La Lucha

147 Avenue A, East Village, NY

7.8

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Neighborhood
East Village

Cuisine
Mexican

Nearby
Mercury Lounge

212 260-0235

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By Andrew Steinthal
January 27, 2010

La Lucha isn’t just another taco joint trying to capitalize on the throngs of drunk college kids quickly migrating to the East Village. Now that Avenue A is essentially turning into Bourbon Street, a place like San Loco gets by because those kids are so wasted they think that garbage actually tastes good. I know, I’ve been there. Young and stupid. Late night catfish tacos from The Loco. Why? “Cause it’s four o’clock in the f*cking morning…”, (the single greatest screamo song ever). Thankfully, La Lucha is here to raise the bar and learn those kids a thing or two.

La Lucha is serving tacos with a purpose. They’re putting their Mexican street food on full display, and having fun in the process. The experience is supposed to emulate what going to a wrestling match in Mexico City would be like (insert your favorite Nacho Libre joke here as every other review of LL has). Influenced by what La Lucha’s owners would eat with their friends and family before a match, this is authentic Mexican street food refined a bit for NYC. A different kind of taco than East Village favorites like Mercadito Cantina and Mercadito, this is down and dirty, south of the border style with more flair, wrestling paraphernalia and toys. It’s kind of like eating Mexican street food at Kid Robot.

Food Rundown:

Fried Cheese
How do you get a cheese hater like myself to eat cheese? Fry that shit up, make it look like a funky waffle and taste like an ice cream sundae topping. Man, is this awesome.

Oaxacon Melted Cheese
Thanks to La Lucha, the baby steps I’ve been taking towards enjoying cheese are turning into grown up steps. This warm pot of queso is even more enjoyable than the fried variety. Served with tortillas for dunking, this is a perfect appetizer to share.

Grilled Onions
Maybe they eat grilled onions differently in Mexico than we do here because I’ve never seen onions served like this. They looked like whole scallions. They weren’t bad, just interesting and not something I’d order again.

Mexican Corn
Cafe Habana makes it almost impossible to compete in the spicy corn game around these parts. Lucha’s version is really spicy, and a bit too soggy for my taste.

Tacos
La Lucha’s tacos cut straight to the point. While they’re relatively small (3 bites), they’re insanely flavorful. We really enjoyed the soft tortillas which were firm enough to keep this face stuffing session as clean as possible. Our favorites include Chicken with Onions, Spicy Salted Steak, Spicy Pork, Mushrooms with Cheese, Ribs, and Steak.

El Santo
Make sure you pay attention to the specialties portion of the menu – it defines what La Lucha is all about. This is a sloppy mess in the best possible way. Salted steak, fried pork and chorizo are all mixed together on dumped into a heap on top of three tortillas. Best thing on the menu, hands down.

Mistico
Another specialty dish that should be on your radar. Your choice of steak or chicken with cheese, bacon, onion and pepper. Good times.

Mini Wrestling Ring
Coolest check accessory ever.