Mexican at Maya

Maya
1191 1st Ave, New York 10021
Btwn 64th & 65th St
212-585-1818

It sometimes feels tougher to find good food in Midtown East and Upper East Side; thankfully came across Maya as a great place to meet up with friends on a recent weeknight and get some good Mexican in a nice environment on the East side. It was a bit of a walk since it's on 1st Ave, but no major probs getting there. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, with large carved chairs for each table. I didn't notice any booths, all were tables, and a small bar in the front. Service was fine.

We ordered guacamole, couldn't pass it up, and it was served in a double-decker tray with chips on the bottom and guac on top. A small amount of guac for the price (and for 4 people), nothing compared to quantity at Mary Anns for example or even probably Rosa Mexicano, but it was tasty. We got the special appetizer which was lobster soft tacos with avo and melted cheese; they were TINY but also very tasty. My salmon was grilled with "chile chipotle mustard", great grilled flavor and nice sauce. The salmon could have been slightly more cooked to my liking. The asparagus and potato pieces on the plate were delicious with the chile habenero aioli. Hubby got the pork-- it was tenderloin and shoulder, with black bean & avocado, and it was DELICIOUS. We were very satisfied overall and would go back (if ever in the area!)

Citysearch reviews

Mexican in the Slope

Rancho Alegre
204 Garfield Place, at 7th Avenue
Park Slope, Brooklyn
718-369-2681
Menupages here

Oye, donde esta comida mexicana buena en la barrio de Park Slope?? Or some other attempt at a spanish search for good Mexican food round here! Mezcal is ok, Miracle Grill has good food but not exactly Mexican, and pricey. We'd walked past this upstairs place(Rancho Alegre) on 7th Ave many times and shrugged; looked kinda cheesey-tacky Mexican. On a recommendation we decided to check it out when a particular craving for margaritas and chips and salsa came on strong. A decent walk for us, but we made it and climbed the stairs, not very busy yet around 7:30 on a Saturday, got more so later on, and apparently a place many people bring their kids to. The cliche NY Mexican place in terms of style, and yes a bit cheesey-tacky in decor. But overall we enjoyed it and will be back.

We ordered a half-pitcher of frozen margaritas for $18, which filled our small margarita glasses multiple times. At first I was skeptical (which was a bit of a theme for this restaurant experience) because I'd never seen margaritas quite that color of green before, sort Nickelodeon slime-green or something, but they were actually very tasty, no complaints there once consumed. Then chips and salsa. Bit skeptical on the salsa at first because it looked so watery, but great cilantro flavor, we quickly consumed.

The highlight of our experience was the mole sauce. We had noticed a sign when we walked in--Award-Winning Mole Sauce. Now I'm not usually a big fan, despite being a lover of food in general, but my husband really likes a good mole sauce. He got the chicken burrito with the mole poblano sauce, and can I tell you we were both swooning over his plate. Possibly just a touch sweeter than other mole sauce I've had, and I was won-over by the rich flavor. My own dish was less exceptional, chicken fajitas that appeared orange in color from a flavoring that did not quite go with traditional mexican food in my opinion, and strangely-cut pieces that looked more like a chinese stir-fry than good grilled fajitas.

So skip the fajitas, enjoy the rich and decadent mole sauce, and bring on the margaritas and chips and salsa!

Mary Ann's

Mary Ann's
(Mexican)
116 8th Ave (Chelsea)
New York, NY 10011
(212) 633-0877

Mexican. Always a favorite food choice (I just can't deal with the question of "what is your favorite food?", doesn't work for me, there's too many....)

Mary Ann's is always enjoyable, and part of the experience is trying to digest all of the endless menu options! Such good margaritas!! Their strawberry margarita was excellent, it has lime in it too so it's tangy, yum. So many options, each with so many flavors, so hard to decide. Specials always sound good too. We tend to devour their chips and salsa consistently.

Tonight's choices were Tequila lime shrimp, with plenty of red onion and artichoke, great flavors. The salad on the side had avo vinegrette, and the shrimp was served atop green rice. We also had the 'Alambre" I think, "Brochette" or skewer of chicken, shrimp, tomatoes, onions, peppers. Good, not outstanding. Served with black beans and green rice. The guacamole at the neighbors table was supposedly a small, but it looked huge! We saw a few tables leave with half the guac left a least. Something maybe to get with a bigger group. A good after-work staple.