New East side Mexican Food - YUM!

We are so excited that on the far east side we continue to attract new places to eat. The newest addition is Cucos a little joint on Buckeye that took over the Papacornopulis location. What an improvement - the place is really bright, clean and comfortable place to grab dinner any night of the week.  The menu is huge with a huge number of choices - all the usual Tex Mex items I grew up with, enchiladas, nachos, fajitas and a huge combo section. The beer is cold and the margaritas look tasty - we have not had one yet. The service is spectacular - always friendly , attentive and present when needed.  We have found a couple of things that are the best kept secert at this new favorite go to spot. First - ask for the hotter salsa - it is smoky, deep with rich chili notes and nice punch of heat! And second - order the Pork Carnitas dinner - holy cow - a plate full of the most tender, slow cooked pork with crispy exterior. This is by far one of the best plates of carnitas I have ever had in my life - and I have eaten a lot of Mexican food.  The platter is accompanined with nice refried beans, rice, lettuce, pico de gallo , fresh guacamole and crisp pickled jalapenos. You get to choose either corn or flour tortillas which are served fresh and hot. It is a build your own taco bonanza - we usually have leftovers for the next day - what value for about $10 it is a must seek out spot when the craving for Mexican food hits! While the west side has Taqueria Guadalajara and we have a few others spots around town - this is our new favorite place in the neighborhood!  We can't wait to explore the menu even more - if we can get away from ordering these succulent carnitas.

Happy Eating!

Jim

Pig In a Fur Coat!

Yes - it sounds like  the beginning of a joke - "A pig in a fur coat walked into a bar...." Well we did feel like a pig in a fur coat the other night when we visited the newly opened restaurant on Willy Street. It seemed the air conditioning was not working on what was a very hot evening. Despite the environment the evening had some high points. The space formerly Roccos Pizza has been transformed into a smart space with two large communal tables and a section of banquets. The vibe was very much West village in NYC, smart looking people - mostly from the neighborhood. Gray walls with raised mirrors and Edison bulb fixtures gave the feel of an established joint. There was a small stand up  bar in the back next to the open kitchen.  The menu is pretty tight - focused and "Pig centric" as the name implies.  Mostly starters, small plates and a limited selection of large plates. We decided to stick our favorite thing when trying out a new spot - sharing many items.

The wine list had a nice selection of old world wines that will have you doing some tasting to find a selection for your meal. The only down side for our Leyda Pinot Noir from Chile was that is was served at the same temperature as the room - a nice 80-85 degrees not really appealing. After our wine arrived we ordered our round of small plates which arrive in no particular order which is fine as long as the spacing of courses matches up with the tiny two top table we were seated at tonight. First up - the Charcuterie platter - not really a platter but a nice offering of house curred sausages and salumi  including a  blood sausage and chicken liver mouse with cherries. The platter had nice toasted thin cut baguette and the serving portion was ample for the price. Overall while taste of the platter fell flat on being very one dimensional - our favorite in the city these days is the Charcuterie board at Nostrano - with its little extras of house pickled vegetables, mustard, and other accompaniments. It seems the kitchen is still working on the presentation of the platter here and I think they will continue to fine tune it over the next few weeks. We will try it again if they update the selections with additional variety. Next to arrive the Ravioli with duck egg, overall a nice dish expect it lacked basic seasoning which would have helped balance the dish out since it was so rich with the duck egg, ricotta and a little too much brown butter - it was swimming a bit - this dish had great bones but need a little finessing. Moving on to the Pork belly - what a great combination with little pickled carrots - they gave a nice hit of acid and left us wanting a little more to balance out the dish. Overall this dish delivered a great combination of flavors and textures in a dish that was not too heavy as pork belly can be on occasion. Still wanting a little more we opted for the Dates with chorizo and piquillo peppers - the best for last, this was the most well constructed dish of the evening -- a wonderful balance of the sweet dates, the smoky chorizo and the wonderful fresh flavor of the piquillos - well seasoned and really tasty. Despite the uncomfortable environment the service was friendly, even paced and attentive which is hard to find in a newly opened restaurant. Time will tell as the kitchen team find their rhythm but I think that Pig in Fur Coat will only get better as a new hot spot on the East side.

Cheers

Jim