Miracle Bar and Grill ØØ $$$
415 Bleeker St (b/w 11th and Bank St)
This happening Southwestern restaurant (I mistakenly thought 'Mexican' at first), was privileged enough to host myself and the lovely Yilin for dinner on Friday night. Yilin had heard a lot about the fish tacos at Miracle Bar and Grill from her friend Vivian, who loves them. We were wandering around looking for a place to eat, it was nearby, so why not?
Walking into this restaurant, I saw how much bigger it was than it appeared from the outside. A curtained entrance in the far left corner opens into another dining area that is not visible from the street (which means that it has no windows, either). The first room has a bar with a number of people drinking and munching appetizers, perhaps waiting for their tables, or perhaps waiting for their third margarita.
Yilin ordered the fish tacos for us as an appetizer, of course, and a blue-corn-tortilla-fried-chicken salad as her entree. I requested the hamburger and fries. The fish tacos were pretty good, however they weren't what I would really call a taco. It was a soft-shelled taco (I prefer hard shell) with a strip of fried catfish, some salad greens (I don't know the names of them; they all taste the same to me), and a bit of a creamy sauce. Good, but it doesn't sound like a taco, does it? My burger was a pretty good burger, but the fries were not crispy (slightly soggy/bendable) and tasted mediocre. Yilin's salad was amazing. Who would've thought that crushing up blue corn tortilla chips and using them to batter and fry chicken would be so darn good? The only caveat was that the use of tortilla chips added a lot of salt to the chicken, such that Yilin was 'salted-out' by the end of her salad.
Perhaps this is why this restaurant is 'Southwestern' and not 'Mexican': the food, although Mexican style, is nowhere near authentic Mexican. That sounds reasonable to me. Don't get me wrong, the food is great, but no dish was without some sort of fault. Of course, if you want a good burger for half the price, go to Corner Bistro. If you want some interesting Southwestern cuisine, stop into Miracle Bar and Grill.
This happening Southwestern restaurant (I mistakenly thought 'Mexican' at first), was privileged enough to host myself and the lovely Yilin for dinner on Friday night. Yilin had heard a lot about the fish tacos at Miracle Bar and Grill from her friend Vivian, who loves them. We were wandering around looking for a place to eat, it was nearby, so why not?
Walking into this restaurant, I saw how much bigger it was than it appeared from the outside. A curtained entrance in the far left corner opens into another dining area that is not visible from the street (which means that it has no windows, either). The first room has a bar with a number of people drinking and munching appetizers, perhaps waiting for their tables, or perhaps waiting for their third margarita.
Yilin ordered the fish tacos for us as an appetizer, of course, and a blue-corn-tortilla-fried-chicken salad as her entree. I requested the hamburger and fries. The fish tacos were pretty good, however they weren't what I would really call a taco. It was a soft-shelled taco (I prefer hard shell) with a strip of fried catfish, some salad greens (I don't know the names of them; they all taste the same to me), and a bit of a creamy sauce. Good, but it doesn't sound like a taco, does it? My burger was a pretty good burger, but the fries were not crispy (slightly soggy/bendable) and tasted mediocre. Yilin's salad was amazing. Who would've thought that crushing up blue corn tortilla chips and using them to batter and fry chicken would be so darn good? The only caveat was that the use of tortilla chips added a lot of salt to the chicken, such that Yilin was 'salted-out' by the end of her salad.
Perhaps this is why this restaurant is 'Southwestern' and not 'Mexican': the food, although Mexican style, is nowhere near authentic Mexican. That sounds reasonable to me. Don't get me wrong, the food is great, but no dish was without some sort of fault. Of course, if you want a good burger for half the price, go to Corner Bistro. If you want some interesting Southwestern cuisine, stop into Miracle Bar and Grill.
posted by josh at 10:13 AM
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