Cabrito

by Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
April 29, 2009

GOAT BELLY TACO [CLOSED]
50 Carmine St
(Bedford & Bleecker Sts)
New York, NY 10014
212-929-5050

Cabrito couldn’t have been a better place to end a record-hitting warm Sunday in April. It was a beautiful weekend here in New York, and the entire city seemed to be rejoicing outdoors. Spirits were high, and though Cabrito doesn’t have outdoor seating, the large doors were wide open, inviting those outside to join the lively crowd inside.

Cabrito is the Mexican reincarnate of the short-lived Bar Fry at 50 Carmine Street. The restaurant is now owned and run by the Fatty Crab team, and everything that made Fatty Crab thrive (fresh ingredients, intensely genuine flavors, hip atmosphere, high energy and reasonable prices) is the standard here, too.

The first antidote to this hot day was a watermelon margarita at the bar, and the natural flavor of fresh watermelon juice made this drink even more refreshing than the original. The waitress then delivered the bad news that there were no more pork belly tacos, but she tempered the blow with its replacement: goat belly taco. My eyes lit up as soon as she said it, and I couldn’t wait to try it. So the order came down to seasonal greens, one each of the goat belly and fish tacos, and huitlacoche huarache, a corn mesa-based dough with toppings, including huitlacoche, a corn fungus so delicious it’s also known as Mexican truffle.

The seasonal greens were watercress topped with chopped egg, shaved radish, red onion, chili and lime. Nothing fancy, but I enjoyed it as I needed my daily serving of vegetables.

The tacos arrived, and I dove into the fish first, but the beer-battered fried fish was rather bland and tasteless. What a contrast to the goat belly taco, with sliced celery, serrano peppers, red onions, cilantro and Cotija cheese. There was no sauce on the taco, just fresh lime juice, which was perfect since the goat belly was flavorful enough. Some of the serrano pepper slices still had seeds in them, and I caught one that nearly burned my mouth off. But I enjoy spiciness that brings tears to my eyes, so naturally this was perfect. I pestered the waitress several times to find out if this was a recurring special, and to my delight, she said, “Yes.” Considering the name of the restaurant, Spanish for baby goat, I would think that this would be on the regular menu, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

I was originally apprehensive about ordering the huarache, afraid that it would be too similar in profile to the tacos, but I’m glad I didn’t hold back. The huitlacoche is what attracted me to the dish. At most other restaurants where I’ve had “Mexican truffle,” it’s used sparingly, but this huarache was dosed with a layer of refried beans then dosed with chunks of huitlacoche that looked like smashed black olives, topped with lettuce and sour cream. The dish was delicious and not heavy at all. The waitress mentioned that it originally wasn’t selling well, so it was taken off the menu, but once The New York Times mentioned it, diners brought it back by popular demand. Thank goodness!

I didn’t try their lone dessert option — churros and chocolate — since Grom is around the corner, and it was perfect weather for some gelato! But I left Cabrito satisfied and excited to return for more goat and other Mexican delights!

Also in Mexican, Tacos, West Village