Pollos USA has big plates of food for pretty cheap. $10 or $13 plates. They mostly all include meat, rice, beans and an egg. I got the #9 $10 plate (Carne Asada) –steak with chicharrón and plantains. It’s not bad for the price. A lot better than I expected. I love the Picante green hot sauce. It’s similar to Sophie’s green sauce. Dine-in and you can have as much green sauce as you want!
Pollos USA – 108 Graham Ave (between Mckibbin & Seigel St) Brooklyn, NY 11206
We went to this Venezuelan restaurant in Chelsea –El Cocotero. I’ve never been in such a dark restaurant for lunch.
Sam and Chris ordered the Sampler Platter and an Arepas each. Those Arepas were a lot bigger than I expected. But probably makes sense since they were more around $9 each.
I ordered the La Bandeja Doña Barbara (grilled beef, Chicharrón crackling pork rind, fried egg, rice, red beans, sweet plantain, chorizo & avocado) for $23. Kind of expensive for a lunch. The Chorizo sausage was the best thing on there. The Chicharrón was mostly inedible.
Service was interesting. The waitress kept trying to take our order every few seconds, when we weren’t ready. Food came out all different times. Had some of the food and my beer taken away when we weren’t finished. All this rush when the place was pretty empty. By the end of our meal, the restaurant started to fill up and we tried to get our check. We had to ask three times and it took around thirty minutes. It’s funny. We felt like they were trying to rush us from the beginning, but then they didn’t want us to leave after we were done.
The restroom was cool. Had some water pipes in a window frame thing.
El Cocotero – 228 W 18th St (btwn 7th & 8th Ave) New York, NY 10011
I met up with Jessica in East Harlem for some food. My first time in the area. There’s so many sidewalk vendors selling out of shopping carts, granny carts and trash bags. It was rad. It was so hot outside, I cooled myself off with a brown drink from one of the large jars many of the vendors had. I don’t know why I thought brown would be refreshing, but it was. It was tamarind.
We got $2 tacos at Taco Mix, which Google Maps incorrectly labeled as “closed”. Good thing I just got my new Virgin Mobile touch phone that told me where things are. I got unlost twice that day. Before, I would just get lost and go home. BTW, only $25/month for unlimited texting, internet, google maps and 300mins. FTW! Anyway, I’ve never seen Al Pastor on a spit and so orange. Next to it was a pile of boiled pigs ear. Had to get one each. The pig ear taco was crunchy.
Then on the same block, we had a pupusa from a sidewalk vendor who had their own griddle. The lady stuffed it with lettuce, cheese, crema and paste made of chicharrón (fried pork skin). The chicharrón really got stuck in our teeth.
From another sidewalk vendor, a lady making cups of slushee/shaved ice, shaving it by hand from a large block of ice. We asked what the flavors were. She said “blue.” We got a blue and a mango. Very sweet. Blue really did taste like what you think blue tastes like.
I noticed a bunch of hot models coming out of the apartment building next to Taco Mix. I don’t understand how they can stay so skinny with what’s right outside their front door. I wonder if they like blue flavor.
Taco Mix – 234 E 116th St (East Harlem) New York, NY 10029
Out with friends in Coney Island for yesterday’s Siren Fest. The singer from Screaming Females was like the girl version of me. She had my hair. I always wondered what I looked like on stage. But this girl shredded hard on guitar, unlike me. They were badass.
For food, I’ve waited a year to come back to try that huge torta sandwich in the midway that I saw last year after I had already stuffed my face. Plaza Mexico Dona Zita, I’m glad you’re still around. I’ve seen two other Mexican spots there turn into a t-shirt store. Pork Torta –the lady took the big bread buns, spread it with mayonnaise and put them mayo side down on the griddle, spread refried beans and back on the griddle, then topped with lotsa chopped pork, pickled jalapeño peppers, half an avocado, tons of Oaxaca cheese, lettuce, tomato. It was as awesome tasting as it was awesome looking. Sam and I had to split this. $8. Worth every cent.
Watched some more bands and went back out with Shonali and Jasper for more food. We stopped over at the newish Kaplash Cuchifritos stand (I think that’s how they spell it. I can’t read the sign.) Got the mofongo and chicharrón (which I never had just as the pork rind and no meat). A nice lady next to us shared her fried plantains and meaty chunks version of chicharrón. She was really into the food there. Then Shonali and Jasper grabbed a chorizo & chicken taco and watermelon juice. I was about to say that Todd got diarrhea sick from the chorizo there last year, but didn’t because I didn’t want to put that in their heads. They did leave Siren early, so I do wonder.
Out on the beach, I think I was the hottest girl there. The lifeguard was so ghetto. He had a do-rag and smoked a cigarette. He yelled at some kid “No dunking!” I don’t think the kid was in the water. I’m not sure if he was a real lifeguard, but at least he was making sure everyone was safe.
We saw former WWF wrestler Virgil on the boardwalk, signing autographs. He said he was going to dinner with Michael Bloomberg and talked about how rich him and Vince McMahon are. I wonder if he was confused with the Million Dollar Man.
The rest of the night had a lot to do with cups of straight vodka …some from Dan Aykroyd and some from a man hiding behind a tent with a granny cart.
Great time at Siren! Thanks Neil, Diane, Shonali and the Village Voice.
My camera’s audio sucks.