cafecito

185 ave C, b/t 11th & 12th sts

N & i could discuss new york restaurants and food for days. really, days. days that would stretch the span of years.

at the nolita house happy hour, we had somehow gotten onto the topic of various restaurants serving various types of latin food. i mentioned reading a review and wanting to go to mercadito, at which point she insisted that i try cafecito. better, and a favorite of hers. so when it came time to pick a place to eat before the maria taylor concert, cafecito it was.

after fighting our respective ways through the evil, pelting sleet, we made it to this cozy nook of a restaurant. we started by splitting a sort of shrimp fritter with marinara sauce. the marinara was excellent – slightly spicy and biting with that marinara sweetness, but the fritters themselves were rather tasteless and a little too mushy in texture overall for my taste.

i decided to go for the churrasco (because who doesn’t love skirt steak, especially when properly done cuban-style), which N said was exceptionally good there. I have to say, i was disappointed. my medium-rare came medium, and the flavor as a result, i think, was muted. the one highlight of the churrasco that i don’t think i’ve had elsewhere were the pickled onions, which were fanstastic — tangy and crunchy. however, the accompanying rice was dry, the beans were mediocre, and the tostones a tad soggy with a spicy mayo-like sauce that was good, but not as good as the green sauce served at pio pio on the UES.

while the prices were reasonable, i’m sorry N, i’m going to have to overturn your recommendation and say, don’t bother going. i know you said it was an off-night, but who wants to take chances with off nights? i think i’ll still give mercadito a shot sometime.