Despite chiming in as an Alpha + Global City, Tokyo presents challenges for food-homesick foreign residents. Items that we often take for granted–pizza, sandwiches on crusty bread, rotisserie chicken–are difficult to come by because they may not appeal to the Japanese palate, have difficult-to-source ingredients, or simply require appliances like ovens that are rarely found in Tokyo apartments.
More intrepid Tokyo residents might try to satisfy their desires with 90-120 minute trips to the Costcos–Japan has the second-most Costcos after the US in the world–in Shin-Misato (Saitama) or Kawasaki (Kanagawa). But foreign residents who want to shop a little closer to home, especially if home is the foreigner-heavy Minato ward–with such neighborhoods as Roppongi, Hiroo, and Azabu-Juban–National Azabu in Hiroo offers a plethora of choice, albeit at significant cost. Yet for those hankering after tacos, there is no need to step inside the market because a food truck outside its entrance serves arguably the best tacos in Tokyo.
That truck, 440 Broadway, differs sharply from the style and emphasis of Mexican cuisine in Tokyo. While not particularly numerous–a quick Tabelog search returns just 205 restaurants in the entire prefecture that serve anything vaguely Mexican–they tend to be restaurants of the refried beans and margaritas sort that easily run 4000+ yen a meal. In contrast, 440 Broadway, started by Soeda Kensuke based on his time studying and eating tacos in New York, is a taqueria. According to the interview Meg Igarashi did with Soeda, he loved making and eating the tacos from the tacos party he and his roomate held in their New York department, and he sought to bring the dish back to Tokyo.
New York itself does not have much of a taco legacy, as Angelinos will happily explain to you, because of a lack of nixtamalized tortillas in the place of those made from maseca. This New York influence is apparent in the items on 440B’s menu, which look eerily similar to a Chipotle menu. The extensive use of romaine lettuce and sour cream in its dishes only reinforce that impression. That said, the results are quite good. The pork, chicken, and beef options are cooked almost as stews, each suffused in sauces and flavors, and then meticulously wrapped in a taco or burito. The fish taco, which Soeda cites as his favorite item on the menu, is a breaded and crispy piece of whitefish topped with red cabbage slaw, guacamole salsa, and a few sliced radishes. While tortilla cognoscenti such as my friend’s girlfriend from New Mexico may harsh on the truck’s use of white corn tortillas, for someone whose alternative was to either visit the overpriced Taco Bell in Shibuya or the overpriced Frijoles in Azabu or Roppongi, this was godsend at a reasonable price. The food is genuinely good here, even if I’d rather see cilantro and onions in the place of romaine lettuce any day.
While the original food truck is still parked outside of National Azabu market, in April 2019 Soeda was able to open a brick and motar shop in nearby Ebisu. Japanese reviewers may not have gravitated to it yet–only six reviews for a poor 3.09 rating on Tabelog–it’s a very good and necessary option for anyone homesick for a taco.
Special thanks to Meg Igarashi for her video interview with Soeda Kensuke (watch here), from which I able to learn background information and draw the connection between New York and style of tacos served.
Rating: Recommended
440 Broadway Taco Truck
〒106-0047 東京都港区南麻布4-5-2
Hiroo Station (Hibiya Line)
440ブロードウェイ タコショップ (440 Broadway Taco Shop)
東京都渋谷区恵比寿1-25-3 2F
Ebisu Station (JR Yamanote, Saikyo, Shonan-Shinjuku Lines; Hibiya Line)
