Dinner at Taco Chulo

Meandering along Grand St. I found myself craving Mexican and so headed to Taco Chulo (318 Grand St., at Havemeyer, 718-302-2485) for dinner. The menu there is huge and extensive. You can basically get any combination of food in any amount - small snack or appetizer, plain taco or a gigantic plate with all the extras like beans and rice and veggies.

We started out with a couple of cocktails from their long drinks menu. I took a risk and ordered something called The Guero which is made with Cinnamon infused Vodka, Horchata and Patron XO Cafe which is a coffee liqueur made from tequila. I loved it! Spicy, sweet and complex, it was quite a treat. My BF got a Strawberry Margarita which was decent, but the lime was probably better.



We also started with some chips and salsa. I was impressed with the salsa - made with fresh, bright red tomatoes, garlic, cilantro & onion it was very addictive, even if the chips were ever so slightly stale.



For dinner I got two classic tacos, one with Carnitas (moist & juicy, flavorful and slightly spicy it was great) and one with Fish (the creamy, tangy sauce added such a nice zing to this dish, and the fish was fresh & flaky). This was the perfect amount of food, and you can get about 8 other fillings for your tacos this way.



My boyfriend chose two tacos from the list of "Signature" tacos; the BLT taco and the Baja taco. The BLT had just what it sounds like it had and was smoky and meaty and a little too 'breakfast flavor' for me. The Baja with fish, guacamole, beans, lettuce & cream sauce was really delicious; both were GIGANTIC!!



The food was great and I'd go back, but the space kinda drove me crazy. It's one, big concrete room with no effort made to deal with the way sound bounces around and gets all echo-y. If you're part of a big group and want to have a fun time, this is your place. If you want a quiet, simple dinner, go somewhere else.

New Website!!!

Hey! Just wanted to share a piece I wrote for Brokelyn, an awesome new website that focuses on the cheaper things in our fair borough. They asked me to write about places that aren't as expensive as they seem and would be good places to go for a date or special occasion that won't break the bank. You can find the article here.

Pizza & Ice Cream!

While I tend to steer clear of places that have long lines outside them, Grimaldi's Pizza (19 Old Fulton Street, between Front St. & Water St., 718-858-4300) is so good, I might have to make an exception more often. If you arrive at 11am, you can be sure you'll be a part of the first wave to be seated when they open at 11:30am. Inside, it's a bustling place, with red & white checked tablecloths, photos and newspaper clippings about Frank Sinatra lining the walls in frames, and about 8 waiters, all running this way and that, trying to get everybody's orders in. The huge oven can be seen from all the tables and you can watch while your pizza is made to order.



There's a lot of hype about this pizza, but I believe it stands up to all the hyperbole with delicious, well-made, tasty pizza. The crust is perfect, crispy & thin, but still just doughy enough, and never soggy. The cheese is so fresh and has the best melty consistency, and the sauce is well-seasoned and not sweet at all. This pizza has pepperoni slices on it which are the smaller version, but slightly thicker than usual pepperoni slices and spicy enough to add a little heat. Fresh basil leaves dot the entire pie. Of course, they have lots of options for other toppings. Also, if you can't stand the lines, you can call in your order and pick it up to go.



Afterward, if it's a nice day, take a walk down to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory at 1 Water Street (or 2 Cadman Plaza West, depending on your map) for dessert (718-246-3963). There are usually 6 or 8 flavors on the menu and all are available on a cone, in a cup or made into a milkshake. It's some of the creamiest, most delicious ice cream out there, made even better by the lovely views of the Brooklyn Bridge from the pier.



These cones are displaying a single scoop of the wonderful coffee ice cream on sugar and wafer cones. Deeee-licious!