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The neon sign reads corner, a nod to the deli that preceded it, but that’s just a colorful ruse. If La Esquina is as much stage set as restaurant, that’s because it’s owned by Serge Becker, the designer and nightlife entrepreneur behind such hipster loci as Bowery Bar, MK, and Area. The counter-service taqueria on Kenmare dispenses tacos and tortas (made, unfortunately, on baguettes instead of proper Mexican teleras), and a more extensive menu is served at the adjacent café around the corner, a double-height room with recessed shelves full of books and old record albums. A cool tomatillo-avocado soup was refreshing and mildly spiced, and the char-grilled string beans called ejotes do wonders for an oft-overlooked, overboiled vegetable. Authentic as East Harlem? Maybe not, but the chicken tacos are tasty and the prices surprisingly gentle for a neighborhood straddling the Soho-Nolita border.

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