Restaurant experiment: Molino Rojo

Molino Rojo

101 East 161th Street at Walton Avenue

Bronx, NY 10451

718-538-9642

My first restaurant experiment in da Bronx!

After checking out the Bronx Museum, Greg, Wayne, and myself wandered down to 161st Street by Yankee Stadium to assess the eating scene.  Some cops suggested the food court in a shopping center (bleh) and a diner that was closed (diners close? lame), so we ambled closer to the baseball structure and ended up at Molino Rojo (“red windmill”).

The entrance is narrow, and in the front is a section for take out.  There was a sit down space in the back wallpapered by mirrors.  Mirrors, one of my enemies.  Looking at myself while eating?  No no no.  There’s a Rubbermaid of ice water on the table with Styrofoam (tsk tsk) cups so you can serve yourself liquid refreshments.  I ordered a nonalcoholic pina colada, mmm, and Greg got a tamarind drink which was also mmm. 

I ordered the above photo, fried pork “chunks” Dominican-style.  It’s like the power of fried chicken in pork form!  This oily crispy goodness came with a big plate of rice and beans.  Sweet deal for all of $8.  Wayne and I split a slice of Dominican cake which was like a hot pink version of red velvet cake.  Maybe when you pass the south and keep going, the cake becomes pinker?  Okay, bad joke.  Just the right amount of sweetness, both in the cake and in the frosting.  Except the rosebud; that frosting was vile.

Since I failed to eat the second pork chop and all of the rice, I requested the leftovers to go.  The ladies put the chop into a plastic baggie but chucked the rice to my dismay.  Sigh.  The to go section cashier was sealed away behind plexiglas, yikes.

Restaurant experiment: El Cocotero

El Cocotero

228 West 18th Street between 7th & 8th Avenues

New York, NY 10011

212-206-893

cocotero-restaurant.com

Wandering about Chelsea after big boxing that afternoon, enduring polar temps (this is a reference to a certain beer consumed eventually by a member of my party), I used Urban Spoon to find us a place to get our food on, but as Urban Spoon isn’t perfection, it pointed us to places that weren’t open at the slightly unconventional dining time. It wasn’t quite brunch but wasn’t dinner either. I’ll save my Urban Spoon issues for another time. But it came through as we ended up here at El Cocotero.

Venezuelan food? How very exciting! I’ve never had this before. This made me think of my Venezuelan surfing instructor.  That’s pretty my extent of knowledge about Venezuela.

The decor is cute: Wayne, Greg, and I approved. El Cocotero is one of those living room sized places. The kitchen is open, and the bathroom is worth using. It was the warmest place in the eatery and featured a snazzy museum case filled with mementos and photographs.  There were kids running around the place like a day care center, offspring of the restaurant employees/management I’m assuming.

On one of the coldest days of winter, I wouldn’t advise eating at El Cocotero. Our party of four moved from our table by the door to one in the corner which was even worse as the window gaps were sealed by tape. Um, no. Even the hostess was complaining about the chill. We stole a small heater to prevent frostbite after we returned to the original table. Docking a star for that. But I’ll toss in some for the diner-sized menu and reasonable prices.

The queso empanada I ordered as my private appetizer wasn’t too exciting. Darn it, should have gotten an arepa. The pastry part was too crunchy for my tastes. My ex-roommate made them better (sorry). It came with peppery dipping sauce which Greg took for himself.

Wayne and Greg split a large dish while Mike and I opted for pressed sandwiches. A little boring, but at least I selected the mechada which was Venezuelan stewed shredded flank steak ($8.95). Mmmmmmmmm. See photo. The sauce was strong and the meat falling apart at the fibers. Aw yeah. Plus the salad was also agreeable and oniony.

Yet another hole-in-the-wall success!  Bring your coat if you’re here in the non-summery months.  I could say I’m loco for El Cocotero.

Restaurant experiment: Itzocan Bistro

Itzocan Bistro

1575 Lexington Avenue at 101st Street

New York, NY 10029

212-423-0255 

http://www.itzocanbistro.com/

The budding East Harlem/Upper East Side border restaurant scene boasts the delightful Joy Burger (almost wrote Joy Division) and Itzocan Bistro, its colleague up the block. 

It was something around 10 degrees outside on a Friday night.  Lily and I dragged our frozen selves to Itzocan which was cozy and bustling but not packed or with a waitlist.  We occupied a four top betwixt the door and a radiator emitting funky noises.  Perhaps it was possessed.

I ordered the “adobo marinated duck breast with sweet potato and Malbec reduction” ($18), requesting the duck medium.  The duck was superb, with some crispy skin and the right amount of fatty flavor.  The veggies on the side were nothing remarkable: beans, corn, bok choy.  The mashed sweet potato was fine but could have used a bit more of the seasoning/salt.  Mmm, Malbec.

Service was friendly though not attentive.  Several times we had to stare the guy/girl down to get them to come over to our table.  The dinner went on and on because of that.  Lily and I went for desserts which were all around $6, and lots of them featured booze.  Tequila chocolate cake was our choice.  Very moist but light.  It usually is accompanied by brown sugar ice cream but due to the -1 wind chill outside, we asked for a substitution, and they were more than happy to swap; we got berries in sauce.  How kind. 

Be warned.  Cash only.  That just grinds my gears!  But otherwise, I might dub Itzocan Bistro that overused phase “a hidden neighborhood gem.”

Restaurant experiment: Pedro’s Spanish American Restaurant

Pedro’s Spanish American Restaurant

73 Jay Street at Front Street

Brooklyn, NY 11201

718-625-0031

Pedro’s seems almost out of place in the shiny gleaming brand new DUMBO part of Brooklyn where all the shops have a coat of new on them. It’s a low key Latin food joint on the corner, very laid back with multicolored lights and murals and no pretentiousness. There might be table service, but we ordered at the counter and brought our food to a spare table outside. Some bug bit me so that kind of tainted the whole Pedro’s experience.

Itchiness aside, I ordered beef tacos dorados (fried tacos) which were simply beef stuffed into deep fried taco shells with fixins piled on top, like sour cream, cheese, and avocado. I complained to Kora about a lack of cheese since I’m a cheese monster, and she encouraged me to ask for more which I was hesitant to do but did because I wanted more cheese to complement the plain beef. Luckily a guy on staff was kind enough to comply with my request; I’ve been traumatized by asking for sour cream one time in the West Village and being charged $2 for it. Bleh. Kora liked her cheese tamales, and Stacy found the Cuban sandwich to be filling and yum. Her margarita looked delightfully thirst quenching; I wish I had gotten one. The guacamole wasn’t that pure; it was adulterated with lots of onion which Kora didn’t dig but I found that fine. The chips were thick, sort of like pita chips. Sadly they are not gratis, to use the Spanish word for free which I taught myself earlier this year. To satisfy your cheap eats hunger pangs in DUMBO, Pedro’s would be a solid option.