Eating Out

We went to Havana Central in Union Square on Thursday night. Really yummy riblets served with a mango sauce - they were sort of fatty and grisly but with plenty of spicy meat on them. Don't get your hopes up for the mango slaw, though. It's basically a coleslaw with a few tiny pieces of mango in it. One reviewer on citysearch said all the food was bland, but we didn't find that was true at all. Todd had a tender beef stew, and I had roasted veggies, and both were pretty spicy. Neither was transporting, but both were fine. It's not too expensive, either - $3 beers and $5 mojitos during happy hour. I still want to try the empanadas and chorizo. This might be a better drinks-and-snacks sort of place.

Went to 'WitchCraft for lunch on Friday and had Gruyere with caramelized onions on rye. Pretty good, and their onions are so sweet. I could make it at home easily, though. Still want to try two more sandwiches there, and maybe a third egg sandwich: tuna with fennel and black olives on a baguette, and Cheddar with bacon and apple.

Yesterday we wandered around in the oppressive heat and humidity and stopped by the Jamaican patties place on Sullivan that New York magazine mentioned in their Cheap Eats issue. They serve these flaky pastry pockets filled meat or veggies. We had jerk and curried chicken ones. They're less than two dollars, almost enough for a meal, and pretty tasty. We were still hungry, though, so we stopped by Once Upon a Tart, which we found kind of overrated and overpriced. I had a lemon tart that was not really burnt, but kind of ho-hum and overcooked, and Todd's Cheddar and dill bicuit, while pretty with flecks of orange cheese and dill, didn't taste like Cheddar or dill. Probably won't give them a second chance, but definitely will go to the Jamaican place again.