Move over, soup dumplings and dragon\u00a0rolls \u2014 NYC\u2019s buzziest in-demand new dishes are pork belly chicharron and tacos callejeros. After long playing backup to the city\u2019s Asian offerings, Mexico\u2019s culinary bounty is having a moment \u2014 and on a grander stage than the cuisine has enjoyed in some time.<\/p>\n
While we\u2019ve long had an array of taco joints, margarita mills and Tex-Mex eateries, there\u2019s a new wave of chic, supersized Mexican restaurants with the style and vibe Asian eateries \u2014 such as Hutong, Nobu and Tao \u2014 have long offered. <\/p>\n
The Quality Branded group \u2014 known for thoughtfully conceived, Instagram-ready concepts such as Quality Meats, Twin Tails, Zou Zou\u2019s and Bad Roman \u2014 has opened its first Mexican restaurant in Limusina (491 Ninth Ave., Midtown South), near Penn Station.<\/p>\n
Limusina, near Penn Station, is one of several notable new Mexican restaurants. Olga Ginzburg for N.Y. Post<\/p>\n
The huge, stylish restaurant has a vibe more common to the city\u2019s clubby Asian spots. Olga Ginzburg for N.Y. Post<\/p>\n
Company president Michael Stillman, who\u2019s loved the cuisine all his life, said\u00a0many regional-focused Mexican spots that critics love are minimalist, hard-edged rooms that lack\u00a0the \u201cmajesty and fun\u201d of colossal, inventively-designed venues. He\u2019s right: It\u2019s been a long while since we saw anything on the scale of El Vez in Battery Park City and the original Dos Caminos on Park Avenue South.<\/p>\n
Designed by GRT Architects, the three-level, 5,000 square-foot Limusina boasts all the Quality Branded hallmarks \u2014 a high-energy scene, soaring ceilings, giant chandeliers and an eye-popping color scheme. Well-spaced tables and booths plush fabrics keep noise levels at bay.<\/p>\n
The bar spins\u00a0new riffs on traditional favorites, e.g., a \u201cfrozen Vampiro\u201d ($18) that blends tequila, grapefruit and pomegranate sangria. But people \u2014 including New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, whom our NFL-mad spies caught wolfing down quesabirria and\u00a0lobster al pastor \u2014 come mainly for the food.<\/p>\n
Chef Craig Koketsu\u00a0respects Mexican regional styles without over-emphasizing them. His long menu encourages big spending and sharing, meandering through\u00a0machetes (playfully long, narrow quesadillas, $22 to $26), ceviches and raw bar items ($22 to $165), antojitos ($22 to $28), and larger dishes. The must-order in the latter category is an awesome whole red snapper ($95) that boasts a thick, crunchy, slightly sweet crust \u2014 as if General Tso took a much needed vacation to Baja.<\/p>\n
The fish \u2014 and other main dishes, such as long-bone, short rib quesabirria ($75)\u00a0\u2014 come with delightfully small tortillas for assembling your own tacos without filling up too quickly.<\/p>\n
The whole red snapper is a dish not to miss. Olga Ginzburg for N.Y. Post<\/p>\n
With the quesabirria, things are taken up a notch when servers pour melted queso over the meat tableside. <\/p>\n
The kitchen is assured enough to not beholden to notions of authenticity. There menu even includes Tex Mex queso ($17) made with \u201cstraight up\u201d rotel, but it\u2019s executed far better than the usual slop-house chip dip.<\/p>\n
The party spirit also fires at Cuerno (1271 Sixth Ave. at 50th St., Midtown), the first US location of a Mexican steakhouse empire with 50 locations in Mexico and Spain.<\/p>\n
The pulpo a las brasas at Cuerno is one of the best octopus dishes in the city. Stefano Giovannini<\/p>\n
Cuerno might be located in Midtown, but it\u2019s far better than your standard after-work spot. Stefano Giovannini<\/p>\n
Office workers expecting the same-old, same-old after-work beef drizzled with a Mexican spice or two are delighted to discover a thrilling menu of Northern Mexican fare instead \u2014 served in spacious rooms with hand-carved woodwork and custom leather banquettes.<\/p>\n
USDA prime beef \u2014 sourced from a South Dakota ranch and aged in-house for 21 days \u2014 boasts a deep flavor. Most cuts are grilled in high-temperature Josper charcoal ovens that yield thickly caramelized crusts that seal in moisture.<\/p>\n
For me, the show-stopper wasn\u2019t a steak but rather the most delectable, easy-on-the-tongue \u00a0short rib I\u2019ve ever had \u2014 a 28-ounce, tamarind-glazed, 12-hour slow-roasted number\u00a0worth every cent of $78.<\/p>\n
Steaks are aged 21 days and cooked in special Josper charcoal ovens. Stefano Giovannini<\/p>\n
It might seem strange to single out octopus at a steakhouse, but\u00a0pulpo a las brasas ($51 for an 8-ounce, whole specimen that easily feeds two) is another not-to-miss dish. <\/p>\n
Chef Oriol Mendivil tenderizes the cephalopod, sourced from the waters of the Yucatan, with a sea-salt massage\u00a0and\u00a0steams it to preserve the flavor. It\u2019s grilled and finished with\u00a0chipotle salsa. The result is the most impossibly tender, delicious octopus I\u2019ve ever had.<\/p>\n
The fun continues at the new Rosa Mexicano.<\/p>\n
The new Rosa Mexicano seats more than 400 across several rooms. Olga Ginzburg for N.Y. Post<\/p>\n
The restaurant has been a favorite of New Yorkers since the 1980s, but the growing brand never had a venue as large or ambitious as the just-opened one in the Empire Hotel (44 W. 63rd St., Upper West Side).<\/p>\n
More than\u00a0400 seats are spread over an airy, colorful village-like cluster of a half-dozen rooms and alcoves that obscure how huge the place is. <\/p>\n
Traditional favorites \u2014 such as sizzling Molcajete fajitas\u00a0($32 to $42) in cast-iron skillets, hand-rolled enchiladas ($24 to $41) and tableside guacamole ($19) \u2014 are prepared with unusual skill. <\/p>\n
Traditional favorites, like tacos, are uniquely well done. Olga Ginzburg for N.Y. Post<\/p>\n
The Mexican fried rice is an irresistible hybrid. Olga Ginzburg for N.Y. Post<\/p>\n
The signature Mexican fried rice ($16) \u2014 an Asian-Mexican hybrid made with chorizo, bacon, corn, black beans and topped with a fried egg and sparkled with chile de arbol mayo \u2014 blows typical Chinese versions out of the water.<\/p>\n
Rosa isn\u2019t as elaborately designed nor as culinarily adventurous as Limusina and Cuerno, but it\u2019s still a great time with wonderful food and hospitality. Ole!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Move over, soup dumplings and dragon\u00a0rolls \u2014 NYC\u2019s buzziest in-demand new dishes are pork belly chicharron and tacos…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23356,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[289,232,75,10401,360,9,56,63,65,64,4403,821],"class_list":{"0":"post-23355","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-food-drink","9":"tag-lifestyle","10":"tag-manhattan","11":"tag-mexican-food","12":"tag-midtown","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-ny","15":"tag-nyc","16":"tag-nyc-headlines","17":"tag-nyc-news","18":"tag-restaurant-review","19":"tag-restaurants"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}