Ciano, 45 E. 22nd St., nr. Park Ave. S.; 212-982-8422; menu here.

I went at noon today to check out the brand new Mexicue truck parked at 52nd St. and Park Ave. The line was already 25 deep before they could even lift the service door and put out the menu sign. Such has become the norm these days when word spreads around Midtown of a new food truck in the vicinity. I got in a few words with the head chef about the concept and to get some recommendations. He was hanging outside the truck and told me he can’t actually be in the truck cooking until he receives his pending mobile food vending license. Today’s menu featured four different tacos ($3-$4 ea) and three types of sliders ($3 ea). He said his “baby” is the BBQ Beets Taco but that you can’t really go wrong with anything on the menu, especially the Oak-Smoked Short Ribs Taco w/ salsa verde, aged white cheddar and salsa fresca and the Chipotle-Rubbed Smoked Chicken Slider w/cherry smoke, charred poblanos and salsa verde. I took his advice and went with a short ribs taco, a house chorizo taco w/ goat-feta cheese, habanero aioli slaw and cilantro and a smoked chicken slider. After just one bite of each, I had no doubt this marriage of spicy Mexican & smoky BBQ is a winner.

The attention to detail and thought behind each taco and slider combination is readily apparent. Each component brings some serious flavor to the table. The short ribs had a beautiful smoky taste that meshes impeccably well with the white cheddar and salsas verde and fresca. What’s also readily apparent is that Mexicue is not cutting any corners on ingredients. The house chorizo taco is a hit with its bangin’ spicy flavor from the chorizo tempered by a nice habanero slaw and some cilantro. I was also a big fan of the chipotle-rubbed smoked chicken slider. The intense and lingering smoky flavor of the pulled chicken alerts you to the fact that some serious “low and slow” preppin’ must have gone into this baby.

All in all, some pretty amazing flavors popped in each of the tacos and the slider I tried. My only gripe is that I shouldn’t still be as hungry as I was after spending $11 bucks at a food truck. I ate each of the tacos in about two bites and the slider in maybe three. In terms of size, they remind me of what you would expect to get at one of those “Tastes of _____” events where the restaurants hand out bite-sized portions of their signature dishes. You can tell by the picture below just how teeny the tacos are.  To make it more luncher-friendly, I think they should offer some sort of a combo meal for $10. Time will tell if I’m the only one who sees the portion-size to price ratio as an issue. You can’t really fault me for wanting more of a good thing.

I had read about the Diablo Ricky cocktail ($8) on Always Hungry. It’s three parts Dos Equis and one part frozen margarita. I ordered one of those while Jill went with a Spicy Mango Margarita ($10) infused with habenero. The Diablo Ricky is like Gatorade with alcohol.  It’s that refreshing.  I sucked it down in a hurry and ordered up another.  There’s nothing to complain about their margaritas either, except for maybe the size and price.  At $10 a pop, I’m expecting (or at least wanting) one of those oversized bowl-like glasses they have at places El Rio Grande filled to the brim with frozen slushy margarita goodness.  Instead here you get a  glass that holds maybe half that much.  You could probably take an entire margarita down in about 5 huge sips with a side of brain freeze.  Regular margaritas will run you $9 and are made with Sauza Silver, with a selection of higher end tequila margaritas starting at $11. Ok, so in fairness you probably get better quality tequila in your margs here than other places, but I’d rather have a larger one with a less premium tequila. That should be an option at least.

La comida? The bottom line is if you order right, you can do pretty well here. You start with some chips and salsa on the house. If you want another basket, it’s $3. Personally, I would think there’s a better way to deter loiterers who are sticking around just to deplete the chips and salsa supply. But, so be it.  I went with an order of three tacos ($19; or any 2 for $16) – carnitas, fried oyster and grilled steak. Jill ordered the grilled skirt steak fajitas ($19).  While I’ve definitely had more authentic tacos in the city (Pampano Taqueria, Cascabel Taqueria and Pinche Taqueria), it’s been a long time since I’ve had a taco as flavorsome and as well composed as the fried oyster taco with lemon cumin aioli, cucumber, cilantro, sweet, canela and plantains. It’s one part New Orleans po’ boy and one part Mexican taco and entirely delicious. I could eat a half-dozen of these bad-boys. I wished I had saved it for last because while the carnitas and grilled steak tacos were good, they didn’t hold a candle to the fried oyster one.

Jill’s skirt steak fajitas came out sizzlin’.  The steak was seasoned nicely and cooked perfectly medium rare. Definitely not the best fajitas we’ve had in the city, but solid. Also not as much steak or veggies as you would expect from a fajita dinner plate. And notoriously absent were grilled onions.

We were out before 10pm when the downstairs opens, but we hear the  subterranean tequila bar is stocked with a pool table and leather banquets. 

We’d recommed Diablo Royale Este for big groups, birthday parties, a semi-boozy brunch ($5 Ricky’s, $5 Margaritas, $5 Bloody Marys), as a place to start a night out with a group of friends and as a good spot to grab a couple of drinks at the bar.

Diablo Royale Este

167 Avenue A
Between 10th St & 11th St
New York, NY 10009
(212) 388-9673