Day 134—Sunday, May 23rd, 2010
Crema
First off, I’d like to announce that tomorrow is the grand opening of the 365 Bar Store! A lot of people have been asking for t-shirts and they’re just about ready for sale. All of them have the 365 bottlecap logo that was created and designed by the 365 Bars resident artist and commentator, “Boris.”
“Boris” also set the online store up and is the working proprietor of the joint. Wait’ll you see what he’s come up with, not only cool t-shirts, but jerseys, sweatshirts, beer coasters, beer steins and a whole lot more. You did a fantastic job, “Boris!” Stay tuned for the grand opening tomorrow!
Alright, now on with the crawl. At first I was going to go back to last night’s destination, the 123 Burger Shot Bar. The doorman said it wasn’t nuts on Sunday’s and I’m hungry for a cheeseburger and their mini-sliders look great. But then I checked out their website and found out tonight is a special screening of the last episode of “Lost.” It’s going to last from 7pm to 10pm and I don’t think that would be a good environment to do the crawl in. So “m just going to wander and do a random bar as we find one. We’ve wandered down 5th, 6th and 7th avenues, so tonight we’ll wander down 8th avenue and see what we find. Let the crawling begin!
Okay, we'll walk down 30th towards 8th avenue.
And we're only one block down on 8th and there's a bar across the street! Let's go check it out.
Looks like a good bar, but there's no kitchen and Sunday's are all about the Sunday dinner. Shit, time to keep crawling.
Now I see why we haven't wandered down 8th avenue, not a bar in sight!
Shit, there's nothing on 8th, I'm crossing over to 9th, I'm starvin' like Marvin over here!
Okay, I found a nice looking bar with this friendly couple and biggest Marmaduke type dog I've ever seen. They told me her name is Duchess and she's a great dog. Sadly when I went in to the bar and asked if I could take the bartender's picture I was rather angrily told that I could not. I took a picture of the bar, but if you want to get testy with me, I'm not going to post it. So, it's onwards we go. No publicity for you!
I'm going to head back towards 7th Avenue and see what's around there, I can't take this much longer!
Hello! What do we have here? The Grey Dog, sounds like tonight's stop!
Except there's no bar in the joint! Motherfucker, I can't catch a break tonight!
Okay, this place has been in my neighborhood for a few years now and I've always wanted to try it.
And it looks like there's a bar inside, hot damn!
Wow, it's nice in here, hopefully I can take pictures and have a nice Sunday dinner.
And Gennaro, the friendly General Manager not only tells me I can take pictures, but poses for one himself.
The bartender is friendly as well, but a little shy so I took a hand shot of him serving me this Mexican beer cocktail.
Cheers, the drink is called a Michelada and it's a mixture of beer, spices and lime juice. It was spicy and hit the spot.
There's a cozy room for dining up front.
The art on the walls is by celebrated artist, del Bosque, who is the mother of the head chef, Julieta Ballesteros.
The dining room is in the back of the narrow but long space.
And speaking of dining, it looks like dinner is about to be served!
For an appetizer I had the Taquitos de Chilorio, which are slow-cooked mini tacos with chile ancho, jalapeno vinegar, chipotle cilantro drizzle and crema. They were delicious and the sauces and crema were the ultimate toppings for it.
In between the appetizer and main course, I met the head chef, Julieta Ballesteros. As you can see, she's as pretty as she is talented. The menu she's designed here is one of the most unique ones you'll find in the city.
And now, the main course, the Ribeye con Chilaquiles. It looks fantastic and tasted even better!
Here I am getting ready to attack the plate!
And now it's just a wonderful memory! Thanks to Julieta, Gennaro and everybody at Crema! A wonderful Sunday dinner. Goodnight everybody!
Review
Crema has been operating in the Union Square area of Manhattan since 2006 and has become a neighborhood favorite and bill themselves as a higher concept of Mexican cuisine. Head chef Julieta Ballesteros hails from Monterey, Mexico and was trained at the esteemed French Culinary Institute. She fuses both influences in the restaurant to offer Mexican dishes with flourishes of French presentation.The restaurant is long, narrow, cozy and comfortable. There’s a dining nook up front, with a street-side view, the spacious bar is the center attraction with the dining area and kitchen in the back of the restaurant. The interior design is Mexican flavored with original paintings on the walls by del Bosque, a wonderful artist and the mother of head chef Julieta.
The menu is unique and includes such treats as: Tostada de Avestruz which is seared filet of ostrich tostadas with black beans, goat cheese and a guava-chile glaze; Magret de Pato en Mole is an inventive dish of glazed Peking duck breast served over mole poblamo with roasted plantains, pomegranate honey, creme and potato cheese enchilada; and I can personally recommend the Ribeye con Chilaquiles which is a grilled prime ribeye served with a potato, huitlacoche and chorizo chilaquiles with fresh cilantro. The full menu is available at the bar along with a large selection of tequila, wine, bottled beer and specialty drinks like the Michelada which is a Mexican beer cocktail with fresh lime juice, spices and a salted rim, served over ice, several styles of margaritas and the Puma Rosado which is raspberry vodka mixed with cranberry and lime juices, served in a champagne glass topped with a flaming sugar coated lemon slice.
Happy hour happens every day at the bar from 5pm to 7pm with 2 for 1 drink specials. Salud!
Crema
111 West 17th Street (Between 6th & 7th Ave.)
212-691-4477