LES Mexican – Barrio Chino

A few things have become apparent about this blog.  First, while I used to add new posts almost daily (see November 2008), I am now lucky to post once a week.  Second, as a result of my sporadic postings (or maybe it was when I stopped lugging my camera to dinner), my audience has dwindled and Marjorie might be my only reader now.  Thank you, Marjorie.

Quick update on our anniversary dinner at Corton – it was fabulous.  As soon as I can wrap my head around what we ate (so many flavors, so many side dishes), I will share my thoughts.  In the meantime, I have been wanting to tell you [Marjorie] about Barrio Chino for some time.

Our summer of reservation-free dining took us to Barrio Chino in August.  For us to trek to the LES takes every ounce of energy that we can muster, and this trip was no exception.  Happily, Barrio Chino was worth the effort. 

When we arrived, the extremely affable host was happy to take our number and have us kill time at one of the many watering holes that dot the neighborhood (we opted for Allen & Delancey and their yummy cocktail list).  The host called in fewer than 30 minutes to offer us seats at the bar, but we opted to finish our drinks and wait for a table. 

Once we were seated, my initial reaction was: this place is very loud and very dark (not to mention cramped – it was a feat of spatial relations wizardry to fit a foursome at the two-top next two us).  Clearly, I am not the target demographic. 

After my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, the first decision was which margarita to get.  I wasn’t sure if the jalapeno lime tequila would be too spicy so our extremely affable waiter (do you see a theme here?) offered to bring me a taste of the jalapeno-infused tequila.  It was bracingly, but not overbearingly, hot – sign me up.  My husband went for the more innocuous lime margarita.  Both margaritas were outstanding.  My only complaint about the margaritas is that they are served with a sugar rim unless you request otherwise (a colleague had forewarned me about this quirk). 

After settling on our drink order, we ordered the requisite chips and guac.  The chips were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.  Best ever in NYC – hands down.  The guac was very good, too, but it was an afterthought compared to the chips.

For dinner my husband had Enchiladas De Mole (chef’s mother’s secret recipe with chicken, queso fresco, crema mexicana, onions and lettuce) and I had Enchiladas Verdes (a house specialty – traditional green enchiladas stuffed with shredded chicken and melted oaxacan cheese).  I wasn’t as moved by either dish as I was by the chips, but both were very tasty.  For dessert, we had an order of the churros with chocolate – no complaints here either.  I appreciated that even though there was a line of people waiting to eat (at 10:30), the waiter seemed happy to have us sit as long as we wanted, but we paid our bill ($80 + tip, including four drinks!!) and made our way back uptown. 

If Barrio Chino weren’t so darn difficult to get to from the UWS, I would be a regular.  Until then, I will be dreaming of those chips and that margarita.