{Cheap Eats} Mexican BBQ from the Mexicue Truck

My husband works downtown, where good affordable lunch spots are hard to find.  One of the bright times is when a food truck makes its way to the Financial District.  Hope you enjoy his review of his latest lunch find:  Mexicue.

 

Mexicue is one of the newer entrants in the fast growing mobile food truck industry in Manhattan.  The truck, which combines Mexican flavors and barbecue, serves tacos, sliders and even bottles of Jarritos to hungry diners.  Mexicue got busy during the lunchtime rush (noon-1pm), so I came afterward and only waited on line for about ten minutes. 

I ordered two sliders off the short menu: Pulled Pork Shoulder ($3) and BBQ Beef Brisket ($3), along with the Oak Smoked Short Rib taco (above left, $4).  My colleague ordered two tacos:  the House Chorizo ($4) and the Short Rib ($4).  My favorite was the brisket topped with barbecue sauce, spicy slaw, and avocado.  The pulled pork was surprisingly mild without being greasy, but could have used more tang or spice to it; however, the toppings were once again solid.

The tacos were another issue, as the dry shell fells apart quite easily (and to me, did not have much taste).  The meat together with the toppings had a fairly muted flavor and could have been spicier...I guess I should have followed the lead of the customers in front of me that doused their order in Cholula hot sauce. 

Overall, to me, the sliders were the better value.  They were tastier and more substantial than the tacos.  Although I only only had to walk two blocks back to my office, the food got cold quickly.  Next time I will devour the sliders quickly after ordering.

You can find the Mexicue truck's schedule on their website.

Reminder:  There's still time to enter our $55 gift certificate to CSN Stores giveaway! Click here to enter!  (Contest closes 10/31/10, 11:59 PM EST)  And if you feel like making your own Mexican tacos at home, the Norpro Tortilla Press in our shop would make it really easy! With our 30% off discount code (HIGHLOW30PCT), it also got more affordable. (expires 10/31/10)

{Dining Out} SHO Shaun Hergatt $33 Lunch Deal

Have you ever wanted to dine like a Wall Street executive but wished you had their expense account? After hearing about SHO Shaun Hergatt's lunch prix fixe meal special (appetizer and entree $27, 3-course including dessert $33), we were excited to dine in style at only a fraction of the cost.  The interior and atmosphere is sleek and austere, but the food and service is warm and decadent.

The formative wine cellar fortress was the apple of my husband's eye while I loved the design of the double espresso shot glass.

In addition to the prix fixe meal, you can also order the "Endless" wines by the glass deal.  For an extra $10, you can choose between a refillable glass of red or white wine. The white wine option was a Muscadet (a French white wine) Guindon '08, Coteaux de la Loire sur Lie. My husband opted for the red wine option - a Saumur-Champigny, '05, Thierry Germain, Loire Valley. Over the course of the lunch, he was able to have 3-4 glasses of the pretty, food-friendly Cabernet Franc (13% ABV) - a steal at only $10. Meanwhile, I was enjoying the multi-grain bread with hummus.

Appetizer course:  Shavings of Iberico Ham with young mache and quail eggs. The usually pricey and formerly illegal Iberico ham was why we ordered this dish.  (Iberico ham was also illegal in the U.S. until July 2007 when a Spanish slaughterhouse had won USDA approval).  This delicate, salty, melt-in-your mouth was so good it should be illegal (but we're glad it's not!).

Appetizer course: Green Asparagus Spears with crushed hazelnuts and green asparagus sorbet. We loved this fresh dish with tons of crunchy hazelnuts, cool asparagus sorbet, salty shaved Parmesan cheese discs, and thick but tender asparagus.

Entree: Char Siu Pork with pickled apple, scallion soubise, micro cilantro. This dish is an elegant take on a traditional Chinese dish. It brought back memories of the tasty and fatty pork dish that my grandmother would make for family get-togethers.  The pork belly is slow-cooked with a variety of spices and seasonings making it tender and flavorful. I loved how this dish came served with crispy rice (our favorite part of cooking rice in a rice cooker or hot stone pot).

Entree: Crispy Skin Salmon with fiddleheads, favas, arugula puree. We ordered this dish because fiddleheads (those pretty curled vegetables), though rich in nutrients, need to be properly prepared and cooked in order to remove bitterness and toxins.  Overall, this dish is light and very appropriate for Spring.

Petit Fours:  The round Pink champagne truffle was milky and the apricot fruit jelly was sweet and fruity.

Dessert: Caramello Chocolate biscuit, crunchy toffee ice cream.  Decadent, sweet, and sinfully good - this dessert is perfect for anyone with a sweet tooth!

Dessert: Australian Pavlova passion fruit, jackfruit sorbet. The meringue Pavlova was crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. I especially loved the beautiful fruit flavors from the thinly sliced strawberries, passion fruit, and jackfruit sorbet.  It tasted like Summer.

If you find yourself in the Financial District - perhaps after taking out-of-towners to Wall Street or the Statue of Liberty - treat yourself to an elegant lunch at SHO Shaun Hergatt.

{Sweet Treats} Macaron Day NYC 2012

Dominique Ansel Bakery's PB&J and Raspberry Balsamic macarons (left) were slightly larger than Epicerie Boulud's rich and tasty macarons.

Happy 1st Day of Spring everyone! What better way to ring in the warm weather than with complimentary macarons? Today was Macaron Day in NYC and unlike in previous years (2010, 2011), it was held on a weekday.  Since we both had to work, my macaron hunt was short but sweet.

Before work, I checked out Epicerie Boulud and received an intensely-flavored dark chocolate macaron. Since this was my first time at Daniel Boulud's bakery, I also bought a box of 4 macarons ($9.50) to try the other flavors: lemon, raspberry, and pistachio. My favorite mac of the day was Boulud's nutty pistachio macaron. The lemon one was vibrant too and the raspberry mac tasted like jam.

Since there weren't any participating bakeries near my office, Jeff kindly ventured to a couple places downtown for me.  Dominique Ansel Bakery was another new-to-us bakery. There were a few other people coming in asking for a macaron along with the usual breakfast crowd.

Jeff picked up a complimentary PB&J macaron from Dominique Ansel Bakery's selection and bought a Raspberry Balsamic macaron ($2.50) to go. He really liked the different flavor profiles offered there. His favorite macarons of the day were Boulud's dark chocolate mac and these two macarons from Dominique Ansel Bakery.

After two years of offering hazelnut macarons (seen here and here), this year La Maison du Chocolat offered a Lemon Macaron.  Jeff thought it was light in flavor but sweet and, unlike some previous purchases from the Wall St location, was not cracked or falling apart.

Though I didn't get to visit many bakeries this year for Macaron Day, I'm glad we were able to try a couple new places. And hearing about Dominique Ansel Bakery's other French pastries makes me eager to visit soon.