El Parador Cafe

This Murray Hill establishment was founded in 1959, making it the oldest Mexican restaurant in Manhattan, according to their profile on OpenTable. Typically I would have walked passed the aged red awning on East 34th St. thinking the restaurant would be old and gross inside but to my surprise the decor inside is quite charming. The rustic lanterns casting dim light against white stucco walls.
The chips, salsa and guacamole are all homemade (as they should be). Their salsa is definitely unique, seasoned with undertones of cinnamon was an unexpected but delicious twist on traditional salsa!
Three friends and I shared two vegetarian entrees and two bottles of wine for a very reasonable price and loved our dishes. After reviewing the main menu we asked to see the vegetarian menu, which unfortunately isn't available so you'll just have to trust me that it features some amazing dishes. We ordered the spinach and cheese enchiladas served with a thick black bean sauce and sweet potato tostadas- two flat tostadas served with a sweet potato mash that was sweetened with honey and citrus. I would definitely recommend trying the sweet potato tostadas but I think it would be too sweet to eat the whole thing as an entree so consider sharing it either as an appetizer or an entree.
Besides the food, El Parador Cafe also offers an extensive wine list that's primarily Spanish wines, white and red sangria and an encyclopedia of tequilas.
As you've noticed from my reviews, Mexican cuisine is always one of my favorites... what's your favorite Mexican restaurant in NYC?

Florencia 13

A few weeks ago a friend of mine walked passed Florencia 13 and was so impressed with the mustached man logo that he knew this was a place he had to try. Finally checking it out, we were still impressed with the family owned Mexican restaurant. Owners, Ralph, Rina. Marco, Gina, and Lennard Camarillo monitor the cooking closely to insure that every dish that comes out of the kitchen remains true to its authentic Southern California Mexican roots.

Most of the ingredients come from Californian distributors or are hand-picked by the Camarillo's at the market daily. They offer plenty of vegetarian dishes including the colorful Montecito Salad with asparagus, beets, hearts of palm, red onions, and cherry tomatoes. While my friend enjoyed the El Sereno Al Pastor Tacos- three soft mini corn tortillas with rubbed port in a 13-spice marinade, cilantro, onion, tomato, pineapple and lime.

If nothing else, go to Florencia 13, at Sullivan St. & Bleecker, for their signature drinks made by son Lennard Camarillo like their Flaming Margarita and Classic Mojito. I'd also recommend the spicy guacamole and homemade chips.

Agozar!

A few friends and I started our New Year's Eve celebration at festive Cuban restaurant Agozar! For the busy night they offered a three course pre fixe menu for $40 a person which included a variety a dishes ranging from fish, chicken and beef. Unfortunately they didn't offer any vegetarian options but were very accommodating when I inquired about my dietary needs. So instead of altering items on the pre fixe menu they let me order items from the regular menu.

Our meal started with a basket of crisp plantains (my favorite) with a small dish of black bean hummus and guacamole. For an appetizer I selected Torta de Frijoles (black bean dumplings with avocado foam)- they were amazing, a bit spicy but so good and creatively served on round lime slices. I ordered the Queso de Cabra salad (spiced walnuts and goat cheese over mixed greens, apples and sherry vinaigrette) as my entree which was also very good, and thankfully the vinaigrette wasn't overdone or too oily.

For desert we had a choice of two Cuban sweets- flan or tres leches cake. One of my friends and I decided to try flan for the first time while our other two friends ordered the tres leche cake. Honestly, I wasn't a fan of either dessert. Neither of which was the restaurant's fault, I am just a picky eater and didn't like the textures.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this Agozar, they have great drinks (sangria, mojitos, margaritas and more) and is a fun place for groups. Located on Bowery near Bleecker. And I must say that they were really nice about adding our party of four to their reservation list on such a busy night. I called New Year's Eve day around 3pm asking for 8pm reservations. I spoke directly to the owner Diana who was able to fit us in with no problem!

Fresh Market I have added one more grocery store to my list of favorites. Over the weekend I went home to visit my family. To prepare for a family cookout my mom and I went to Fresh Market where we experienced the best customer service I have ever received in a grocery store! One of the sales reps, Sarah was so enthusiastic about her job it was amazing, She opened a bag of their organic corn tortilla chips and a package of their homemade guacamole right in front of us for us to try. Plus she had veggie kabobs created just for us within minutes!
Their guacamole, by the way, was really great. As was their other produce! If you have one near you, you must go!