6 March 2011 Pampano – Mexican Food to Say Ole About

Pampano – Mexican Food to Say Ole About

March 6, 2011 By

I lunched at Pampano this week and it was a super meal.  The space is appealing, the wait staff is attentive an unobtrusive and the food is tasty and creatively presented.

Guacamole

I started with the guacamole ($13) (can be spicy or not – ours was spicy) and it was delicious.  It featured tons of fresh cilantro and lime and the portion could have easily served four guests. The chips paired with it were a bit different but warm and crispy.

Pampano offers six variations of masterfully made ceviches that guests can order in single servings or combinations of three ($26) or four ($30).  I had the Ceviche Mariscos ($13) – a mix of shrimps, scallops and octopus, as part of the Prix Fixe menu ($28) and it was zesty from fresh lime with a kick of heat from serrano chile.

Enchiladas Nortenas

The lunch menu is quite extensive and features salads, soups, fish/seafood dishes and special platters.  On this recent visit, our entree selections were the Churrasco ($24), skirt steak with wild mushroom escabeche served over white bean puree  and the Enchiladas Nortenas ($16), tortillas filled with slow-cooked pulled pork and black beans served over chile pasilla sauce.  Both entrees were rich, flavorful and outstanding.

Pampano offers a couple desserts that clearly aren’t its forte, but are nonetheless enjoyable.  The Chocoflan was more cheesecake than flan, but the flavor was nice.

Award-winning chef/Owner Richard Sandoval does it well and I’ll definitely dine here again.

Pampano

209 East 49th Street

New York, NY 10017

212-751-4545

Reservations: http://www.opentable.com

 

Filed Under: Mexican, Restaurant Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Suggestions for a Neat Night in the West Village

December 1, 2009 By

Last Saturday night, seven of us went to the West Village to celebrate a friend’s 30th birthday.  We wanted an affordable dinner, then to visit a few bars as a group.  Yes, we’re drinkers.  No, we can’t/don’t want to drink like we’re still 20 years old.  We wanted to go to places that could accommodate seven of us to a decent level of comfort while still being fun.  Here are the places we visited that I know some of you looking for a great night out with friends would also enjoy:

Agave

Agave

Agave: 140 7th Avenue South (Charles & 10th Streets.):  This casual, buzzing southwestern restaurant offers creative Mexican food that is straight-forward enough for your entire party to enjoy.  Agave, as the name suggests, offers a great variety of margaritas, including the tasty prickly pear margarita that a couple of us loved.  Winning appetizers are the freshly made guacamole, the blue crab chipotle spinach dip and the pork carnitas.  Some of the entrees we opted for are the skirt steak and mushroom quesadillas, the squash blossom tacos, the slow braised beef enchiladas and the Santa Fe Sheppard’s pie.  Overall, the food is good, the space is inviting and the crowd is varied and fun (tequila helps).

Riviera Café & Sports Bar:  225 W. 4th Street (at 7th Avenue South):  Sport bar with tons of TVs and perfect to catch a game…ANY game…ALL games.  Fun wait staff, cold beer and not over-crowded.  Good spot to end the evening.

Downtown Galway Hooker: 133 7th Avenue South (7th avenue at Charles Street):  Can you say “FUN”!?  Irish bar, fun atmosphere, youngish crowd (mid-20s – late 30s), great to catch a Fighting Irish game on a Saturday night.

Galloway Hooker

Galloway Hooker

There are tons of fun places to go to in the West Village, and the above are solid choices for your next night out in Manhattan.  Cheers!

Filed Under: Other Neat Things Tagged With: , , , , , ,