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“Cabrito”

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

nd lightly salted) into the soft green mound and took a bite. I immediately waved the waitress away. The hot sauce was not needed. This guac is clearly seasoned by an expert hand: it’s got lime, salt, and heat in the exact proportions. That hand belongs to chef David Schuttenberg, a veteran of Craft and most recently Zac Pelaccio’s Fatty Crab. He’s got a gift for well-seasoned food, and this gift comes across clearly in his well-edited menu of tacos, cemitas (traditional sandwiches from Puebla, served on soft rolls the size and shape of a Big Mac), huaraches (open faced masa pancakes loaded up with taco-type toppings), and house specials like carnitas, enchiladas, and chicharrones. If anything, at times his food is just slightly salty, but it’s always got the right amount of heat—enough to make your lips tingle, but not enough to make you break out into a full-on sweat and reach for the water.

Carnitas are a dish I first tried in Michuacan, in Central Mexico, where whole pigs are roasted at roadside stands in old barrels and served on soft hot corn tortillas made before your eyes on flat-top griddles, and then dressed with avocados, crema, salsa verde and fresh wedges of lime. While those will never be beat, Schuttenberg comes close, with pork that’s been cooked for about a dozen hours and served chopped up with warm flour tortillas and salsa verde ($18). His tomato and chile-braised chicken enchiladas ($14) are wonderful. They’re surprisingly delicate, more like filled crepes than overly-cheesey tubes that can be more of the enchilada norm. The chicken is tender and moist, shredded like a pulled pork filling, and the tortilla “crepes” are sauced in a bright and tangy salsa verde and a bit of crema. Very impressive.

To our main courses we added an order of black beans ($4.50) that were cooked so the beans were creamy, but unfortunately were way too salty, and a cast iron skillet of Mexican rice ($4.50) that’s a really nice change from the usual. It’s fluffy and silky in texture, and redish in color, seasoned with epazote. I brought the leftovers home and has some for lunch the next day, with the leftover carnitas. Yum.

My second visit to Cabrito was with Craig; it was a Thursday night, rather than a Sunday. The place was buzzing and much more crowded than my first visit. A hostess with long dark hair in a pretty bright blue dress took names at the wide open doors, and cro ... [more, click below]

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Posted: June 15, 2008

Other restaurants in West Village :
+ Jefferson-- Closed   + La Palapa Rockola   + Sumile   + Babbo   + Tasca   + AOC Bedford   + Home   + The Spotted Pig   + Barbuto   + Numero 26   + Mas   + August   + Alta   + Cru   + Blue Mill Tavern-- Closed   + Employees Only   + Lassi   + Metropol--Closed   + Turks and Frogs   + Bellavitae   + Yumcha-- CLOSED   + Gusto: SEE EARLIER REVIEW; THIS CHEF HAS LEFT GUSTO   + Perry Street   + Home   + Ditch Plains   + The Little Owl   + Cafe Condesa   + Cafe Cluny   + Gusto   + The Waverly Inn   + Morandi   + P*ONG   + Perilla   + Soto   + Market Table   + Centro Vinoteca   + Barfry   + Dell'Anima   + Bar Blanc   + Smith's   + Commerce   + Elettaria   + Bar Q   + Cabrito   + 10 Downing   + Minetta Tavern   + Braeburn   + Scuderia, by guest reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Bar Blanc Bistro by Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Joseph Leonard   + Bar Henry, by Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Kin Shop   + Monument Lane   + Wong   + Bin on Bleecker, by Dara Pollak   + Ristorante Rafele   + Cole's Greenwich Village by Guest Reviewer Claire Jaffe   

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