Dinner at La Palapa was a must after meeting chef owner Barbara Sibley at Share’s sixth annual A Second Helping of Life in September and sampling her refreshing Sopa de Aguacate con Cepitas – Chilled Avocado Soup with Spiced Pumpkin Seeds.
Barbara and her co-owner and co-author Margaritte Malfy have two La Palapa restaurants — one in the east village (77 Saint Mark’s Place); the other in the west village (359 Sixth Avenue) both serving authentic Mexican cuisine.
While perusing the menu, I sipped on their signature Margarita Cazaorees Nectar Agave — a fresh lime margarita with tequila cazadores blanco, cointreau, organic agave syrup and a splash of orange. Before filling my margarita glass, the bartender had dipped the rim into agave nectar then a blend of piquín chile powder and salt giving each sip a salty spicy kick. I also nibbled La Palapa’s freshly made blue and yellow corn chips, guacamole and three salsas: tomatillo (mild), guajillo (smoky) serrano (sweet and spicy).
We sampled the Camarones con guacamole de mango — a guacamole with chunks of mango served with grilled shrimp ($8.95) and Crepas de flor de calabaze — crepes suffed with squash blossoms and baked with a saffron infused cream and a sharp cheese, chihuahua.
Neither of these appetizers (antojitos) are in their new book by the same name, published earlier this month — but 75 other Mexican small plates are, along with 75 color photos and illustrations. Each dish in the book stems from Mexican home cooking, calling for fresh authentic ingredients.
77 Saint Marks Place
New York
212.777.2537
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