Finally, some decent Mexican.
The new designer-tequila Mexican restaurants popping up lately wouldn't fly in the Southwest, where in most cities you can get better Mexican food out of a lunch wagon. I'd long thought New York didn't have enough Mexican immigrants to support that level of good-and-cheap Mexican dining. Then, one year, I made it out to the annual Cinquo de Mayo festival in Corona Park. There were hundreds of thousands of Mexican-Americans there, and it didn't look like they flew in from Arizona. The food was awesome. After that, I started keeping my eyes open for New York Mexican restaurants for Mexicans. They're here, though usually far-flung and far from excellent. Now, suddenly, there's a damn good one right on East Houston.
The proprietors of El Maguey y La Tuna ran a place by the same name in pre-hipster Williamsburg. The new restaurant, just around the corner from the Clinton St. restaurant strip, effectively splits the difference between catering to gringos and not. Which is perfect, considering how many people like Mexican food, and how happy they'll all be to eat here.
Inspired by a sincere warm welcome and the presence of my favorite Mexican lager, Pacifico, I dove in head-first, ordering a pair of tacos lengua ($6.95). These turned out to be ideally appetizing?tongue chopped chunky-style, enveloped in a homemade, soft corn shell, with a dollop of guacamole on the side. The meat was pale red and spongy, though not too chewy, with flavor somewhere between tripe and a prime kosher hot dog. The warm tortilla had that depth of corn flavor that all but shouts to the Mexican-food hunter, "You've come to the right place."
(A word about that warm welcome. During my last four consecutive restaurant visits leading up to El Maguey y La Tuna, no sooner had I ordered a drink than some other waitron showed up asking if I wanted anything to drink. Four times in a row, same echoed question, at four different places?like being caught in an idiot loop of programmed solicitousness. It went from mildly annoying to funny to eerie to fucking irritating. What a relief to be somewhere with a single, efficient server.)
A Mexican shrimp cocktail came with dipping sauce halfway into gazpacho territory?thick with pureed tomatoes and onion, lumps of avocado and sprinkled cilantro. The shrimps themselves were fresh and jumbo, served remarkably rare.
El Maguey's table salsa and guacamole side dish might be the exception that proves the rule about quick-judging Mexican restaurants by those. The former had some depth in the aftertaste but was overall way too mild; the guac was watery, which might've been excusable, considering the time of year, if the bowl didn't cost $6.
Ensalada de Nopales ($5.95) seemed a safe bet given that the restaurant is named for two types of cacti. Green strips of the de-prickled stuff had been grilled and dressed in vinegar, with cilantro, tomatoes and sliced jalapeños. The grilling was a little too light, though, and a dressing a tad heavy. The cactus came off soggy and pickled instead of fiery and charred. It was our only dish that found El Maguey's flavor off-point.
Better starters came from the menu's Antojitos al Comal section, which includes soft-tortilla quesadillas and a roster of sope. Quesadilla de Rajas ($6.95) featured roasted poblano peppers complemented by mild cheese and epazote?a leafy herb, the Mesoamerican bitter green. Sope are miniature corn tarts. The simplest one, picaditas ($5.95), has only cheese, pico de gallo and some garnish (lettuce, salsa, guac) to compete with the exquisite cake of maize underneath.
El Maguey's dining room is more in step with what you might expect to find in Corona than today's East Village. The place has character, however, thanks to friendly service and the decision to compensate for fluorescent lighting by using red bulb-strips instead of white. Can't say I loved it at the time, but it goes well with the memories.
In addition to a beer list that includes most of the Mexican brews available in New York, El Maguey serves decent red-wine sangria. Order it if you like your drinks sweet. It might go best with a lazy afternoon?the place does huevos rancheros and omelets every day from noon until 5 (except Tuesday).
Its best entrees are listed as Especialidades de la Casa. There, find both dishes with El Maguey's fantastic brown mole sauce. It appears thin, unspectacular, but the taste has the lushness of chocolate and the back-of-the-mouth bitterness of particularly rich coffee. That's all backgrounded when the sauce combines with fresh-baked cornmeal. It's a savory, earthy and ancient-feeling harmony. Enchiladas al Maguey y La Tuna ($11.95), with chicken rolled in tortilla and dark mole, sings the song the way it was meant to be sung. Mole poblano ($11.95) has more meat, and tortillas on the side instead of wrapped lovingly around.
The mole verde ($9.95) is also top-notch. The sauce is green tomatillo and serrano chile, cooked down to a vinegary sizzle. It does a hell of a job on the dish's big, solid chunks of pork (chicken is also an option)?they flake like grilled salmon when nudged with a fork. The flavor is searing and sensual?the type the body remembers better than the mind.
El Maguey's other two house specialties are mole rojo ranchero ($9.95)?chicken with red sauce made from guajillo and costeno peppers?and chile rellenos ($10.95)?poblanos stuffed with cheese, coated in batter and simmered in roasted tomato sauce. I'll let you experience them for yourself.