Holy Guacamole! (and Mango Margaritas to boot)

For the holiday season my (Ellen's) office decided to celebrate our yearly achievements at the very-well-known Gabriela's on the upper west side. We went for lunch, sneaking in by the 3:00 deadline for the well-priced lunch specials as well as being offered the full dinner menu.

We were a party of 12 and were seated immediately at a crowded but lovely wooden table. One side of the table was furnished with beautiful green wooden chairs, while the other side had a comfortable leather bench with attractive pillows. The table was covered in lovely woven place mats and a waiter promptly appeared to suggest some guacamole for the table and take our drink orders.

The margaritas at Gabriela's are almost famous (at least they were the topic of office chatter for the week leading up to our holiday party). They have mango, prickly pear, hibiscus, strawberry - as well as the regular lime margarita. At the suggestion of a friend who is a regular at Gabriela's, I went for the mango. I was not disappointed! Frozen and perfectly blended, it arrived in an ample, yet not-too-heavy stemmed glass, oddly garnished with a lime and bright orange in color. The taste was out of this world. The sweetness of the mango blended perfectly with the margarita's regular ingredients to make the perfect accompaniment to my meal.

The guacamole arrived in cute conical glasses, garnished with radish, radicchio and a light crumbled cheese. It was hand mashed, not food-processed, and the cilantro was fragrant but not overpowering. The chips were served warm and were made in-house. The salsa for the table was delicious, but very skimpy, and not replaced by the waitstaff. They also served a more piquant version of a citrus salsa that had a wonderful garlic and lime flavor.

Most of the dishes appeared to be a blend of Tex-Mex and traditional Mexican cuisine. Their Pollo Yucateco was available either as a lunch special, a dinner entree or as a filling in their tacos. As a dinner it was served with a choice of mole, poblano or pipian. While I opted for the tacos, I do wish I had ordered the lunch or dinner version. As I saw from other plates, it was a beautiful half of a roasted chicken, and the sauce appeared light and the chicken moist. The chicken in my taco was dry and I needed a lot of lime juice to enjoy it. The refried beans were light and flavorful, as was the rice. I would order extra beans next time, as the serving was a bit skimpy and I would have liked to enjoy more of this dish.

Other folks at our table ordered the Fajitas, which were generous and steaming, the steak tacos which did not appear dry like my chicken ones and of course the Pollo Yucateco, which certainly is a speciality. On the menu, of course, are standard Cali-Tex-Mex items like fish tacos and a variety of salads, as well as more traditional Mexican dishes such as carnitas, Parillada Mixta - a plate of pork ribs, Yucatan chicken and chorizo (if I return, this is what I am trying), Huachinango a la Veracruzana - red snapper with roasted tomatoes, olives, peppers and onions, and the usual fare of enchiladas, burritos and chimichangas.

For dessert, our table sampled the crepes, mango cheesecake, seven layer chocolate cake and the rice pudding. All were wonderful, while the crepes and cheesecake were my favorite. The mango and raspberry sauces for the cheese cake were definitely made with fresh fruit in-house, and the caramel and ice cream served with the crepes made for a wonderful combination of hot and cold. We had caffe' con leche with our meal which had a lovely head on it and was lightly flavored with cinnamon.

I rate Gabriela's a B+ overall. The service was slow and inattentive. The ladies' bathrooms, while lovely, were not stocked with TP and were not clean. The food was good, but not as traditional as I had hoped. Yet the atmosphere is comfortable and lively, the decor is beautiful - the front doors are impressive, as is the alfresco dining on the sidewalk and the blue and white dinner plates - and the price was competitive, especially for the neighborhood. The layout of the restaurant is well-thought out. There are pillars and tapestries dividing certain sections, so while the restaurant could probably accommodate more than 200 diners at one time, it appears intimate and private. Their U-shaped bar has plenty of seats and would be a great place for an after-work drink or for some appetizers.

Bottom line: go for lunch. The lunch menu was almost half the price of the dinner menu and the portions were almost the same.

http://www.gabrielas.com/

688 Columbus Avenue
between 93rd and 94th Streets
212.961.9600