Part IV, aka arepas, impromptu stops and the taste of tongues.
after the ultimate hot roast beef sandwich, it was time for one of the longer walks to the next stop on our fat tour. destination, east village.
NEIGHBORHOOD: East Village
the east village has innumerable options for cheap and wonderful dining. it was hard to narrow down just one place, but with the recommendation of kahee and others who have tried this place, we knew caracas was an absolute MUST.
FAT TOUR STOP #3
:: caracas arepas ::
address: 93 1/2 E. 7th St (1st Ave & 7th St) also 91 E. 7th, nyc
what we ate: de pabellón, la sureña, los muchachos arepas
caracas serves homemade venezuelan cuisine and the specialty they proffer is their arepas. an arepa is a sandwich that has a variety of fillings between 2 flat unleavened cornmeal patties. in the spirit of fat tour portability and to save money on gratuity, we opted for the take-out side of caracas.
de pabellón: shredded beef + black beans + white salty cheese + sweet plantains
this shredded beef arepa was my single favorite item that i got to try on the fat tour. a few of the members of the group had tried this before, but for me arepas were a wholly new experience. the beef and cheese were a perfect blend of savory and salty, with the plantain slices providing a hint of sweetness. when i was younger, and had a less sophisticated palate (HA. HA.), i really disliked sweetness with meat ("i hate sweet meats!") but i have really come to enjoy that hint of sweetness in a heavily savory or salty dish. anyway, the de pabellón is perfect and i could eat this every day. or at least once a week!
la sureña: grilled chicken + chorizo + avocado slices + spicy chimi-churri sauce
surprise! this arepa was ALSO delicious. chicken, good. chorizo, GOOD, chimi-churri sauce GOOOOD. i even thought the avocado slices added the necessary creaminess (since it didn't have cheese to balance it out).
los muchachos: grilled chorizo + spicy white cheese + jalapeños + sauteed peppers
the jalapenos really provided a nice kick to this arepa. the combination of grilled chorizo and cheese almost always works, and obvs here it was no exception. the only thing that i disliked about this arepa is that it tasted completely like PEPPERS. bell peppers. ahhhhhh. sauteed peppers. okay, sorry. i know i'm in the minority, but i really loathe bell peppers; my body basically rejects them. * gag * still, the arepa was very tasty, i promise!
while we were waiting for the "from scratch" preparation of our arepas, our group sat outside on 7th street. as we chatted, we noticed a small place next door called luke's that had lobster paraphernalia hanging all about.
FAT TOUR STOP #4
:: luke's lobster ::
address: 93 E. 7th st., nyc
what we ate: lobster roll
upon closer investigation, we realized that it was indeed the place that has, in recent times, been hailed as the "best lobster roll in nyc." supposedly the lobster meat that is used in the sandwiches come straight from maine, directly to luke's shop, no middle men in between. AND interestingly, it apparently takes 5-6 lobsters to get enough meat for one sandwich - which would explain the relatively hefty price tag ($14 for a regular 6-inch, $8 for a snack-size which is half of the regular roll). BUT, after a short group meeting, we reached the consensus that we MUST try this roll. hello IMPROMPTU addition to our tour.
luke's roll had huge chunks of fresh lobster. the lobster meat was so tender! drizzled with lemon juice, salt and pepper and a hint of mayo so faint you completely forgot it was there to help bind it together. the roll was lightly buttered and toasted so the outside has a crunch but the part that the lobster was nestled on was soft and flavorful. they are woefully small and $14 plus tax can't be considered cheap, but it's so worth the try.
hahaha. we had them cut this baby into thirds so we could easily share with the group. we partnered up to take one of the 3 pieces (with three of us sharing the larger piece on the end). i asked the guy if he could cut it into quarters and he just gave me a look. haha the sandwich WAS quite small, it would have been impossible to cut into four pieces. but you can't say i didn't try!
next stop, Nolita!
NEIGHBORHOOD: Nolita
fashionable. trendy. hip. full of beautiful model-type people.
FAT TOUR STOP #5
:: cafe habana ::
address: 17 prince st, nyc
what we ate: grilled corn mexican style
the fat tour item at cafe habana was their grilled corn. as per the mexican style preparation, the corn is grilled then spread with mayonnaise and sprinkled with grated cotija cheese. the ones at cafe habana also had lime juice and paprika on top. YUM. i was apprehensive because the topping is mayo-based, but there was a lot more cheese than mayo so that made me happy.
FAT TOUR STOP #6
:: la esquina ::
address: 106 kenmare st, nyc
what we ate: various tacos - beef, veal tongue, roast pork, chorizo, pulled pork
we really wanted to try the fish tacos, but they were OUT due to some necessary kitchen repairs. still, because of their smallish size, we managed to try most of the tacos they had available.
beef, veal tongue, roast pork tacos
the veal tongue (center) was ordered by andrew. he is definitely the most adventurous of the bunch. we all kind of shuddered at thought. however, in consideration of the fat tour day, i decided to take a bite. the flavors were good, but honestly, the texture totally freaked me out. it FELT like a tongue, a real TONGUE. ack.definitely don't need to try that again. the roast pork with onions, cilantro and salsa tasted fresh and savory.
the chorizo taco had shredded cabbage and salsa verde. how is it that shredded cabbage makes meaty tacos taste so much better?
the pulled pork taco also had shredded cabbage (yay). it also had habanero pickeld onions + jalapeno. so with that strong pork flavor, there was also a lot of tartness from the pickled onions and peppers.
i don't know when i'll be back in nyc, but la esquina deserves return visits. i already know i'll want fish tacos and more roast pork. these tacos are very reasonably priced as well at around $3-4 each.
and later: Part V, chinatown!
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment