All 'mexican' Posts on Grub Street - New York Magazine's Daily Food Blog

All Posts Tagged: ‘mexican’

Mediavore

7/16/08

10:00 AM

Franklin Becker to Replace Gary Robins at Sheridan Square; Octopus Abounds on Menus

• Franklin Becker is replacing Gary Robins at Sheridan Square. According to the PR firm, “Franklin will change the menu slowly and keep anything that has become a signature item.” [Eater]
Related: Breaking: Gary Robins Out at Sheridan Square

• Union Square Cafe, Fleur de Sel, and Le Cirque will keep their Restaurant Week special deals in place even after the citywide promotion ends. [Zagat Buzz]
Related: Summer Restaurant Week Brings Back a Chance to Steal a Meal

• Now that chefs know how to actually cook octopus, it’s becoming more and more popular with diners. [NYP]

More: Mediavore »a voce, apertivi, coney island, fleur de sel, frank bruni, insieme, iphone, lawsuits, le cirque, mexican, octopus, penmanship, restaurant week, subway, the little owl, union square cafe, Urbanspoon

NewsFeed

5/ 8/08

2:45 PM

Cabrito Opens Friday With Refined-Meathead Menu

Expect it to be more crowded Friday night.Photo: Melissa Hom

As Rob and Robin said in the magazine this week, Cabrito officially opens on Friday, possibly setting some kind of record for how quickly a failed business can relaunch itself under a completely different heading. We have the first image of the new incarnation and approve of the transformation: A casual Tex-Mex concept has a better chance of success in New York than tempura. The menu at Cabrito should titillate some foodies and refined meatheads, as well: As the Robs described in appetizing detail, there will be cemitas, or Pueblan sandwiches, provisionally made with chorizo or chile-marinated pork; huaraches; the titular slow-roasted cabrito (baby goat); braised chile beef ribs; and the like. But you'll also find fish tacos, pickled mackerel in vinegar sauce, seared hamachi, and other options. We might just open a bar tab, order some frijoles puercos (refried beans with bacon lardons and house-made chorizo), and settle in for the long haul.

Restaurant Openings: Cabrito [NYM]

More: NewsFeed »barfry, cabrito, mexican, tex-mex, west village

Back of the House

3/27/08

6:00 PM

‘Top Chef’ Castoff Has No Love for Rick Bayless

Erik Hopfinger's weapon of choice.Courtesy of Bravo

Last night on Top Chef, San Franciscan Erik Hopfinger was ousted for his poorly rendered gourmet tacos and his sad, soggy corn dogs. But this setback doesn’t stop the 38-year-old from pursuing chef-fashion projects and singing the praises of his cheftestant-in-arms, Spike. New York’s Michael Alan Connelly talked to Erik this afternoon.

More: Back of the House »mexican, rick bayless, tacos, top chef

NewsFeed

3/26/08

12:45 PM

Sue Torres Dreams of a Green Taco Truck

Someone get this woman a truck!Photo courtesy Los Dados

Sue Torres is busy enough with her two restaurants, Los Dados and Suenos, but a girl can still dream of more. “I want to have an all-green taco truck,” the chef tells us. “It would run on used cooking oil and have refrigerators powered by solar panels. It would sell tacos year-round, posole in the winter, escoviche…and, of course, it would be all organic, as Mexican food invariably is, since they don’t use chemicals in their agriculture.” When can we see this taco truck of the future? “It’s a long way away,” Torres sighs. “I have no truck, no menu, no investors. Just a dream.” Is there room on these mean streets for yet another taco truck? We certainly hope so.

Related: User's Guide: Food Trucks

More: NewsFeed »los dados, mexican, sue torres, suenos, taco truck

NewsFeed

3/24/08

1:00 PM

Worm Swallowers, This Is Your Ride

If you're going to ride...Photo: Daniel Maurer

Nota Bene: When someone says “Let’s get a taco,” this Datsun, parked outside of Pinche on Friday night, is what you want to roll in — assuming you don’t own a Cadillac DeVille.

