Brooklyn, New York

Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos

A B.Y.O.B. Mexican cantina lives inside one of the last tortilla factories in Brooklyn.

In the 1990s, the far-east corner of Bushwick—a former industrial pocket of Brooklyn—was known as “Tortilla Triangle.” A proliferation of tortilla factories pointed to a booming, commercially vibrant Latinx community. Millions of tortillas were shipped from this small corner of the city every day. Today, as the neighborhood gets gobbled up by realtors, Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos stands as one of the last tortillerias of its kind in the area. It’s also the only one where you can watch the manufacturing process from their dining room while eating tacos made from tortillas taken fresh off the line.

It started in 2006 when owner Maurcelino Lazaro, as he told Edible Brooklyn, “sat a little carrito outside of the warehouse when the weather was nice.” The trickle of customers turned into a stream, which turned into a Department of Health visit and order for the informal taqueria to formalize. The factory shuttered its doors for two months for renovations, reopening as it stands today: a Mexican cantina in the delivery dock of a tortilla factory.

The menu is simple enough to warrant a “write-it-yourself” ordering system. Write your name, choose from six different meats including carnitas, cecina, and the highly recommended chorizo in either a taco, taquito, torta, or tostada, and indicate “for here” or “to go” on an index card, then hand it to one of the employees. The double-wrapped tacos are petite, but pack a punch. The quesadillas are monstrous and pack two.

The TV on the wall of the garage-cum-dining room jumps from Mexican soaps to the day’s soccer match while a mix of Brooklynites and Mexican families watch from folding chairs and laminated tables adorned with requisite bowls of limes and salsas. The Virgen de Guadalupe and the Mexican flag look over all. Sip a Tecate (that you bring yourself: This spot’s B.Y.O.B.) or Jarritos, and watch the tortilla machine churn out hundreds of toasty corn flats while you wait for your order. Try to guess which one will be yours.