The Diplomat's Guide to Dining: New York City & Beyond

Authentically Dominican in Washington Heights

The recommendation of the most authentic Dominican restaurant in New York was made during a conversation Murray had with two diplomats – one from the Dominican Mission to the United Nations, and the other from the Dominican Consulate in New York.  These two diplomats discussed and debated several different restaurants, but then finally ended up in agreement: La Nueva España is the best authentic Dominican restaurant in town.

We found out about La Nueva España and sampled its fare a few months ago, but we didn’t take any photos during that visit.  So we planned a return trip that would include photography.  Since the neighborhood around the restaurant is important to the story, we wanted outdoor photos, and therefore have been waiting for a sunny day.  Well, if you’ve been in New York this June, you know how scarce the sun has been!  I finally got back to La Nueva España (in the sun) this week and am happy now to be able to post.

To visit this restaurant, take the A or the 1 train to 168th Street and walk up St. Nicholas Avenue to 173rd Street.  Assuming the weather is fair, you will walk past blocks of Latino street vendors displaying clothing, jewelry, household items, and more. The neighborhood feels light years away from midtown Manhattan, and it’s a great reminder of the rich diversity in people, languages, culture, and cuisine that is New York.

If you go to eat at La Nueva España (and I hope you will), plan your visit such that you can leave your time-pressed stresses behind.  Experience your visit to La Nueva España as if you were traveling to a different country, and respect the different rhythms.  If at all possible, have a Spanish speaker in your group; most of the restaurant staff’s command of English appears to be nonexistent to poor, which adds more spice to the adventure, but is more easily handled if someone speaks Spanish.

When we arrived at La Nueva España our first visit, we were presented with two menus – one standard-looking, and the other promoting a “lobster and crab fiesta” that you can get Mondays through Fridays from 11:00am to 11:00pm.

We told our waitress upfront (in Spanish) that the restaurant had been recommended to us as the best Dominican restaurant in New York City.  She smiled, and helped us figure out what to order, recommending Mofongo De Cerdo, which is described on the menu in English as “Mash Green Plantain with Pork.”  We told her we’d also like to try some seafood and asked if Pargo Al Horno (baked red snapper) would be a good choice, and she nodded.  To drink, we decided on a pitcher of sangria.  Also available to drink are beer, wine, and specialty cocktails.

Service was slow – Murray joked that the waitress may have had to go down the street to get the fixings for our sangria – and the music was loud.  But when the food arrived, it was wonderful – Caribbean flavors, mildly spiced; large quantities but not too much.

We skipped the grilled chickens, but don't they look good?

The restaurant is small but popular; by the time we left (about 8:00pm on a Friday night), most of the tables were full – mostly with groups of at least four people – including some that appeared to be extended families, with and without kids.

A big appeal of this place is the setting, and the opportunity to imagine for a moment that you are in another land.  Use your visit here as an opportunity to move with the Caribbean rhythms, and enjoy your meal.

All major credit cards are accepted. 

Where and When

La Nueva España
1263 Saint Nicholas Avenue
New York, NY 10033

(212) 927-7373

Sunday through Thursday
7:00am to midnight

Friday and Saturday
7:00am to 2:00am

Authentic Cypriot Restaurant Worth a Trip to Astoria

Last night we had what may prove to be one of the more memorable meals in this journey of trying out restaurants recommended by diplomats.  We ate at the place a senior consular official from Cyprus recommended to Murray as the most authentic Cypriot restaurant in New York City.  It’s in Queens, Astoria to be precise.  The name? Zenon Taverna.

A bit of background may be helpful in understanding Cypriot cuisine: Cyprus is a large island in the Mediterranean, south of Turkey and east of Greece, with an unfortunate history of strife and division between two ethnic communities – the “Greek Cypriots” and the “Turkish Cypriots.” The cuisine has much in common with Greek and Turkish food, but from our conversations with our waitress, we learned that Zenon Taverna is proudly Cypriot.

The Zenon menu is lengthy, with many items that are hard to resist.  We dealt with this by including our son, Ben, and friends Carole and Wayne in this adventure and then by focusing on the Mezedes, which are collections of appetizers to share.  We chose the Cyprus Meze (ordered for two people), the Fish Meze (also ordered for two people), and then one “Daily Cooking” dish, Roasted Leg of Spring Lamb.  We also drank plenty of Retsina, a dry white wine with a very light pine resin flavor.

The Mezedes on their own would have been plenty for the five of us.  Below a picture of my plate with a bit of many of the different dishes – but this is less than half of what was included overall.  Our favorites were the Tarama (Red Caviar Dip), the Octapodaki Salada (Octopus Salad), Octapodaki (Grilled Octopus), Ortikia (Quails), and Loukaniko Spitisio (Cyprus Sausage).  The pita bread was also out of this world.

We chose Mezedes that featured meat and fish, but some delicious vegetarian appetizers (including Tahini, Tzantziki, and an eggplant dip) were also included, as was a very nice Cyprus salad of lettuce, cukes, tomatoes, olives and feta cheese.  The rest of the menu is also quite comprehensive, with a good selection of vegetarian entrees.

Although we were stuffed after the Mezedes and our roasted lamb plate, we did want to try the desserts.  Our very wonderful and friendly waitress (who we learned is one of the daughters of the owner) brought us a tray with a sample of each type of dessert. 

We selected Glyko Karidaki (a soft-shelled walnut preserved in sugar syrup with cinnamon, at left in photo), Shamali (a semolina cake with almonds, rosewater and cinnamon, top left in photo), and the Lady Fingers (handmade by our waitress’ mother, center in photo).  A couple of us topped this off with authentic Greek coffee.

