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