More: NewsFeed »mexican, pinche taqueria, tacos

NewsFeed

3/17/08

11:00 AM

The La Palapa Party Bus Starts Rolling Today

You're either on the bus or off the bus.

East Village Mexican eatery La Palapa will not let a week's worth of renovations slow down the fiesta. Instead, they've hired a party bus and D.J. Juan Carlos to shuttle dinner patrons back and forth to their West Village location. On the way over they'll be serving antojitos like chile-and-lime-roasted peanuts and chicharrones with salsa valentina. Not good enough? A bartender dressed like Frida Kahlo will be serving complimentary margaritas, Cosmopolitans à la rosa, and Palomas (tequila and Mexican grapefruit soda). Bus trips start at 5 p.m. on Monday and will continue through the week. It all sounds a little uncomfortably like the start of our spring-break trip to Rosarito. We just hope for the sake of our T-shirts that it ends better. --Lauren Salazar

More: NewsFeed »east village, la palapa, mexican, west village

NewsFeed

1/14/08

11:42 AM

Taco Wars: Pinche Plays Dirty; Endless Summer Recruits Dirty Mofo

We were misquoted.Photo: Daniel Maurer

Remember when Pinche Taqueria owner Jeffrey Chartier told us his was the “first real authentic taqueria in New York City”? We're always wary of such hyperbole so imagine our surprise when we saw that the plaudit made its way onto Pinche’s takeout menu — attributed to us instead of the owner! Shame on you, Pinche: This is the worst case of fraud since Panchitos said its margaritas were named the best in the city by New York Magazine.

More: NewsFeed »jeffrey chartier, mexican, pinche taqueria, tacos

Mediavore

1/ 9/08

10:00 AM

Danny Meyer Might Fix Up Union Square Park; Welcome to ‘Mexhattan’

Danny Meyer and the Union Square Partnership are planning to renovate the north end of Union Square Park, including a transformation of the decaying pavilion into a windowless restaurant space. [NYO]

Mia Dona, Donatella Arpaia and Michael Psilakis’s newest baby, will start serving up rustic Italian with Greek influences in midtown next month. Marc Forgione, most recently the corporate chef for the BLT Restaurant Group, is planning an American restaurant for a spring opening. [NYT]

Forget about bringing your junior gastronomes to the finest restaurant Disney World has to offer: Victoria & Albert’s has banned all kids under the age of 10. [NYP]

More: Mediavore »bar boulud, blt, bobo, brunch, cassoulet, disney world, donatella arpaia, dos caminos, frank bruni, marc forgione, mexican, mia dona, michael psilakis, nicolas cantrell, per se, sushi, toloache

NewsFeed

1/ 2/08

9:00 AM

Mexican Chef Returns to Queens in High(er) Style

Benita Areola: giving Queens a second chance.Photo courtesy Luna de Juarez

A good chef thought long gone has (lucky for us) returned: Benita Areola is at a new Pan-Latino restaurant in Astoria called Luna de Juarez. Areola cooked at one of the better Mexican restaurants in Queens in recent years, the late Fiesta Mexicana, a no-frills BYOB favorite in Jackson Heights. (She also worked at a restaurant called Fiesta Mexicana in Mexico, where the name is less promising.) Her light and refined food is expected to surface again at Luna de Juarez, but look for a more ambitious menu, live music on weekends, and a liquor license. This venue sounds better and better.

Luna de Juarez, 25-98 Steinway St., nr. 28th Ave.; 718-274-4350.

