NYC: Yerba Buena

Yerba Buena

Yerba Buena

1 Perry Street

212.520.0808

Fig & Honey, compliments of Alex

A friend of mine chose this Latin eatery for restaurant week. We arrived during happy hour so we made a beeline to the bar for some cocktails. The bartender, Alex, was very helpful and attentive. We tried two of his creations. The first was the Fig & Honey: blended scotch whiskey, Drambuie, figs, Peychaud’s bitters, and lemon juice. The next was the Pisco Pina: pineapple infused pisco, yellow chartreuse, grapefruit bitters, and lemon juice. Both were the right amount of sweet with a kick. I love kicks. 

We were seated for dinner and I noticed the place was filling up fast. The lights were dim, the staff was upbeat, and the three courses of food began…

To start, I had the Tuna Tartare with potato salad and crispy wontons. For my entree, braised short ribs with boniato puree and black bean sofrito sauce. I shamelessly devoured my entire plate within minutes, unaware of my momentary slip into a blackout binge. When I realized my two friends had more than half of their entrees still in tact on their plates, I began to push around the remnants of my dish in hopes of them not noticing how fast I wolfed mine down. In some cultures, guzzling food that fast is considered a compliment. Right?

For dessert, I got the Mexican chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream and strawberry salsa. It wasn’t quite what I expected. I was hoping for a rich dark chocolate brownie with a chunky strawberry topping. Instead, I got a blonde brownie with a tiny strawberry syrup drizzle and a scoop of ice cream. I love my chocolate so I was slightly disappointed when I saw the brownie was a shade of gold. However, I quickly found out it tasted just as delicious as I had hoped!