Hey, shorty.
Chaparritas — shorties — is an affectionate description of the diminutive, standard size of these glass bottles. The brand's full name, Chaparritas el Naranjo, references what must have been its first flavor, tangerine (literally, orange). This shorty came in grape (255 ml.; $1); it's noncarbonated, and enjoyable enough, but from the same maker I prefer Señorial.
Tepeyac, which greeted me with the forthright scent of pápalo, pays casual attention to the arrangement of some goods — in a pleasant way, I thought, as I compared shaved and unshaved nopales, peered down at a freezer packed with paletas, and exchanged pleasantries (in English) with a staffer from Guerrero. Deserves more-deliberate investigation, in concert with a visit to the companion meat market (shown at bottom), a half-block downhill.
Tepeyac Grocery & Bakery
1621 Lexington Ave. (102nd-103rd Sts.)
212-987-8364
El Tepeyac might warrant a revisit. I've found recently that they are selling fresh tlacuyos on weekends and the woman behind the counter peddled me her tamales (comes in cheese and chicken with guajillo salsa).
Posted by: JungMann | May 02, 2010 at 04:54 PM