By Rochana Rapkins
From the outside, Tehuitzingo Deli and Grocery is just another slice of unassuming storefronts in Hell’s Kitchen. Once inside, customers can barely squeeze past each other between the bodega’s display case, which holds chorizo, lime, Serrano peppers, sour cream, tomatillos, jalapenos and prickly pear cactus. The opposite wall is lined with Mexican spices, packaged tortillas and hot sauces.
Some of the foods sold in the grocery are specific to the family’s native Tehhuitzingo, a Puebla town nestled in a mountainous region in Central Mexico that bears the influence of both Spanish and indigenous cuisine.
Tucked away in the back of the store behind a tiny window, two women run the small kitchen. Manager Abraham Fuentes, 23, explains that his father Miguel hires only women in the kitchen. One reason, according to Fuentes, is his father believes that men tend to drink and miss work.
The other reason is purely gastronomical. “My father believes the taste is passed from mother to daughter,” he said.
While the ladies serve up classic carnitas (garlicky pork fried in its own fat) and cecina (salted beef) tacos, the regional fare is the star. There’s salsa verde made from bitter green tomatillos, Serrano chilies, garlic, onion and cilantro; molé made from red peppers and bitter chocolate; and hearty pozole (pork and hominy soup) served with Chicharrón (fried pork rinds), lime, onions and oregano.
Customers can pull up a stool along a counter on either side of the narrow hallway and feast on authentic Mexican food while the jukebox pumps out Norteño music,
Tehuitzingo Deli Grocery
695 10th Avenue
New York, NY 10036-2906
(212) 397-5956
