic utensils accompany your tacos? More important — and impressive — is that those tacos feature handmade soft corn tortillas. One way you can order them filled is with campechanos, a lively mix of shredded beef, pork and Mexican sausage. Alternatively, you might choose savory beef tongue or carnitas (braised pork). The winning al pastor version stars roasted pork with grilled pineapple. Chorizo works beautifully, too. Only chicken seems boring.
Here, the deep fryer gets a workout, whether turning out hard tacos or the thicker sopes. Both come with the same filling choices as the soft tacos but, instead of being showered with chopped onion and cilantro, they're topped with shredded iceberg lettuce, tomato and crema — heavier eating, no question. Quesadillas, similar to El Salvadoran pupusas, are deep fried and delicious. They're best ordered with tinga, shredded chicken and onion in a smoky-spicy chipotle sauce.
On a chilly day, get a bowl of savory, soul-warming pozole rojo, a crimson broth rife with hominy (dried soaked field corn) and pieces of pork that may have bones clinging to them. Sopa Azteca, tortilla soup with pork rinds, cheese and avocado, pales in comparison.
The Cubana torta is quite different from the classic Cuban sandwich. The version here features breaded fried chicken or beef cutlets with ham, chorizo, cheese, mayo, avocado and jalapeño on a roll. Opt for chicken instead of the thin and chewy beef in both this and the mole verde, a fried cutlet coated with a thick, pleasingly piquant green sauce made with pumpkin seeds and tomatillos. A similarly green tomatillo sauce sparks the enchiladas verdes, whose chicken filling turns up lukewarm. Better, surprisingly, is a grilled boneless chicken breast, tender and ultra-garlicky.
No desserts, for now. Not a problem, unless flan figures into your quest for truly Mexican fare.
