FOOD PIC OF THE WEEK

Calle Ocho (***)

2756 Broadway, New York, NY 10025

I have been going to Calle Ocho (Cuban fusion) since the early 2000s, and it always hits the spot. To be perfectly honest, Calle Ocho was a favorite for my grad school buddies and me because the restaurant has an all-you-can-drink sangria brunch with the purchase of any entree.

LOOK AT ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT SANGRIAS!!!!

FYI: The Samba, Roja, Gramada Punta Cana, and Blanca are my favoritas.

Man those were the days when we did not have time limits for our all-you-can-drink brunch needs. Now, most places have a 1.5 – 2 hour time limit, which is fine . . . I guess.

For my most recent brunch visit, I went with something new and ordered the

Camarones Ahumados

Normally, I order the same things (ropa vieja or chilaquiles), but I am glad that I decided to go with something different.

While I love coming here, I will say that the prices have gone up a bit. Since I have been dining here for about two decades, I guess that’s understandable. Back in the day, dishes were about $20 and included all-you-can-drink sangria. Now, the delicious brunch options are around $40. I mean it’s not a huge deal because most places typically add an extra $15-$20 bucks if you want an all-you-can-drink option. I guess Calle Ocho now includes the all-you-can-drink in the price of the entree. There is no way in the world that anyone should pay close to $40 for a bowl of shrimp and grits. I guess this kind of sucks for non-drinkers to pay that much for a brunch entree.

That said, the muffin basket (err box) is totally worth it.

One tip if you dine here: As long as you continue to order food, the sangria will keep flowing. When we dine at Calle Ocho, we usually get a dessert after brunch so we can have one or two more sangrias for the road.

FOOD PIC OF THE WEEK

Mission Ceviche (***) 

 1400 2nd Avenue, New York, NY 10021

We were on a mission to enjoy some ceviche and pisco sours.

Mixto Ceviche

Seco Norteño

Tres Leches

Of course, pisco sour

Cocina del Sur

40 W 38th St., New York, NY 10018  

Well, this is not really a food pic of the week; it's more of a quick post about the most recent Yelp Elite Squad - NYC event that I attended.  According to its Yelp page, Cocina del Sur is a "fast-casual restaurant serving traditional South American dishes right off the grill. [They] serve up a delicate balance of healthy eating and quality Latin comfort food based on locally sourced & organic ingredients" 

Random: I've noticed that we have not had many Yelp elite events over the past couple of months. I wonder what's going on. I like my free stuff. 

Anywho, the event was pretty fun, but there were not too many people in attendance because the restaurant is a bit small. Cocina seems kind of like an in and out kind of place. I probably talked to about 4 people in total, and I don't think that I wanted to befriend them on Yelp.

A pretty "simple" rice bowl with chicken, salmon, and steak with chimichurri sauce (I think it was chimichurri sauce) and some other random fixins. The Brussel sprouts were pretty delicious. Oh, there was a mango (or was it pineapple) salsa that was out of this world. Actually, they should sell that in a jar. 

I liked the spot, but I would not travel out of my way for a rice bowl in midtown. But, game on if I'm in the area. 

Since the restaurant is out of the way for me, of course, I was the first winner of a free meal. 

Random II: What do you think about arepas?

I ask because every time I hear someone in NYC talk about Latin food, he/she will always bring up arepas. Well . . . it's usually tacos first, then arepas. "OMG! _ has the BEST arepas in NYC." And, I'm like  I guess

Here's the thing, I do not dislike arepas. I just haven't found anything that makes them so amazing. If I order chimichurri steak and an arepa happens to be included then great. But, if I were to order chimichurri steak and the kitchen forgot to put the arepa on the plate, I probably would not even care (or even notice). Eh, different strokes for different folks.