Cascabel Taqueria

I walked by this cute mexican restaurant when I was walking back from main campus to my apartment and was curious about whether is was good or not. There was a good amount of customers inside which is usually a good sign. T was here to visit me and we decided to come here for lunch before heading to Electric Zoo since it was near my place. The reviews on yelp were not too good but I thought it was pretty decent. I don't know if I would make a point to come here but if I was craving for a Mexican meal near home I would keep this place in mind! Flavors were really robust in all the dishes and the servings were HUGE.

Bloody Marys
I think they were having some buy one get one free special. These were ok but I think it was a bit too salty for me (this was months ago though so my memory is fuzzy oops). I did like how it came in cute mason jars though. 

Guacamole Tradicional Con Tostadas
The guacamole was pretty decent. It was creamy and fresh. Nothing amazing just regular guacamole thought. 

Pescado - Crispy yellowfin tuna belly / Hearts of palm / Olives / Onions / Thai chili
I love love love fish tacos but this was not too great for me. I expected the fish to be much more fatty and soft since it was tuna belly (toroooo oh yes) but it was a little bit dense. The ridiculous load of olives was also a bit overwhelming for me. The flavors were pretty interesting, and I enjoyed it for the first few bites, but I don't think I would order this again. 

Carne Asada - Sliced yucatan achiote hanger steak / Oyster mushroom / House made creme / Crispy shallots / Cilantro
I think this was my favorite taco of the day. Once again you can see that the serving was MASSIVE. We actually packed a lot of this to go and had a great time eating leftovers one night :) The meat was bursting with flavor and the crispy shallots were also very strong in flavor. I think it would be even better if there was some fresh salsa or something acidic to balance out the strong flavors. 

Chorizo - House made mexican spiced sausage / Smoked paprika / Onion / Cilantro
T loves chorizo and I think he quite enjoyed this. I had a bite and it was also very flavorful but I personally did not like the texture of the meat and preferred my big chunks of carne asada :D 

Please keep in mind that the servings are ginormous. We thought they would be these small tacos and we could share 3 orders but we were so so wrong. I think this is a good addition to the neighborhood but I am excited to explore other mexican places in NYC.

Cascabel Taqueria
2799 Broadway (W 108 St and Broadway)
New York
NY 10025
USA

BCD Tofu House

BCD Tofu House is one of my favorite restaurants in K-town (if not NYC...). I first had my taste of its amazing soondooboo chigae in LA and have loved it ever since. I think it's tofu stew is the bessstt and it's kalbi is also super delicious. I wish they also had tteokbokki... if they did they would be seriously a fantasy land. There are so many options in K-town and everyone has their own favorite but I think BCD is definitely my top choice (although I have not tried all of them yet!). BCD also recently moved to a new location and it is much more spacious.

Bibimbap
Generous serving, lots of ingredients, delicious. 

Soondooboo Chigae
The soup is really flavorful and the tofu is silky and delicious. They also give you an egg which I think really makes the dish even more creamy and comforting (some places don't... sadness) Definitely a perfect dish for cold winter days! 

Kalbi
The marinade is really sweet and I just loveeee that. The kalbi is really meaty and super tender. It comes in a super sizzling plate and the onions will continue to brown and become delicious under the meat. The serving is also super generous and I just can't stop stabbing my chopsticks into these delicious pieces of meat and transferring them to my mouth. Oink oink.

BCD Tofu House

5 W 32rd Street

New York

NY 10001

USA

Don Pepe

Don Pepe has been a restaurant that has been mentioned so many times and I've always wanted to go but knew that it took some planning because it was pretty far (near the airport). People have always talked about how delicious and hearty Don Pepe was and I finally got to try it last week! The decor is nothing fancy and it was a very home style italian atmosphere. The food was absolutely excellent and I would love to return again. Service was also friendly and efficient. Come with a big group of friends and order a ton of their house wine which is actually quite decent. You will leave extremely satisfied and I am already planning for my next visit!

Fresh Mozzarella with Tomatoes and Peppers 
All the ingredients were fresh and I liked the addition of the sweet peppers which was a nice touch from the traditional caprese. This dish was good, but not something I would order specifically as it was not extremely special (save tummy for clams hehe)

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms
Presentation aside, these mushrooms were absolutely delicious. The grilling of them resulted in a glorious charred smoky flavor and the portobello was seasoned perfectly and the texture was also so satisfying and had a great bite to it. 

Don Pepe's Famous Baked Clams 
*holy music plays*... these clams are DIVINEEEE. These are one of the most famous dishes at Don Pepe and I can absolutely see why. The juicy meaty clams are smothered in a strong garlic mixture/sauce and then covered with crunchy delicious breadcrumbs. We could not stop eating these. The flavors are just ridiculous and the textural contrast of the clams and the breadcrumbs was unreal. MUST ORDER. 

We ordered two more orders later 

Linguine with Clams 
I wonder how many garlic gloves they use per day.... not complaining though because I love all this stinky stuff like garlic, scallion, onions, shallots.... my boyfriend is a lucky man. The pasta was perfectly al dente and the clams and garlic sauce was perfect. The dish was simple and the flavors worked together perfectly. The dish concentrated on the perfect extraction of the flavors of the ingredients and I completely gobbled this up. The only thing about this dish is that it is quite oily. There also seems to be some parsley in there (blech) but I could not even taste it (hooray!). 

Linguine with Marinara Sauce
Once again perfect al dente pasta, I am usually a white sauce type of girl but this meat sauce was also bursting with flavor and highlighted the sweetness of the tomatoes. 

Veal Don Pepe
YOU MUST ALSO ORDER THIS. This was another favorite from the night and I wish I was not so full to the brink of explosion or else I would have eaten it all. I had a couple bites of this and it was just heavenly. The veal was so tender and the breading was perfectly crispy and just the right thinness. It was fried to the ideal golden brown and the bruschetta mixture on the top was a burst of freshness that complemented the veal so well. 

Don Pepe is sort of a trek but it is definitely worth it. Definitely adding this to my list of restaurants that I want to bring my boyfriend to when he visits in February! 

Don Pepe 

13558 Lefferts Blvd

Ozon Park

NY 11420

USA