Our plans did not exactly go the way we expected this past Friday night. We wanted to try a cheap eatery within close approximation to the two birthday parties we needed to attend. After parking our car near what would be our last stop of the evening, we decided to “venture out” and walk around. That didn’t last too long due to hunger and we ended up going to the nearest place we could find to eat, and we were allured by the welcoming happy hour deal: buy one get one free. Well, not only was the deal fantastic, the food and drinks were both amazing! Agozar is a Cuban Bistro Bar and it’s a small joint that is vibrant with Latin flavor. We ordered several tapas, few of our favorites being escabeche de pescado (crispy mahi mahi strips with a sweet pepper ragu, green banana tostone) and jibarro en canoa (picadillo, weet plantains, picillo). The tapas are served in about 4-5 pieces per plate and because of the fantastic price, you don’t feel burdened to order lots of different dishes. We both had the sangria, which was decent, and the mojitos. I must say the food was far better than the drinks but hey, buy one get one free, you get what you pay for.
On a different note, please do not judge me when I say this, but I tried macarons for the first time this Saturday with my beloved long-time friend Jihee who happened to be visiting from Chicago. My justification for not trying macarons is this: 1. I hate dessert; 2. I hate sweets; 3. I hate dessert. But my best friend Angela is currently on a hunt for the best macarons in NYC so upon researching, I decided to try out Madeleine Patisserie. It is a small, cute café that welcomes you with an assortment of colorful macarons and fruit tarts. Filled in glass jars above the counter are madeleines, another delicacy I don’t pay particular attention to as well. We ordered two macarons each, mine being Passion Fruit and Lemon. We also ordered a fruit tart and cappuccinos. Macarons were definitely not what I expected to taste: it was soft at first bite, chewy on the second bite, and tart-like cream on the third bite. I loved it! But because of the rich taste, I could not get myself to eat more than two. The cappuccinos were generously filled with foam way above the brim and the foam complemented the richness of the macarons perfectly. The fruit tart was exactly what I was hoping for it to be: lightly glazed, filled with an assortment of berries, and filling being a perfect blend of tart and sweet.
I will now gladly join Angela on a macaron hunt. Stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment