a dinner at Mexican Radio

Emerging from the depths of the J train at Bowery, we slushed our way towards Mexican Radio- at the cusp of Nolita. The dimly lit venue is masked behind thick curtains and packed worse than most commuter trains. After finessing our name on the books, an elbow-checking was needed to reach the bar. We took advantage of the bar special: grande house margarita $5 (regularly $12) with Fourquare check-in.

Before we could take more than a much needed few sips, the hostess collected us to lead the way to our table down the stairs. Hot sauce dominated the decor, with a glass case proudly displaying copious varieties.


We decided to share three dishes: Mac N' Cheese, Radio Nachos and the Steak on Fries. The Mac comes 'Mexican-style,' spiked with corn, jalapenos and pablanos. The menu boasted it's 15 minutes of fame in In-Touch magazine. The nachos come arranged in a circle- each chip individually dressed with black beans, smokey guiajillo pepper sauce, homemade crema and melty cheese. Voted Best in NYC, they were pretty tasty and satisfying with the tart margaritas (we were absolutely on round 2 at this fork in the road!).

And our glorious finale: the steak on fries is a mess. A mess of comforting sins. Hunks of steak marinateed tomato-garlic chili sauce over crispy thin fries- topped with a slop of melted cheese, salsa, guacamole and crema.

light bites at Mexican Radio

The weekend brought shivers. We forged on through SoHo for post-holiday shopping. After taking a few cocktails at other venues, Veloce looked appealing. The hostess politely explained that a private party was being set up and suggested a few other spots. Among those, we chose the closest: Mexican Radio. We sipped house margaritas on the rocks while taking in the menu.

While I wasn't particularly hungry, I agreed that we should nibble on something to stave off our afternoon alcohol intake. The verdict: house made chips and salsa, as well the Quesadillas Suave: stuffed with pica de gallo, topped with guajillo pepper sauce, crema and queso añejo.

Perhaps we ordered the wrong thing? Was I not intoxicated enough? (The -13 wind chill was quite sobering!) I simply cannot agree with New York Magazine's 9.0 of 10 rating. The margaritas tasted like grocery store mix, the chips appeared store bought- the quesadilla: bland! To boot: obnoxious mothers baby-talking their grade-school aged children+husbands.

images: nymag