Burrito Bar the Victim of City Lighting Curse

Carnivore wrote: [quote=qtrain]I'm no burrito expert myself, but I do miss Taqueria Cancun. I'm thinking of going back to DF to try their tortas.

I love tortas, and haven't found a good one around here yet. Please report back on them if you try them! :shock:

Oh my god. Not in Brooklyn (again, sorry!) but there is an AMAZING delicious place in Soho that has tortas I dream about at night. Great grilled corn with chili powder and Mexican farmer's cheese too...oh god, so hungry...*drool*...

Oops, sorry. Anyway, it's on the flat end part of the block where Lafayette and Centre diverge, right by Eileen's Cheesecake. I think it's called The Corner Shop. It's like a takeout counter with stools, but right around the corner on Lafayette they also have a nice sit-down place with the same menu.

SO. DELICIOUS.

qtrain wrote: [quote=apollonia666]Let me know what you think! Man, I haven't been to that place in ages. I may just have to haul myself down there soon.

I ordered it to go, and they gave me a fork and knife and packed it in a plastic container... and flattened it. It was the shape of a Jamaican patty.

Thanks for the recommendation, though, apollonia666! I love going on food missions.

ugh!!!! plastic container?! What's wrong with these people. don't they know the best part of a burrito is that it's overgrown finger food! Plus the containers always make everything that much more moist and soggy. Sorry man!

Ate at BB last month w/ the wife, and immediately regretted it. Warm, nearly-flat beer, awful food, obnoxious DJ.

I give them until the end of February.


lulu: check out Burritoville(s) in Manhattan; I find their burritos delicious and have heard them praised by SoCal-ers as being as authentic as can be had in NYC.

qtrain wrote: [quote=pete_c]lulu: check out Burritoville(s) in Manhattan; I find their burritos delicious and have heard them praised by SoCal-ers as being as authentic as can be had in NYC.

I forgot about Burritoville! Tasty, but hardly authentic. Steam pressed, brown rice... Mystical Frisco? Twenty oh-so-cutely named boutique burritos. Anything more than "burrito" and "super burrito," I get suspicious. Burritoville reminds me of a place called Cactus Taqueria in Rockridge, Oakland's answer to Park Slope. I refuse to believe that this is as close as it gets.

Seriously. Based on some of the comments on these Burrito Bar threads, I am losing all respect for SoCal'ers as judges of Mexican food!

Don't get me wrong, I like Tex Mex, but I don't pretend to think it's what they actually eat south of the border!

Most authentic Mexican food in NYC I've found by far is Cafe el Portal.

Yeah, and Mexico is so different depending on where you're at. Flour tortillas and refried beans north of el DF, corn tortillas and black beans south of el DF...

Anybody know where I can get some horchata or jamaica?

PHeightsGirl wrote: Anybody know where I can get some horchata or jamaica?

on the far end/top of the steel deli counter thats immediately to the left as you enter the washington ave c-town, yo.

horchata #1!

PHeightsGirl wrote: Anybody know where I can get some horchata or jamaica?

La Taqueria has horchata.

I'm glad to hear that others have had a good experience, too! I've been back since my initial try, and I liked it again. Don't know if Bill the barkeep makes a good drink, but he's a hell of a nice guy. And each time that I've looked in, there have been a decent amount of people...

Heit wrote: went early on Friday, pretty sorry that I did -

they broke my cardinal rule of Mexican spots: I ordered (crab) nachos, and they brought out individual nachos with toppings on them, instead of the usual pile. I've literally walked out of places upon receiving that, and I'm sorry I didn't do it here.

at least they gave the chips and salsa for free in the beginning - not enough to sway me to go again tho

amusingly enough, that's my favorite form of nacho. I love going to Mexico because I know I can get refried beans spread on any bread substance covered in cheese, chopped avocado and hot chiles at any restaurant I walk into. now ask me if I remember what that type of nacho is called? cause I can't remember, but it's a specific kind. and, again, my favorite. cause that bears repeating. and also makes me want to go to the burrito bar ...

Cost cutting? I would think that the toppings are much more expensive than the chips...

And if you did have 142 chips, when you run out of topping, you have nothing but... well, let's face it- 130 chips, which is nothing special.

How is giving you a handful of chips, with toppings perfectly distributed on top of them, considered a sign of cost cutting when they give you all-you-can-eat free chips and salsa when you walk through the door? As alafairnadia stated, it is a specific type, or serving style, of nacho. I've had their other nacho options, and they've come to the table in a big heap of chips. Is it surprising that they would choose to present the crab nachos with a little more care? When you go to a trendy restaurant and they bring you a plate with small portions, is your immediate thought 'gee, they must be just scraping by- look at how they've cut back the portions!'? It's about presentation. Also, if you're getting crab nachos, is the main attraction the chips or the crab?

Man, they try something different (provide service, pay attention to presentation) and people decry them anyway.

rhodamine wrote: [quote=nybt]Man, they try something different (provide service, pay attention to presentation) and people decry them anyway.

i think alot of us "decry" them because we've had mediocre experiences there, whether it be nachos, drinks or whatever else. you seem to like them- thats great- but some of us dont.

And that's great- to each his/her own, but I find the criticism in this specific case, and for this specific reason, to be unfounded at best.

[soapbox]I don't have a problem with criticism. As a future business owner, I'll welcome it when it comes my way- it'll be an opportunity for me to improve my business. But if it's not qualified ('I didn't like the service because...' or 'the product sucked because...') or if there's a weak argument behind the criticism (as I feel is the case in the above instance), then it's really not criticism at all- it's just unfounded bitching and I'm not afraid to call 'bullshit' on someone for it. I'm not calling out anyone specific for a history of unfounded bitching, but it does go on a lot on these hollowed boards; I think that that's evident by some of the 'man, a lot of you people sure are negative' posts. If you're going to bitch, bitch... but back it up. [/soapbox]

pete_c wrote: so what are we going to do with the place when they close?

cause if we leave it to outsiders, the Curse will continue, and we'll be stuck with yet another mediocre place serving mostly crappy food.

even though i thought the place was useless, i wouldn't wish closing on it. they already went through one closed location in Tribeca, and you'd hate to see anyone's hard work go belly-up. here's to them finding enough of a crowd who likes their food.

*coughoverpricedandmediocregotolataqueriainsteadcough*

nytb: Personally, I just have an expectation for nachos.

if I order a nacho plate, the standard that has come to be known across the city (and country really) is the bigger plate of them - not individual nachos, that's basically tapas to me.

Not sure if I mentioned that they weren't great anyway, $9 or something for like 7 nachos that were WET because of the overabundance of salsa and underabundance of crab - not a good look.

but that style annoys me as an individual (my wife too) and that's my specific criticism in a nutshell.

It is a cool space though, just not anywhere close to good Mexican food.