joy by the kilo

living in los angeles had several effects on me: taken me down a few notches on the type A scale, unveiled my love for farmer's markets, deepened my appreciation for the ocean and made me a huge fan of mexican food. needless to say, i am always on the lookout for good mexican restaurants which means fresh, tasty food for not a ton of money. this has not been easy to find- granted my search thus far has been limited to manhattan. i was delighted to discover mercadito a frew years ago and it has been on my roster of favorite nyc restaurants ever since.

the opening of mercadito cantina earlier this fall was very exciting. . . it wasn't until this past friday that i had the opportunity to check it out. the wait was worthwhile.

walking into the restaurant, one instantly recalls the ambience and aestetic of momofuku. lots of warm colored wood, long, high tables, and lots of stools.

the boy and i ordered two types of guacamole -toreado (sautéed chile serrano, garlic, oregano, tomatillo pico de gallo) and calabaza (cinnamon spiced pumpkin, tomatillo pico de gallo, roasted jalapeño, toasted pumpkin seeds) to start and a kilo (!) of
carnitas de puerco, or michoacàn style braised berkshire pork that was served family style/make your own taco. it's funny that i've eaten this way so many times- vietnamese rice paper rolls, korean bbq, etc- but have never done so with mexican food. it makes so much sense. the food was incredible. . . hands down the best mexican guacamole i've ever tasted. . . the carnitas was flavorful, slow cooked to perfection. the tortillas were fresh. . . unfortunately are eyes were bigger than our stomachs and we only got halfway through the meat.

the waitress/manager was a doll and gave us dessert on the house. goat cheese flan. while i love goat cheese i was a bit apprehensive. my fears were for naught. the flan was delicious and the only difference from a typical flan was a slightly firmer texture which i actually enjoyed.

so kudos to the mercadito crew. we'll be back. and often.