Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Boqueria - Manhattan

Tapas and Sandwiches in the Flatiron
Whenever I come back to NY I'm amazed by the choice of new restaurants to try. I don't even pretend to keep up, I browse and pick them using a variety of rules, the most of important of which is the "it's close to work" rule. This is how we found ourselves at Boqueria, a Spanish tapas spot that also serves sandwiches. I spent a summer in Madrid between college and grad school and was hoping to find some eats that were more than a pale imitation. We didn't get off to a good start with the quail eggs and chorizo on toast. I don't know how they managed to make this tasteless - but luckily things picked up from here.

The lamb meatballs were zesty and flavorful. They came with a tomato sauce and sheep milk cheese. This concoction was perhaps too flavorful if you don't like lamb, if you know what I mean. They were pretty lamb-y.

The hanger steak sandwich was good, very good. It didn't remind me of any I've had in Spain but I cannot find it in my heart to take points off for that. The meat was cooked rare, as requested and the bread was delicious. The side of "patatas bravas", slightly spicy fried potato chunks, were slamming. I recommend this.
For dessert we had some churros and chocolate which were, I hate to say it, middling. These are supposed to be cheap and good. Not expensive and forgettable. The chocolate was runny - a real disappointment. I can remember getting a frigging lunch bag of these in Madrid and Sevilla for one fifth the price. Maybe they tasted better for being cheaper.

It's a swank spot. No sign of the new normal in this place at all - everyone was there eating their hearts out. In the end, I wasn't overly impressed - it's too expensive for what it is. Our bill was around $65 for two and we didn't eat much and what we did eat was hit or miss.

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6 comments:

  1. i went to the one in soho for my bday and it was fabulous :] the whole table got a chef's tasting and it was delicious and memorable - except for the cheese filled bacon dates lol

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  2. @Misstiffie - looks like you had a better experience than us, though ours was not bad, just inconsistent.

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  3. I think you are right.. I remember the bill more than the meal.

    The food wasn't all that bad though.. although I would love to have nice spanish ham to accompany the meal...

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  4. @Puffin - you woulda remembered the bill MORE if you had paid, wahahahahahaha.

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  5. Too bad the photo of those eggs is so good I can't help but think they're delicious.

    I also love the irony of something being tooooooo flavorful, though I know what you mean. Almost nothing is too intense for me, but I eat with a lot of pansies who can't keep up.

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  6. @Donuts - them there quail eggs were all beauty and no brains.

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