These food shorts by New York-based filmmakers James Boo of The Eaten Path and Liza de Guia of Food. Curated are the perfect inspiration to get yourself in the kitchen (or, if you can’t cook, torture). Whether you’ve got pupusas, tortas, lechón, or arepas on your mind we’ve got an appetizer ready, just click play.
Director: James Boo
Year: 2014
Galdino Moreno, known as “Tortas” to his neighbors and patrons in Queens, is the owner and chef of Tortas Neza. A fútbol fanatic first and foremost, Moreno has named every delicious torta in his arsenal after a Liga MX team. Though he’s scaled his operation down to a food truck, he continues to stack his tortas defiantly high; keep your eyes out for the mouth-wateringly mammoth Puma (the UNAM team’s namesake).
Director: Liza de Guia
Year: 2012
Just like his tortas, Galdino Moreno’s story cannot be covered in one sitting. Here the charismatic chef and avid soccer fan (and NYC Vendy finalist) explains how he wishes his customers “good luck” in attempting to down one of his sandwiches.
Director: Liza de Guia
Year: 2013
Alex Raij of La Vara in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn wants to banish the memories of bad churros from our thoughts. She marries flavors and inspiration, combining Spain’s use of lemon zest with the Mexican canela custom and swirling them into the streamlined form that the Argentines prefer. Her “crystalline” creations could very well start a churro craze to battle the donut trend that’s gripped NYC for the last few years.
Director: Liza de Guia
Year: 2010
If you’re lucky enough to head to the Red Hook Ball Fields, you get a “ticket” to one of the best food truck lineups in the country. Since 1974, food vendors representing all of the rincónes of Latin American have set up shop on the weekend; they’ve become as big a draw as the soccer games. They prepare everything from pupusas to ceviche and pacayas with family in mind, not business.
Director: James Boo
Year: 2013
The Red Hook Food Vendors have become an institution in their corner of New York, with generations of Latinos making up the customer base and the cooking staff. You’ll find some of the best pupusas El Salvador has to offer at El Olomega, which has been owned and operated by the Lainez family for over 30 years.
Director: Liza de Guia
Year: 2013
Here we get an even closer look at the pupusas that Janet and Marcos Lainez create at El Olomega in Red Hook. The Salvadoreño siblings have worked on the recipes for years, which is why they’re not sharing those details.
Director: James Boo
Year: 2013
Maria Piedad Cano, the Jackson Heights “Arepa Lady”, didn’t set out to become a street food icon; she’d served as a mayor and judge in her native Colombia before serving up the cheesy staple to hungry New Yorkers. Now settled into her new life, she prepares arepas that folks traverse the city for.
Director: James Boo
Year: 2014
Lina Chavez, owner of Carnitas del Atoradero, is single-handedly proving that you can get good Mexican food in New York. Her Bronx restaurant showcases the extent of la comida mexicana, from complex moles and pozoles to chipotle-singed quail eggs. And she doesn’t compromise on quality (or her guacamole recipe).
Director: James Boo
Year: 2013
Tucked away in the South Bronx is the Lechonera de Piraña, a tiny restaurant specializing in lechon and alcapurria. Piraña is also the name of the man with the machete who divvies up the roasted pork for his friends and customers. True to his Caribbean background, there’s plenty of surf to go with the turf, in the form of pastelillos de jueyes (crab).
Director: Liza de Guia
Year: 2014
Consider this an unofficial sequel to “Piraña, Tierra, Libertad”: here we meet Angel Jimenez, the Piraña himself who wields a machete in the kitchen and a toothy smile in his food truck. It’s a one-man, two-truck operation, with one vehicle set aside for roasting the pork that’s for sale on the weekend.
Director: Liza de Guia
Year: 2009
Mesa Coyoacán in Williamsburg takes its name from a similarly bohemian area in the D.F. Chef/owner Ivan Garcia prepares traditional cuisine, but focuses on seasonal ingredients. Now, you’ve probably had esquites, the warm corn salad that can be found just about anywhere. But try to watch Garcia prepare his pan-fried variation without reaching for the cotija.
Director: Liza de Guia
Year: 2014
Ariel Barbouth is an Argentine on a mission, and it involves empanadas (we should all be so lucky). The owner and “chief empanada officer” of Nuchas Empanadas uses fresh, all-natural ingredients to create some of the best pastries (including medialunas) around.
Director: Liza de Guia
Year: 2012
Eleazar and Patricia Perez run the Piaztlan Food Truck, which specializes in authentic Mexican cuisine, including flautas and of course, tacos. Some recipes involve meat that marinates for hours on end. Eleazar’s delicious food and maternal vibes turn this food truck into a second home for its immigrant patrons, many of whom are from Central and South America.
Director: Liza de Guia
Year: 2014
El Rey Del Taco Truck is a family business, and co-owner Johnny Rivera (no, not that one) is proud of the tacos they serve to people from all around the world. Diners can choose from tacos de lengua or spicy chicken, or try the al pastor recipe that the Riveras traveled to Mexico to research.