Goodbye Beer Shakes, Hello Tacos

After sitting vacant for several months, it looks like the space on Union St. formerly occupied by Schnack (known for its beer shakes, hot dogs, and burgers) is being filled by 3 brothers that are known for their "Gourmet Mexican" street cart in Soho called Calexico.

Calexico, named one of the top 3 NYC food carts in 2006, will now be a restaurant, offering the Columbia Street Waterfront District a cheap but tasty alternative to the other well known Mexican restaurant in the area - Alma (Alma, we love you, but sometimes we need cheap Mexican takeout too).

Just reading their review at New York Mag is making me hungry!

Here's a brief history of the name and concept behind Calexico, according to their website:

In the middle of the California desert, about 2 hours from the coast, you’ll find twin cities straddling the border of California and Mexico. The city on the Mexican side is called Mexicali; the one on the California side is called Calexico.

Everything about the place is a mix of California and Mexico – especially its food. Equal parts Mexican taqueria and American Barbecue Pit, Calexico’s cuisine is down-to-earth and full of flavor, familiar and unique at the same time.

When we came to New York City we were blown away by the food. But for all its great restaurants, we couldn’t find anything that quite matched the flavors of Calexico. So we took it upon ourselves to introduce New York to Calexico style cooking.

We make everything from scratch with the freshest ingredients. We hope you like it.

Thanks,

THE CALEXICO BROTHERS
Jesse, Brian and David Vendley