Foray into the Upper West

So, I'm stuck in New York City until the middle of July - this could be really good. I hope it ends up being a really good thing, in any case.

Work sent us out to the Upper West Side, Morningside Heights to be exact. Work was long and strenous, so no time to go outside for lunch, but Carolina and I decided to treat ourselves to dinner before going home. Besides, Matt severely insisted that we stop by this place, as he loves it dearly, and if there's one thing I trust is Matt's culinary's recommendations. Enter la Taqueria y Fonda, La Mexicana on Amsterdam.

Real hole in the wall place. Has a tiny kitchenette area out front, and a couple of tables towards the back. A TV was set to the news in Spanish and we sat down next to the big fridge. They brought us great home made chips with three delicious salsas to munch on while we deliberated on what to eat. In the meantime, several "neighborhood characters" stopped by to scream a little, ask for some change, and to remark that 6:30 was not too early to be drunk. I chose the Vegetarian Quesadilla.

Carolina was kind enough to eat the mash avocado that was on top of the tortilla before I took the picture. The vegetarian Quesadilla was delicious - made out of three corn tortillas, it was stuffed with, yes, cheese, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, lettuce, caramelized onions, and possibly more goodness that I just can't remember. Picture me moaning with the happy for about 20 minutes. When we finally finished and paid for our meals, it took us a good five minutes to find the strength to get up and leave. Then we made the decision to walk an extra 5 city blocks to the nearest subway, since we were both just too full to consider sitting down. All in all, not a bad way to end what proved to be a challenging work day.

Nuyorican Redux

Two more nights at the Nuyorican, one more night at Cafecito, even more Tofu Pad Thai.

Yup, that's pretty much this whole post. First: Stop at the Nuyorican

Watched a one man show called "Cuban Joe" with Gabe Dorado. It was pretty good - although I admit that most of the funny parts came more from familiarity than from actual jokes. The house was packed though, which was nice, and the crowd was nice and responsive. Afterwards, we once again headed to Cafecito, and this time we sat inside. I feasted on el bistec de palomilla, con arroz blanco, habichuelas negras (Frijoles if you're mi Cariño), tostones, y el mojo de ajo that I loved the last time I was there.

I'm sorry the pictures are so dark - I didn't want to use the flash. The food was worth the second visit. Although the restaurant part is a little bit cramped, the service was excellent and my bistec was done to perfection. I enjoyed this second foray into Cafecito, very much.

On Saturday, we began the same way: head to Nuyorican's. This time though we watched a production of Twelfth Night, set in East Harlem. Frankly, I don't think this one was worth the entry price: The play / story didn't gain anything by being set in East Harlem, except for random club dancing scenes and several Coños and other Spanish phrases included within. A cross-dressing fool was included, to match Cesario/Viola, and aside from a kinda funny interlude between Cesario and the Fool lip synching "That boy is mine" over Orsino, I was pretty much underwhelmed. To boot they mixed Shakespearean with modern English and then slang Spanish in a way that was just too confusing. I'm sure that people that hadn't read the play before were probably severely confused while watching. However, the little Spanish interludes as well as the dancing were good enough for the audience, since they laughed loudly and frequently. To each their own, I suppose.

For dinner however, I chose thai, and wouldn't you know I did not order dumplings. Instead: Curry Puffs. My apologies for the flash -this place was even darker than Cafecito.

Mi Cariño describe these as little Thai empanada's. That's a pretty close assesment, methinks.
I was not, however, strong enough to not order Tofu Pad Thai.

I liked the peanuts on the side idea. The tofu could've been better, but the noodles were great. Plus I had a little Mai and a little Thai (or two) to help me enjoy the evening better.