Oh yea? Well get your Rioja outta my Tempranillo

One fine and cold night last week I was planning a dinner for four. Hmph, I thought. Where to? What would be a fun and new place to drink wine and eat lots of food? What would be a great object-of-my-obsession-Spain-centric spot? Hmph! Boqueria Soho. 

As per my usual no reservations game-plan, I sat with a fine glass of rose cava (Spanish sparkling wine tends to have larger bubbles and it’s less refined than champagne) whilst I waited for the rest of my team to show up and ignored the fact that the knowledgeable bartender called me “sweetheart” (I may look 18, but don’t call me sweetheart mmmkay?). The wine list was thourough and explored the various regions of Spain and various price points. I ordered a great Rioja for one team member who had a rather hard day at work and we ended up drinking it the whole night.

Upon entering and sitting at BoqSo, one easily takes notices on how well the decor fits the food like my new Abaete dress fits me. The former Kin Khao space is outfitted with a long white marble bar, sleek blonde wood panels, an open kitchen and tall banquettes lining the walls…I had some time to muse about my surroundings as most everyone was a touch late but I’m not complaining…mwwwahhahaha. 

In more news, we had to wait quite a while to be seated but it was worth it as we dined at a coveted corner banquet where the quickly men realized they had no say in what we ordered as we femmes took over the menus. Tapas? For 4? We started with 9. Here’s a run-through of what we ordered + my comments of which you may or may not care to read. 

Patatas Bravas: classic, well prepared and well spiced.

Pimientos de Padrón (Shishito peppers): I wanted then to be saltier and they could have charred them a touch more but we all know how I love my shishito’s…

Dátiles con Béicon (Dates stuffed with almonds and Valdeón, wrapped in bacon): Ain’t nothing wrong here kids. It’s a classic flavor combination: sweet, salty, creamy and crunchy. 

Croquetas Cremosas: Setas, Bacalao y Cochinillo (Creamy croquettes: Mushroom, Salt Cod and Suckling Pig): Light and delicate textures. The clear winner was the suckling pig. I could have done without the mushroom. 

Poor Man’s Rice: This was a surprise hit. Creamy rice with lamb sausage. It was a hearty dish and welcomed on a table spread with finger nibbles. 

La Serena (A soft floral cheese made with unpasteurized Merino sheep’s milk): This was one of the most incredible, sophisticated, feminine, silkiest, smoothest, fragrant and floral cheeses I have ever had. Simply amazing. 

Aged Manchego (12 month aged sheep’s milk cheese from La Mancha,
notes of caramel and nuts): Nothing new here. Manchego is a solid, standard Spanish cheese. A tad mundane. 

Jamón Serrano (Spanish ham, aged 15 months): I wanted this to be better. So far the best Jamon I’ve had in New York has been at Despana on Broome St. 

Chorizo Cantimpalo (Mildly spicy pork sausage cured in pimentón): Mon favorite! Chorizo is one of my cured meat boyfriends, I love the spicy, smoky taste and the vibrant red color – owed to the paprika used to cure and spice the pork meat. 

BoqSo

After I we licked the plates clean, the rumble in my tummy wasn’t satiated yet so we stayed the course and ordered: 

Cojonudo (Fried quail eggs and chorizo on toast): It’s breakfast for din! Chorizo is a great meat to pair with eggs. The yolk oozes out onto the toast making this tapa (singular form of tapas, heeee) a perfecrt bite. 

Monte Enebro (Unique semi-soft pasteurized goat’s milk cheese, aged 2-3 months in ash): Smooth. Mundane. 

Valdeón (Creamy, sharp blue cheese made with a blend of sheep, cow and goat’s milk): Wahoo. This was the same cheese stuffed in the dates and it’s the craziest fromage I have ever tasted. It’s as if a Gorgonzola made babies with Carmelo Anthony’s foot after a playoff game. Stinky and lovely. 

12 agreeable dishes and a few bottles of Rioja was convincing enough for me to know that Boqueria Soho is without a doubt one of the best “I have to plan a dinner for a group and have no idea where to go” solution. Spanish tapas easily lends itself to group satisfaction, even for the pickiest of eaters and at Boqueria Soho they aim to please with a few easy dishes and a handful of more adventurous ones. The atmosphere is jovial and fun and there is certainly a wine for every palette. I do wish the service was warmer and less “downtown” as it would behoove the establishment to do-as-the-Spanish-do and make you feel like some sort of dysfunctional family.

Stay gorgeous.

Boqueria Soho//171 Spring St//212.343.4255 

Having heard lots of good thing about Kin Khao Thai Restaurant, we decided to eat there yesterday night for our anniversary.  We were torn between Thai and Lebanese food, but the Thai won in the end because of it’s great reputation.  We will have to save the Lebanese for another occasion!
Anyway, Kin Khao will definately be added to our favourite list of restaurants in Athlone.  The decor is cute and cozy, the staff very friendly, and the food exquisite!  We opted for the Early Bird menu for €19.90 per person, which is very reasonable, but if you went for the ordinary menu, you wouldn’t find the price of a meal a whole lot higher than that.

Donal had Won tons for starters, and I had some chicken satay skewers. Both we delicious, and I was really impressed by how fresh the ingredients seemed – the salad on the side was as fresh as if it were just picked! Kin Khao pride themselves in using authentic Thai ingredients, and Thai chefs – and it really pays off.

Our main course was just the right amount of food – I had a Paeng Curry, and Donal had a Mixed Sea-Food Stir Fry.  Both dishes were serves with rice and salad – I had fried rice, and Donal steamed rice.  Both of our meals were on the spicy side, but equally delicious. Most definitely recommended.

We shared a dessert of Sticky Rice Pudding, and were a little disappointed with the size of it – for €6.50, it was a very small serving.  But delicious none-the-less! The coconut/rice/mango combination was really different.

My only other criticism, and it’s a small one, would be that the tables were very close together.  The restaurant space upstairs is fairly limited, so I understand the need to fit in as many tables a possible, but even as I stood up to leave, it was hard to pull the chair far enough back without bumping into the person seated by the table behind me.

So my advice would be to visit Kin Khao if you like spicy food, and would like to try something other than steak and chips! Definite thumbs up from us!

Here is another good review of this restaurant, and here is the Bridgestone entry.