The restaurant has about 20 tables downstairs, and there’s evidently a banquet room upstairs that can be used for events.  Last night was not a busy night, but our waitress told us that this was unusual for a Saturday, and that reservations are highly recommended.

Our bill, including plenty of delicious food for five of us, some to carry home for lunch today, our Retsina, three desserts, and a generous tip for our exceptional waitress, was $225.  Important to know: Zenon accepts cash only; no credit cards.  But there is evidently an ATM close by, to which the menu graciously provides directions.

Family owned and operated, Zenon is a good reason all by itself to head for Astoria.

Where and When

Zenon Taverna
34-10 31st Avenue
Astoria, NY  11106

Subway: R to Steinway Street, or N to 30th Avenue

(718) 956-0133

zenontaverna.com

7 Days a Week
11:00am – 11:00 pm

Full liquor license

For Meat Lovers: Most Authentic Argentine Restaurant in NYC

Argentine National Day is in May, and as is customary when celebrating such events, this year the Argentine Consulate in New York held a reception, which Murray attended.  As he was eating an empanada there, he asked one of the hosts for a recommendation of the most authentic Argentine restaurant in New York City.   The answer? Gauchas, located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan (full address below).

The cuisines of Uruguay and Argentina share many dishes and characteristics.  And, it just so happens that Murray lived in Uruguay when he was in high school, so when we went to Gauchas, he was excited – completely at home with what to order, and fully confident in selecting the most typical dishes.

Of course, we started with empanadas.  There are over 10 varieties to select from, but we chose the Gaucha Picante (spicy beef), the Espinaca (spinach), and the Capresse (mozzarella, tomato and basil).  These empanadas were baked, although Gauchas does have a few fried ones on their menu too.  The shells were crisp yet light, and the fillings were delightful.  Don’t worry about the “picante” variety – It was mildly spicy, not at all overwhelmingly hot.

We also had Chorizo, grilled Argentine sausage, which was much the same as Murray remembers from his South American days (which is to say, not paprika-spiced like the Mexican variety you usually find in American grocery stores).  The Chorizo at Gauchas was large, mildly spiced, and grilled perfectly.

Next came the Criolla Mixta, a salad of lettuce, tomatoes and onions, served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to drizzle as desired.  To me, there was nothing special about this salad, although the ingredients were very fresh and the balsamic vinegar was particularly rich, but – according to Murray – this kind of salad is very typical of the Platense region (basically, Uruguay and Argentina), and so we had to include it in our meal.

For entrees, we focused on the grill, selecting Churrasco (grilled sirloin steak), Pollo a las Brasas (roasted chicken), and Medallon de Lomo (grilled filet mignon).  The filet mignon was huge – the size of a very large man’s fist – and it was especially tasty, which prompted us to ask the waitress if the beef was grass-fed.  She was only willing to say that the beef came from Argentina, which raises the odds of it being grass-fed but doesn’t guarantee it.  The Churrasco was a bit on the tough side, but that’s the problem with sirloin, and dipped in chimichurri sauce, it was quite satisfying.  The chicken was moist and flavorful.

Each of our entrees came with a choice of rice, mashed potatoes, or French fries – We had rice, and two kinds of fries – the regular Papas Fritas (“homemade” says the menu), and Papas Fritas a la Provenzal (with garlic and parsley). We also had Vegetales a la Parilla (grilled zucchini, carrots and peppers).  The grilled vegetables helped to balance out the enormous quantity of meat in front of us, and both varieties of Papas Fritas were not only delicious, but addictive too.

You might at this point be wondering how two people could eat so much food.  Well, it’s not as bad as it appears.  Our 21-year-old son, Ben, was with us.  And we knew ahead of time that we’d probably have leftovers, so we planned for that fact, saving room for dessert by deliberately reserving some of our main meal for carry-home (something I highly recommend whenever you go out to eat … Most restaurants serve huge portions that can easily be that night’s dinner, plus at least one following day’s lunch).  So we (just barely) had room to try a dessert and selected Panqueues con Dulce de Leche, crepes filled with milk caramel, a comforting, sweet end to a good meal.

The restaurant is larger than it first appears.  There are two very separate dining areas, with a total of probably about 30 tables.  The back area was completely empty the night we ate there (a weeknight), but you might want to call in a reservation on the weekend. 

Prices for entrees range from $12.50 for the roasted chicken to $25 for the filet mignon.  There are also two categories of foods we couldn’t fit into our meal – a full page of tapas, ranging from $5 to $9 apiece, and items “de la cocina” (from the kitchen), with prices in the same range as our "de la parrilla" (from the grill) meal.  Our bill totaled $180, including wine and tip.

Final key facts:  For credit cards, only American Express is accepted.  For drinks, there is a lovely wine list with several good Argentine wines, sangria, and beer – but no hard alcohol.  And, for vegetarians, I wouldn’t recommend Gauchas, but a decent vegetarian meal could certainly be cobbled together from the tapas menu, empanadas and sides if need be.  We have an American Express card, we like good wine, and we occasionally enjoy a hearty steak, so Gauchas works for us, and we will return.

Where and When

Gauchas Bistro Latino
1748 First Avenue (between 90th and 91st streets)
New York, NY 10128

(212) 360-6400

www.gauchasnyc.com

Monday through Thursday
5:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Friday
5:00 pm – 12:00 midnight

Saturday
12:00 noon – 12:00 midnight

Sunday
12:00 noon – 11:00 pm