• La Esquina

  106 Kenmare St., 646-613-8880

  The Prada-clad crush outside the taquería entrance to this pseudo-secret bar is sure to impress your date when you give your name and get ushered downstairs. She’ll never need to know that all you did was call ahead to make a reservation. A shady trip past the kitchen ends in a dark room filled with wrought-iron gates, candles thick with melted wax, and a Mexican-tiled wall depicting a bethonged girl. But that’s where pretentiousness ends. The food is taco-stand-ready (try the chorizo quesadillas), and the fanciest drink is a margarita, albeit a margarita made from your choice of 100 specialty tequilas. Come late to take over the cushy lounge by the bar. And lest your date forget the grand journey you’ve taken to get there, there will always be more hordes by the door as you exit.

From the 2006 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine