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“Centrico”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Latin/Mexican	Tribeca	Moderate	Good

ous regions), and the lessons he learned from his mom, famed Mexican chef and cookbook author, Zarella Martinez.

Since there were seven of us that night, we needed an ordering strategy, and instead of deciding what we wanted to have, we took the opposite approach and just knocked off the items that we were not as interested in trying, and ordered the rest of the menu. (It was an alarming amount of food. And it was all pretty good, so we were dangerously full after our meal.)

Creamy guacamole with a nice kick and generous seasoning from cilantro and lime was served in a wooden mulcajete, with salty tortilla chips hot from the fryer ($9). Sure, you can get guac anywhere, but it’s important to check it out and see how it is, and it was great, and essential with those margaritas. We also demolished his Plantanos Rellenos ($7)—deep-fried, grease-free sweet plantains sliced into inch-long cylinders and stuffed with smoky beans and drizzled with crema fresca. I loved the nearness of the smoky and the sweet —two opposite flavors flirting with eachother, their contrast unveiling a deep connection. Picadas ($8) sounded quite humble—three little corn tarts, sort of like arepas, each one crowned with a different Mexican condiment—avocado tomatillo salsa, roasted tomato salsa, and queso fresco. Nothing to cause a stir, you would think, but the sweet corn tarts were so moist and fluffy, and the salsas so fresh and perfectly seasoned, that they were the surprise hit of the table. Fish tacos ($8), however, are not as good as they should be. (If you want a great fish taco, or any great taco for that matter, check out the newly opened La Esquina on Kenmare Street. It is brilliant. More on this next week,) For his fish tacos, Sanchez uses seared swordfish that he snuggles into warm silver dollar-sized corn tortillas, with a cucumber-mango salsa. I don’t know if my guilt about the overfishing of swordfish is to blame for this, but the fish just does not taste good or right. I’d rather see these with another sweeter fleshed, flaky white fish. And some larger tortillas—these were so small you could barely fit anything in them.

But we were completely blown away by the ceviches. Sanchez has pitch-perfect ceviche skills—great waves of heat, and generous squeezes of citrus juices to sharpen the flavors. Do yourself a favor and order the Plato de Mar—a selection of all the ceviches—razor clam s ... [more, click below]

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Posted: July 24, 2005

Other restaurants in Tribeca :
+ Lunchbox Food Company--Closed   + 66: THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED   + Ola-- Closed   + Bouley   + Dominic   + Landmarc   + Pace-- Closed   + EN Japanese Brasserie   + Centrico   + Cercle Rouge   + The Harrison   + Turks & Frogs Tribeca   + Devin Tavern   + Dani-- Closed Now   + Bacaro/Smith & Mills   + The Harrison   + Matsugen, By Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Forge   + Macao Trading Company   + Harbour   + Review text tbd...   + Mehtaphor   + Brushstroke   + Jung Sik   

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