From the lines on the sidewalk, you’d think Taqueria Ramirez in Greenpoint was selling coveted chunky sneakers or square footage to add to your bathroom. It’s better: they’re serving some of the city’s best tacos. Taqueria Ramirez models itself after Mexico City’s legendary spots, complete with colorful plastic plates, as well as a choricera and comal custom made in CDMX. The pacing and set-up of the restaurant feel distinctly like what you’ll find at taquerias in Mexico City, too. Even if the line snakes down Oak Street, you probably won’t have to wait more than 15 minutes. The Taqueria Ramirez team doesn’t bother to make their own tortillas (there’s not enough space and the price of the tacos would have to go up). Other than selling the occasional $10 container of al pastor, they don’t offer takeout (although we did once see a guy fill an empty pizza box with twenty tacos). Taqueria Ramirez pretty much only does one thing, and that’s make exceptional tacos you’ll want second and third helpings of while leaning against a bar rail on the sidewalk. Their tacos - which all cost around $4 - range from velvety, shredded suadero and al pastor, to longaniza with bright orange porky juices. The suadero stews for long enough, around three hours, so the lower belly cut of beef can break down. But our favorite taco remains the tripa, which is blowtorched to order and has such little chewy toughness it might be unidentifiable as a cow’s small intestine save for the iron-forward taste. Once they call your name for your tacos, dress them up with a slather of red or green salsa (green is slightly milder than red), finely chopped raw red onions, cilantro, and a hearty squeeze from a lime wedge. If you arrive past 8pm, it’s more than likely Taqueria Ramirez will have already sold out of campechano, suadero, and tripa. Don’t stress. We got there at 9:12pm on a recent visit and still had a great time eating sopping longaniza, sweet-then-salty al pastor, and squeaky nopales. The restaurant’s space only holds about ten people, most of whom will get to watch the action in the open kitchen from courtside seats at the counter. Otherwise plan on finding a spot to stand outside, while you already scheme the best possible time to come back for more tacos.