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Birthday Dinner at La Esquina

January 27, 2009

Today is my birthday! Saturday night, J. took me out for a birthday dinner date at La Esquina. It looks like a tiny taco joint from the outside, and it is — but there’s also a hidden subterranean restaurant, the brasserie. To get there, you have to enter the taqueria and go through a door that reads “No Admittance/Employees Only,” down a grimy staircase, and through the kitchen. If you wandered in off the street, you’d never know the basement brasserie was there. But do a Google search on “La Esquina,” and you’re in on the poorly-held secret entrance, too.

We got into the city a little early so we walked (quickly!) around in the freezing cold and settled on having a glass of wine at Oro Bakery & Bar on Broome St. I didn’t see the pastries out at night, but looking at their site now they look good! It was a cute, dark place to enjoy our drinks (and the Depeche Mode they were playing). Then, off to La Esquina.

We started with drinks, of course. Poor J. ordered the Michelada, a “classic Mexican beer cocktail… chipotle puree, fresh lime, served on the rocks with a salted rim.” It was, I’m sorry to say, horrendous. He is into very spicy, but this tasted like a bad bag of stale, hot sauce potato chips. He stuck it out and drank the whole thing, though! I was happy with my super-strong margarita on the rocks, and then we split some red sangria later, which was fruity and excellent.

We shared two “small plates” to start, including Quesadilla de Huitlacoche (Mexican “truffle”, roasted corn, mushrooms, queso oaxaca) with a spicy sauce, which both of us mushroom-lovers adored. The other, which is not on their posted menu, was taquitos with roasted tomatoes, cheese, and some other veggies. It was fine but nothing special.

J. choose the Chile Relleno (roasted poblano pepper, organic quinoa, manchego cheese, calabaza, tomato caldo) for dinner; I had the La Esquina Mole Negro (rotisserie chicken with mole sauce, rice, and grilled string beans). Again, really good. I’d been skeptical of the quality of the food since the gimmick is the secret entrance, but we were both surprised by how tasty and fresh everything was. The best part was those plentiful green beans that came with my chicken. They were just al dente, and had a great char on them from being cooked on a grill.

We skipped dessert at La Esquina and headed out again into the cold on a quest: durian ice cream (we watch too much Tony Bourdain, clearly). Five long blocks out (walking carefully over ice- and fish scale-covered sidewalks, as merchants cleaned out their displays for the night) we arrived at the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. Sadly, there was no durian flavor that evening, so we bailed on the ice cream altogether (we were still really full from dinner) and hoofed it back to the car.

It was a terrific birthday excursion, one that made me feel totally loved and cared for. Today, with a million birthday wishes from far-flung friends, coffee dates and cakes, thoughtful gifts, and calls from family, I am truly blissed out.

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Filed under: Restaurants

Tags: Chile Relleno, Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, Depeche Mode, dinner, food, Huitlacoche Mexican, La Esquina, La Esquina Mole Negro, menu, No Admittance Employees, sauce, spicy, tomato, Tony Bourdain, whole