La Esquina

La Esquina, aptly named, is literally on the corner of Kenmare and Lafayette. And according to Alan, it’s just across the street from the well known Eileen’s Cheesecake and Le Jardin Bistro, which apparently used to be the IT brunch spot but has gone down hill. And what a shame too, since its noted for its beautiful garden. Being in such a visited location in Soho, the La Esquina Cafe probably gets a lot of foot traffic. And seeing that our little group had more food to look forward to, we thought we’d get a quick bit in the cafe.

All three of us (Rich, Alan, and I) didn’t even have to look at the menu to order. We all went in craving the Pescado A Las Brasas, also know as the fish tacos. According to Rich, La Esquina actually uses “real” fish rather than tilapia, which is why he chose this specific Taqueria as his
second stop. La Esquina’s fish taco is made with grilled market fish, shredded cabbage, red onion and salsa verde and is served with a side of lime. I only recently became interested in fish tacos,
so I admit I’m not the connoisseur. But, like any well eaten New Yorker, I have a strong opinion on the food in question.

Though the presentation was wonderful, my first bite of fish taco consisted of mostly the soft cornmeal taco and various accompanying sauces rather than the fish itself. When I finally got a taste of the fish, I felt it was a little too charred. The char overwhelmed the flavor of the taco so much that all I could taste was the char, the mealy soft taco, and the salsa verde.

Despite the disappointing pescade a las brasas, i still have high hopes for the main dining room in La Esquina. I would encourage anyone to try out the cafe, just for the fun of eating a messy taco on a plastic plate while you people watch through the large glass windows from your rickety stool.

LA ESQUINA
114 Kenmare Street, at Lafayette

NYC Food Tours

Although I’ve heard and read about food tours happening around various parts of NYC, I have yet to experience a guided tour. But this past weekend I was lucky enough to have foodies friends and family take me on a three stop food tour. Although three stops seems like a short food tour, I don’t think I could have eaten much more!

My Uncle Richard and his friend Alan, both being native New Yorkers, are quite knowledgeable about NY culinary hot spots and were pleased to have me tag along on their pre-planned tour of soon-to-be devoured eateries. In no particular order this was the schedule:

S’Mac (East Village) 11 am
La Esquina (Soho) 12:30 pm
A Salt & Battery (West Village) 1:45 pm
Donut Plant (Lower East Side) 3:00 pm

Clearly we had our work cut out for us between the variety of food and scattered locations but as a fellow foodie I couldn’t wait to conquer what was ahead. I decided to skip S’Mac, as I’m not the biggest fan, and headed straight for La Esquina. I’ve actually been waiting to eat in the main dining room at La Esquina for quite some time but I could never get a reservation and I eventually just gave up all together. A Salt & Battery I’ve been to before and throughly enjoyed it. Though the reason for my return would be to try the Deep Fried Mars Bar. To find out you’ll have to see check out the A Salt & Battery post here.

Our last stop, which seemed the most fitting, was the Donut Plant. And if you’ve already had the privilege of tasting their specialty donuts, then you’ll definitely want to read up my experience!

Stay tuned for individual posts of each Food Tour stop!