Cafe Habana

17 Prince St.  New York, NY

www.cafehabana.com

Price: $$

Favorite thing: Mexican Grilled Corn (is that a question??)

You might have learned from my previous post about Dos Caminos that I am a huge huge huge fan of Mexican Grilled corn. Also known in Spanish known as 'elote,' Mexican Grilled Corn is a very common street food found in many parts of Mexico. One of the absolute best places to get an amazing and authentic version of this goodness is at Cafe Habana in Soho. After grilling each ear of corn to perfection and quickly jamming it on to a stick, they smother it with a lime-y mayonnaise rub, cover it all over with Cotija cheese, and then top it all off with some lime juice and cayenne pepper. Voila! Now is that not the best looking/sounding corn in the entire history of the world?

One ear of corn for my mom dad and I. Not nearly enough…….

The first bite. HEAVEN

Not too shabby.

Well hello beautiful

Goodbye :(

I have never gone to Cafe Habana before for anything other than the Mexican Grilled Corn, but from what I have heard, they're mexican food is delicious and very authentic. However, first and foremost, I highly recommend stopping in and ordering like 5 ears of Mexican Grilled Corn for yourself, because they are perfectly hot and flavorful and creamy and zingy and salty and, well, simply irresistible.

XOXO,

Danielle

Dos Caminos

475 West Broadway (at Houston St.)  New York, NY
**there are several locations**
www.doscaminos.com

Price: $$$--The entrees get kind of pricey.
Favorite thing on the menu--Mexican Grilled Corn

Being in the city, it's nice having so many friends that live within such a short distance to me (I can see muuuch more people living here than if I was still in Michigan). For dinner on Thursday night, I met up with Erica and Mel (who came in for the night) for a Mexican fiesta, and I must say   …   it was muy delicioso.  We ate at Dos Caminos in Soho, which meant it was a super easy walk for me to get there from my dorm. As we arrived, the wait for outdoor seating was way too long (considering it was a perfect night outside), and being that we were extremely hungry, we settled for indoor. The decor was sleek and fun, and the atmosphere was modern and trendy. There were about 500 things I wanted on the menu, but obviously I had to narrow that down.

Here's what we got:

At the start of the meal, the waiter brought us warm corn tortilla chips, served with a trio of salsas and guacamole. 

Salsa Salsa! All three of Dos Caminos' signature salsas were AMAZING, but we came to an executive decision that the green-colored salsa was the best. (Is it bad that we're not sure what any of them actually were?)

OOOOOHHHHH look at that guac. Their homemade guacamole was incredible. We were able to choose the level of spiciness, and I found myself eating it with a spoon. Sorry I'm not sorry.

Everyone knows Erica loves her guac (or does she…)

Erica also really wanted to order the Queso Fundido dip for the chips as well, and oh boy was it good. You know a cheese dip is good when Mel, who hates cheese, says she really likes it. It is a mexican three cheese fondue also served with flour tortillas on the side. It was really gooey and cheesy and a perfect starter.

For my dinner, I went with the Shrimp Fajitas, served with refried pinto beans, spicy cabbage slaw, warm corn tortillas, and the main attraction: mexico city street corn (but I'll get to that in a sec.) The shrimp was perfectly cooked and tasted great with the beans. The sauce was really flavorful…definitely unlike any other fajita dish I've ever had, but in a good way!!

Clearly about to dig in to my fajita..

Right when I saw Mexico City Street Corn on the menu,  I knew I absolutely had to try it. This is my most favorite way to eat corn, and my family also loves it. The corn is smothered in a chili mayonnaise sauce, and topped with garlic, lime, and finally, a good amount of Cotija cheese. It is honestly amazing. After eating mine, I finished off eating Mel's. It's that good. 

Erica's simple Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla. You can't go wrong with that.

Smile, Erica!

Mel got the Pescado Tacos, which was grilled mahi-mahi, spicy slaw, smoked chile aioli, guacamole, stuffed inside flower tortillas. These looked, and tasted awesome (obviously I had to try it). It was really yummy and had a great combination of flavors.

Mel in her happy place :)

FRIENDS!

I couldn't have been more satisfied with my first Mexican restaurant experience of the summer (thanks Erica). Dos Caminos is a really fun place to go with friends for a night out in loud and pleasurable environment. The service was a tad slow, as we were waiting for our entrees for quite awhile, and the restaurant was extremely crowded at the time. Otherwise, I don't really have much to complain about from this meal. 

XOXO,

Danielle