[subway doors closing bell]
Taryn Varricchio: Five and a half blocks from
the Roosevelt Avenue subway station,
just past 79th Street in Jackson Heights, Queens,
there's a small bodega.
But inside, past the aisles filled
with your usual snacks and refreshments,
you'll find something unexpected.
A small counter dishing out sweet
and tangy seafood cocktails
full of plump shrimp and fresh octopus.
This is La Esquina del Camarón Mexicano.
Meet Pedro Rodriguez,
the man serving this delicious Mexican dish.
Pedro Rodriguez: I was 11 years old, 12 years old.
I start working with a lady
from the coast of Veracruz in Mexico.
I learned to make this kind of cocktails.
It's something different than
the Mexicans sells here in New York.
Taryn: Pedro's specialty is making cócteles.
Pedro: Mexico City's tradition
is to take the cocktail in a cup.
We have shrimp.
We have octopus.
There's no science; we just boil it.
The real flavor comes from the other things we have.
Some clam juice,
fresh lime,
a little salt,
but the secret is the tomato sauce
that personally I make.
That's why the people like these cocktails,
'cause it has something different,
something that's special.
We put onions, cilantro,
and avocado.
Taryn: Seems simple enough,
but what's it all taste like?
Pedro: The flavor, it's difficult to explain it.
You gotta try it!
Especially the tomato sauce.
It have a flavor like a sweet and sour.
That's why we add some salt,
because the salt give it another touch.
It's not easy for me to explain it.
Taryn: Mm.
Yo,
that sauce is really good.
Pedro: Now let me ask you, can you....
Taryn: Explain it? [Pedro laughs]
No, the sweet and sour was right on.
Pedro: Yeah.
Taryn: And it has, like, a lot of acid.
Like, you feel that sour kick,
but it's like a tasty sweetness too.
It's really good.
Customer: Because it's authentic, you know?
It has a little bit of sweetness,
and also you feel, like, a little spice,
very, very mild,
but the seafood is awesome. I love it.
Customer: I had a shrimp cocktail in Mexico,
and this one was better.
Customer: Yeah, we just went to Cabo, no lie,
and he was like, "I like the one in Queens better."
Pedro: I feel wonderful
when the people is happy with my food,
you know.
I'm sorry. I don't know how to explain this, but.
Taryn: Pedro started out selling his cócteles
from a small stand on the corner in front of the bodega.
Pedro: When I came to this country,
I was missing my cocktails.
I was working on construction,
and construction, you go all the ways in the city.
And in every place that I went,
I saw a Mexican restaurant and I said,
"Oh, one cocktail. I'm gonna try one cocktail."
Always it was
disappointed, you know,
because it's not the same, you know?
So I, one day I say,
"I gotta sell my own cocktails."
Then that's why I start my business
selling my cocktail on the street Saturdays and Sundays.
Taryn: Until, one day, the owner of the store
made him an offer.
Pedro: He saw how the people came inside
to buy soda, beer, and everything.
So he told me, "Why don't you open a kitchen inside here?"
And I said, "I'm sorry,
but I don't have the money to invest."
So he told me, "If you want,
we can put half and half for the kitchen,
and we can open it."
Taryn: And for those who don't know where to find it,
just turn to the locals.
Customer: We thought it was gonna be in a deli.
We're like, "Wait, where is it?"
And then we just asked around,
and people knew that it was here.
Pedro: The people themselves,
they recommend me.
Every time they come back to buy another one,
bring another customer and another customer,
so, I don't know, they find me.
Taryn: With more space inside the bodega,
Pedro could add more dishes to the menu,
like these flaky empanadas.
They're lightly fried and stuffed with sea bass,
split open at the seam, and filled with mayo,
cilantro, and a slice of avocado.
Pedro: I hope one day I'm gonna have a bigger kitchen,
and I'm gonna make all the dishes from Veracruz.
Taryn: But for now, Pedro's happy making cócteles,
for those who know where to find them.
Pedro: I feel...
a winner.
I feel like
I reached my American dream.
I came here looking for something, and I found it.
Thanks for the people, you know,
because without customers I'm nothing.
But I feel that my culture brings something to New York
that everybody likes.