Shrimp Tacos

by Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
January 31, 2006

CAFÉ EL PORTAL
174 Elizabeth St
(Spring & Kenmare Sts)
New York, NY 10012
212-226-4642

When I read this item on the menu, “Shrimp Tacos: 3 Tacos served on Flour Tortilla with Avocado, Chipotle Sauce and Rice,” it immediately jumped out at me.

When it comes to Mexican food, I love the way shrimp are prepared and always gravitate towards them. The slightest mention of avocado and Chipotle sauce and I’m sold. It was very reassuring that the waitress told me and my friend that this was the best taco dish on the menu. We also ordered the fish tacos, which while fresh, were not nearly as tasty as the shrimp ones.

The shrimp were cooked just right — firm but not too tough — and the smoothness of the avocado and Chipotle sauce complemented perfectly to make the tacos so easy to eat. I love flour tortillas, so all in all, the combination was really perfect for my palate. Although I should have been less greedy and shared the second one with my friend instead of eating the whole because, as light and refreshing as the tacos seemed, there was a lot more food to come, and as usual, I left the restaurant overstuffed.

We also tried the guacamole and chips, pork tamales and caramel flan. The “family recipe” guacamole was surprisingly not very good. It had a creamy consistency that seemed diluted and, forgive me for saying this, a bit like the guacamole from those Chinese-Mexican restaurants all over the city, but higher quality. The pork tamales were good but not too memorable, and the caramel flan was disappointing. I was expecting a light and custard-y flan but instead, this one had the consistency and texture of cheesecake — dense and a bit chalky.

Café El Portal is a pleasant and cozy restaurant in NoLIta with reasonable prices. The service is very friendly and you feel at ease, which is so important for a dining experience. It’s a lovely neighborhood restaurant and there are still many items of the menu I would like to try. All the tacos sound yummy, but I’m not sure if any can top the shrimp tacos — its number one on the menu under the list of tacos and easy to understand why.

Also in Mexican, NoLIta, Seafood, Shrimp, Tacos