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The neon sign reads corner, a nod to the deli that preceded it, but that’s just a colorful ruse. La Esquina, owned by Derek Sanders and James Gersten, is as much a stage as it is a restaurant. 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.

Mon.—Fri., noon—midnight; Sat. & Sun., 11 a.m.—midnight

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