More: NewsFeed »astoria, benita areola, latin food, luna de juarez, mexican

In the Magazine

10/ 8/07

9:30 AM

Gridiron Gluttony and Haute Barnyard Gastronomy in This Week’s Issue

And to think of all the years we spent at Applebee's!Photo: F. Martin Ramin

We like football. We like seasonal vegetables, especially peas. We like Cuban sandwiches, and Italian food, and Mexican food, and new things to start the fall with. So we liked this week’s batch of food stories in the magazine, especially since it includes what passes for a glowing review by Adam Platt of BLT Market, despite his readiness to mock the Haute Barnyard movement and all that it stands for. Add in the intriguing Italian-Mexican hybrid Matilda, announced by Rob and Robin in openings, and a guide to football bars even Tom Coughlin would approve of, and it’s another first-class food issue of New York.

More: In the Magazine »adam platt, blt market, east village, haute barnyard, italian, matilida, mexican, openings

The Annotated Dish

9/ 6/07

6:00 PM

Toloache Experiments With Haute Tacos

Mexican food hovers close to the ground in New York, but with the opening of Toloache and Rayuela, it’s beginning to take its place among the city’s great restaurant cuisines. Considering how vital Mexican line cooks are to the city’s restaurants, this respect is long overdue. At Toloache, Julian Medina’s menu is both huge and modern, highlighted by a dozen different tacos drawing on his youth in Mexico City. “I’m a taco fanatic,” the chef says. “Now is a perfect opportunity for me to put them on my menu and show what they can be.” As always, mouse over the different elements of the image to see them described in the chef’s own words.

More: The Annotated Dish »julian medina, mexican, toloache

Mediavore

8/ 1/07

10:00 AM

City Council Might Tackle Labor Violations; Drunks Abound at High-End Restaurants

Customers get drunk, carry on, and throw up even at the finest restaurants. Especially at the finest restaurants: “More people throw up in the dining room of Per Se than your average college bar.” [NYT]

The City Council is considering a law that would put labor violations on par with health violations, in an effort to protect vulnerable immigrant workers. [NPR]

Mocktails are on the rise, thanks to “the whole rehab thing,” and nowhere more successfully than at Indochine. [NYP]

More: Mediavore »balthazar, bryant park grill, donuts, julian medina, labor, mexican, mocktails, per se, sandro frioriti, sandro's, senegalese, toloache, zocalo

User's Guide

5/ 7/07

5:16 PM

Mmmm, the Red Hook Ball Fields

Pitchers, catchers, and eaters report to Red Hook for spring training.Photos by Alexa Matson

Local asparagus, the Beard Awards, the shattered hopes of Knicks fans — there are a lot of unmistakable signs of spring in New York. But none trump the opening of the Red Hook Ball Fields, an explosion of ethnic home cooking and children’s soccer.

More: User's Guide »brooklyn, columbian, honduran, mexican, red hook ballfields, salvadorean

Back of the House

4/18/07

9:00 AM

Café Largo Comes Back to Harlem, With Two Sisters In Tow

Burritos? No. Bread? No …Photo courtesy Café Largo

When Harlem’s Café Largo disappeared in 2003, a good restaurant closed in a neighborhood with too few of them. Three years later, it’s back — with two new places next door: Vinegar Hill, a gourmet store and brick-oven bakery, and Tres Pasos, a Mexican takeout place. All three storefronts are joined in the back by a common kitchen, and a fourth adjacent store, Bella Jo Jane’s Sandwich Box, is slated to open in two to three months. Why the long delay? “We closed for an expansion and renovation that took two years longer than we expected,” says co-owner Stacy Schoenfeld-Calcano. Let's hope Largo’s new menu, among other things, will make the wait worthwhile.

More: Back of the House »bella jo jane's sandwich box, cafe largo, harlem, mexican, tapas, tres pasos, vinegar hill

The In-box

3/28/07

5:05 PM

My Name Is Evelyn, and I’m a Chile Relleno Addict

The downside? Dress code.Photo: Melissa Hom

Dear Grub Street,
I just got back from a glorious trip to San Diego, where I managed to develop a minor addiction to chile relleno burritos. Now, in a quest to get this food on the East Coast, I am finding that, well, I can’t find it anywhere! Am I going to have to book a flight back, freeze-wrap a few, and bring them home? Open up my own stand? Help!
Evelyn