Occasion: Celebrating a Very Exciting Development with Yining (hers, not mine)
Location: El Parador on 34th between 1st and 2nd (elparadorcafe.com)
Edibles: guacamole to start; we split the fish tacos and the ropa vieja (braised flank steak); tres leches cake for dessert
Musings: Pro: just a block away from my apartment and better than Qdoba. Con: not as good as Molé, and pretty expensive. The ropa vieja was definitely the better plate. The meat was very flavorful, juicy and tender. It came with a side of black beans, but went great with the rice that came with the fish tacos. The tacos were okay, nothing memorable. The fish really needed salt, and a lime wedge would have been nice too. The salsa on the side provided some zip in contrast to the blandness of the fish but it was too spicy for me to really slather it on.
[Note: Anne, who told us about the place, recommended the carnitas special but it wasn't on offer when we went.]
The cake. Oh my god. Way too rich for one person to finish - the "slice" was about 6 inches square - but SO GOOD. (Though the culinary snob in me noticed that their pastry chef burned the sugar he used for the cage decoration.)
Next time I come - and I'm sure there will be a next time, since it's so insidiously close to my apartment - I think I'll just get a margarita, guac and the cake.
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