NYCReview
photo credit: Teddy Wolff
Yellow Rose
Included In
The more I eat at a restaurant, the easier it is for me to find the perfect string of adjectives to describe its dishes. I’ve been to this Texan spot more times than I can count, first at what started as an outdoor pop-up in the summer of 2020 and more recently to pick up bags of takeout at Yellow Rose’s brick-and-mortar on 3rd Avenue in the East Village. So based on all the time I’ve spent gazing into the face of a Yellow Rose bean and cheese taco, it’d be reasonable to assume I’d already written a book of sonnets dedicated to Rancho Gordo beans and fresh tortillas made with Sonoran flour.
My historic formula (more restaurant visits = better words) stopped working, though.
Each time I tried Yellow Rose’s pressed-to-order flour tortillas, the more daunting it became to do them justice. Sure, I’ll gladly tell you these discs are chewy, blistered, supple, buttery (though they shockingly don’t contain any lard or animal fat), and made out of one of the oldest wheat varieties in North America. But that doesn’t quite cut it. The truth is that eating Yellow Rose’s steamy flour flying saucers unearthed something in my brain beyond the language I already knew. Not dissimilar to a toddler seeing snowfall for the first time. Instead of “wow, delicious, good, yes,” I’ve had to grapple with a new baseline for tortillas in New York City.
photo credit: Teddy Wolff
Yellow Rose’s tortillas are integral to most of the short, squiggly-font menu, and no experience here is complete without a couple of tacos (other than the bean and cheese, my favorites are the papas rancheras and the carne guisada - more on that in the Food Rundown). I’d also encourage extracurricular snacking on things like beef chili sparkling with charred peppers, zingy vegan queso made from cashews, and chocolate Texas sheet cake you’ll want to hide in your fridge and eat at midnight.
It’s worth noting that Yellow Rose’s casual, honky-tonk-chic feel isn’t limited to the food. Even before you receive your bean and cheese, you’ll hear Willie Nelson playing through the speakers both inside and out, spot a poster of Dolly Parton glamorously overseeing business from above, and notice the bags of stone-ground grits and heirloom beans on a shelf in front of a saloon-style swinging door to the currently-unused dining room. There’s a Pac-Man arcade game set up in front, a stack of their monthly zine printed on neon paper, and breakfast specials on weekend mornings that I’ve happily planned Sundays around.
photo credit: Teddy Wolff
Yellow Rose offers indoor and outdoor dining, as well as nicely-packaged takeout with some hefty tortillas that don’t sog during travel time. Whichever you opt for, don’t worry about finding the right words to describe how much you like this place. Just choose someone to share their amazing food with, and know that you’ll both end up making vague grunting noises about the miracle of flour while you do. Tortilla-bliss grunting speaks louder than words.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Teddy Wolff
Bean & Cheese Taco
Papas Ranchera Taco
photo credit: Teddy Wolff
Carne Guisada Taco
photo credit: Teddy Wolff
Chicken Verde Taco
photo credit: Teddy Wolff
Beef Chili
Vegan Queso
photo credit: Teddy Wolff
Specials
photo credit: Yellow Rose