Mole

REVIEW

February 12, 2010


CUISINE: Mexican
NEIGHBORHOOD: Lower East Side

Photo: Nymag

205 Allen St. Near Houston St.

(p)-212-777-3200

 

Nothing says “party” like tableside guacamole.  The performance appeal has a few key elements: bravado, novelty, a bit of indulgence, and the final tasty result.  The Lower East Side’s Móle is a hole-in-the-wall that features the elusive art, where the waiters dutifully mash avocados for the sake of people who like margaritas. 

 

The restaurant is too small to compare to a cantina or any of the larger aggressive Mexican restaurants that dot the U.S., but it certainly captures the celebratory spirit that goes hand-in-hand with tacos and beer.  I wouldn’t venture to say the food is authentic, but the intimate restaurant is festive and cozy —as long as you are at home around the lewd ceramic figurines that pop up here and there.  CONT'D

 


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Posted in FOOD on February 12, 2010 8:44am by Rachel Hochhauser | 1 comment





La Esquina

REVIEW

February 3, 2010


CUISINE: Mexican
NEIGHBORHOOD: Nolita, Soho

 

114 Kenmare St. at Lafayette St.

(p) 646-613-7100

 

I don't like to eat at restaurants where people are jerks.  La Esquina is my exception.  The famously hipper-than-thou staff once told a friend of mine, "I'm sorry, we don't have you in our system, so there is nothing I can do for you."  But the food's good, y'all, and you can eat it easily if you avoid the crowd downstairs. CONT'D

 


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Posted in FOOD on February 3, 2010 11:06am by Rachel Hochhauser | 2 comments





Dos Toros

REVIEW

January 18, 2010


CUISINE: Mexican
NEIGHBORHOOD: East Village, Flatiron/Union Square

Photo: NYtimes

137 Fourth Ave. at 13th St.

(p) 212-677-7300

 

After years of listening to my southern and northern California friends argue about which area has real Mexican food, one of them did something to back up all the talk. Along with his brother Leo, our friend Oliver Kremer opened Dos Toros in the tiny space on 4th Avenue which many of us fondly remember as Tasti D-Lite.  Modeled after one of their favorite taquerias in the Bay Area, the brothers hope to "Change New York's Burrito Landscape."  CONT'D

 


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Posted in FOOD on January 18, 2010 2:01pm by Jena Steinbach | 1 comment





Calexico

REVIEW

June 22, 2009


CUISINE: Mexican
NEIGHBORHOOD: Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens, Mobile, Soho

 

Wooster St and Prince St 

Broadway and Broome St

(p) 917-674-1869

122 Union St Between Columbia and Hicks St

(p) 718-488-8226

 

I've always looked to street cart food and those who eat it with an eye of disapproval. All I see is a sweaty dude chopping chunks of beef, choking it with sauce, and filling the streets with a distinct, street food smell. But then I had lunch from Calexico and set my prejudice aside for good.  My burrito was by far the best Mexican food I've had in the city-- and it's not fast food either. The meat is grilled to order, which takes about ten to fifteen minutes per job.  The famed Calexico carna asada (grilled marinated skirt steak), can be made in burrito or taco form and is simply delicious.

 


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Posted in FOOD on June 22, 2009 2:17pm by Jena Steinbach | 0 comments





Pinche Taqueria: The Battle Continues...

REVIEW

May 20, 2009


CUISINE: Mexican
NEIGHBORHOOD: Nolita

227 Mott Street Between Prince and Spring

(p) 212-625-0090

 

 

This morning, during a leisurely stroll through Nolita, I encountered a sign that read: "Have you had your Pinches today?"  Indeed, I had not.  I decided it was time to give Pinches another shot at the behest of our dear Young and Hungry friends, Sean and Parker, who so adamantly opposed our "Not Worth It" rating of the Lafayette Street Location.  And so, I ordered one fish taco.

 


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Posted in FOOD on May 20, 2009 5:41pm by Madeline | 1 comment