Tacos at Cascabel

Hey kids, I figure you have noticed I have been slooooooow at posting. I guess the more you write about the food the harder it is to keep up the blog. The good news is, there are tons of reviews for you to read! I have also started writing for Edible Brooklyn, which is pretty exciting.  Anyway, all these restaurants are Mexican themed, my favorite. Click the link to read full review.

Piquant in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn; New York Press:

“With drinks in hand, we got down to the task of choosing from the vast menu, which featured first course options like tacos, sides, sliders, soups, salads, ceviches and entrées.We started with the crab quesadilla ($12); the lightly fried tortilla came in four wedges stuffed with hearty crabmeat structured around a mound of cool jicama slaw.What made this dish truly stand out was the addition of a rich black bean sauce swirled with a tangy ginger lime cream, which I slathered on each bite.  All the food on the menu gets its inspiration from chef and owner David Sharp’s Texas upbringing and love for Southwestern and Mexican food. Piquant is the ex-Mustang Grill chef’s first solo venture, and he plans to focus on the spicy (piquant) flavors of this cuisine.”

Beef rib at Piquant

Cascabel in the Upper East Side; Our Town

“The menu at Cascabel says, “Eat, Drink, Love Tacos.” And this is exactly what you will do at this new taqueria.  With the sudden boom in places dishing up Mexican street food, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by new-fangled taco combinations and attention-grabbing slogans. Cascabel is also a bit gimmicky, as it’s completely decked out in lucha libre (the stylish Mexican wrestlers) icons. From the figurines behind the counter to wood block prints by Brooklyn designer Ulla Florholmen and two large wrestlers painted on the wall, there is no lack of kitsch in this small laid-back café.  But don’t get too distracted. The real star here is the food.”

Fonda in Park Slope, Brooklyn; New York Press

“Fonda, translated into English, means “inn,” but Roberto Santibañez’s Mexican restaurant in Park Slope has nothing inn-like about it. It does, however, sport a chic Brooklyn charm with exposed brick walls, small wooden tables and a candle-lit backyard fenced in with thick logs.  As we took our seats one recent night, a young man from Mexico dashed over to us with menus and a smile, marking the beginning of a beautiful waiter-ship; throughout the evening, he was courteous, sharp, available and just plain nice.We immediately ordered gigantic glasses of sangria, one each of the red and white ($7).The single cup filled with the cool mixture of wine, brandy and fruit stayed with us through the meal, not a small feat for someone who enjoys this drink almost to a fault.”

Inside Los Feliz

Los Feliz in the Lower East Side; New York Press

“Adding to the décor, the laid-back approach of the staff gives this taco and tequila joint a sense of establishment—more than we can say for the scattershot Spitzer’s Corner, owned by the same folks. More important than the dining room, though, is the kitchen, which utilizes the culinary skills of Mexican chef Julieta Ballesteros, whose team has created an eccentric menu of tacos, salads, quesadillas and ceviches.  Since they are the new bahn mi, I decided to focus on tacos. From carefully seared scallops to braised pork or fried chicken, the nine combinations offered steer far away from the classic Mexican street food the restaurant attempts to emulate.The food is just too complicated without the necessary punch of flavor a taco calls for. Served in disposable paper bowls like boardwalk snacks, the tiny tacos come two per order and are paired with a chipotle tomato salsa and mild tomatillo sauce, neither one packs any heat.”

El Tequileno was everything a Mexican restaurant should be: cheap, spicy, big, and meaty. I got this shredded pork burrito in green chili sauce. Superb!  Right now, this is all I want, but know in New York, green chili doesn’t exist unless I make it.  Oh well, at least I have found decent tacos.

(On a side note, my grandmother was just tickled when the owner of the joint flirted with me, which resulted in 50 percent off my meal and a free margarita.  Now she wants to take me with her EVERYWHERE).

Just six miles short of the New Mexico boarder at the Dutch Mill in Antonito, Colorado,  I greedily took on the South-Western Mexican menu in front of me.  Enchiladas, tacos, sopapillas stuffed with cheese, burgers, and tostadas.  Usually, at a restaurant like this, the main ingredients are beans, ground beef, cheese, and chili.  While trying not to drool, I chose the pork enchiladas with red sauce, a little spicier than green.  We got our salted margaritas, basket of fresh corn chips, and mild pico de gallo.

When the food arrived, I had all ready filled up a portion of my belly with the chips and drink.  It’s so hard to resist the fresh tomato and cilantro tinged salsa.  But lucky for me, I didn’t indulge too much.  My “petite” order of enchiladas came out on a heaping, hot plate with cheese oozing off the side.  The red sauce bubbled and I inquired if this was indeed the small plate.  After taking a moment to gawk, I dived in, picking apart the soft corn tortilla and stabbing a chunk of shredded pork on my fork.

Divine.  The sauce had a kick but it didn’t deter from the savory taste of the pork, which had been pan-fried before it was stuffed into the shell, giving it a slightly crispy texture.  I am not normally a refried bean kind of gal, but these were non-greasy and heavy with meaty flavor.  That, and the cheese had made its way over to cover them like a yellow blanket of comfort food.  Despite my bulging middle, I finished the plate, and another margarita too.

Now for dessert, on thing I haven’t found easily in New York are sopapillas, the Mexican version of a fried doughnut.  I remember dipping this tasty bread in honey at Casa Bonita, possibly the worst Mexican restaurant in Denver that caters to kids by having sky divers, a water fall, caves to explore and as much as these sweet treats as you want.  The sapopillas at Dutch Mill were unlike anything I could have imagined from my childhood.  Dense yet with a fluffy inside, these golden squares hardly needed the honey provided, given the bread was already sweet.  Not too greasy and still hot, I downed my sopapilla in blissful moment and then eyed the one next to my companion greedily.  He ate it, which was probably a good thing since by that point I could barely move.  As we waddled back to the house, I couldn’t help but grin the whole way there while planning the next Mexican meal I would get there.