27 Water St., Newburgh, NY – hudsontaco.com

Is this place ever gonna open? This was my thought for such a long time. Newburgh’s cavernous former Westshore Train Station is an impressive piece of architecture, designed by Warren & Wetmore and built in 1909 and I’m sure it was great practice for the firm who went on to design the iconic Grand Central Terminal four years later, but goddamn, open this place already. Sorry, but it friggin’ took forever and I’m a man that needs his tacos! The grand structure, overlooking the Hudson River, already housed Pizza Shop in the smaller section on the building’s south side. Owned by the Cosimo (Hudson Valley mini-chain of Italian Restaurants that never disappoint) people, they have great pie and those next-level pepperoni rolls, that are a meal in themselves. So when I heard these cats were gonna create a taco palace on the other side, I was definitely looking forward to the result. When they finally opened, I was happy they took the time they did, because the outcome was fantastic. The exposed brick reminds us of where we are and the giant wicker-like light pendants, make us imagine huge baskets filled with corn, be carted off somewhere to be pounded into the tortillas we soon hope to devour wrapped around some yummy, salty meats. All around, the interior design team just knocked it outta the park.

There’s a nice, long bar to the left lined with colorful, decorative accouterments that make the creative cocktails sing and tv’s above and behind, that I imagine, occupy the spot where commuters once looked up to catch the arrival time of the next train up until the last one rolled through in 1958.

The riverfront dining room is all windows, as it should be. A row of deuces line them, creating prime seats for perfect views of the Hudson River, Mt Beacon and the freight trains that are guaranteed to rush by once or twice during a lunch visit. In the eyes of my train-loving 6-year-old, this gave HV high marks and we always got there early to claim one of those seats, where you can practically reach out and smack a graffiti-tagged boxcar as it glides by.

HT’s menu consists of “Tacos” and “Non-tacos” and anyone that is familiar with my eating habits and passions can guess that I tend to focus on the former. HT considers their tacos “street tacos,” but the only thing street about them is their size. The L.A. style street tacos, these are not. These lean more towards the chichi, which again is not a bad thing. The tacos here go way beyond your standard, al pastor, carnitas, chicken tinga, carne asada, chorizo and cabeza. The ingredients, neatly placed on 4” tortillas, I usually take them down in about 4 bites (and that’s for savoring purposes, otherwise, 3 would probably suffice.) They don’t skimp on the fillings, they are just little tacos, which is another good thing, considering all the varieties available, compromising and limiting yourself is never a problem. There are 15 tacos on the regular menu, plus one featured, special taco, that you may as well just order, even before knowing what it is. Don’t worry, it’ll be killer. I’ve noticed over time that some of these eventually find themselves on the regular menu. Some of the greatest hits have become my go-to’s, such as Cola Carnitas, delicious pulled pork in a cola sauce with pickled onion, the House-made chorizo with an avocado sauce and the Gringo, which harkens back to the taco kits of our childhood (I can actually remember my sister and I cutting American cheese into tiny, orange tiles to top our Old El Paso crunchy tacos, which slightly repulses me now) but this version is deliciously-seasoned local ground beef with queso fresco and crema. They will serve it in a tortilla upon request, but the tasty ingredients come wrapped in a crisp leaf of bib lettuce. 

Some are on the sweeter side but no less delicious, such as the Korean Short Rib with sriracha honey ginger and asian slaw or the HV Pork Belly with Chinese sparerib, asian slaw and Chinese mustard mayo. The seafood varieties range from your classic Baha Fish, Amaizing (corn lager brewed exclusively for HT at nearby Newburgh Brewing https://newburghbrewing.com/)battered cod with slaw that’ll bring you back to Malibu, there’s a chilled Tataki Tuna with kimchi crunch and even a Crab Cake Taco with pickled veggies and comeback sauce, you’ll have to return to find out what that good stuff is.

Meat not your jam? Don’t worry, they got you. There’s the Cauliflower Taco with dates, pine nuts, olives and charred tomato sauce and the Mushroom & Shishito with portabella, blistered shishito pepper and queso fresco blend.

Start with the Guc-Roja-Verde, a generous portions of killer, creamy guacamole, a tomatillo salsa verde and the awesome charred-tomato salsa,served with warm, crispy tostada shells and plenty to share and I usually scrape the Roja up with a spoon and eat it like its gazpacho. It’s that good.

A wide-range of innovative margaritas and other cocktails will keep the boozer happy and local brews keep me happy. Best of all, they always have Juice Bomb on tap. The legendary New England IPA from Sloop Brewing https://www.sloopbrewing.com/ that put the Hudson Valley on the map for those seeking the best juicy, hazy IPA’s.

So, do yourself a favor, go to Newburgh and give the beautiful, historic city the love it deserves. Walk the waterfront, hit the Newburgh Brewery, go see the ghost of George at the Washington’s Quarter’s State Historic Site https://parks.ny.gov/historic-sites/17/details.aspx and if you’re a hipster up from the city walking the cool Main Street of Beacon, you can even grab a ferry https://new.mta.info/node/18416 to all this walkable Newburgh goodness across the river. C’mon, if it was good enough for George…