Tortilla Napoleon (crispy fried tortilla, portabello mushroom, goat cheese & red pepper w/ huitlacoche sauce)

by Cristy-Lucie Alvarado
July 28, 2008

ITZOCAN CAFÉ
438 E 9th St
(1st Ave & Ave A)
New York, NY 10009
212-677-5856

Lately I’ve been obsessed with the idea of finding the perfect date spot. What I’m looking for is a hole-in-the-wall, clean with tasty food and a charming atmosphere. And on a recent visit to Itzocan Café, I found myself on my ideal date, without even trying!

I visited the Itzocan in the East Village; there’s also a bistro on the Upper East Side. The chefs, brothers from Puebla, Mexico, keep their dishes native with ingredients such as huitlacoche and guajillo while always adding an elegant twist — creating a surprising marriage of French-Mexican cuisine. They serve brunch, lunch, and dinner, and offer a concise selection of beer, sangria, and wine. The cozy room houses eight tables attended to by one server. It was nice to sit and feel like I was having dinner with my date rather than the whole restaurant. The server was helpful with the menu and gladly explained the differences in dishes and the foreign ingredients used.

I started off with the queso fundido. A basket of homemade chips accompanied a skillet with two slices of Brie melted over a sauté of mushrooms, poblano pepper, and chorizo. The cheese was easy to scoop up with the chips, and the rest of the ingredients added different textures for a mouthful of flavor and spice.

My entrée was a special. The tortilla napoleon is a “lasagna” of crispy fried tortilla, portabello mushroom, goat cheese and red pepper surrounded by a thick pool of huitlacoche sauce. Huitlacoche, a woody-flavored mushroom found in Mexico, was renamed the Mexican Truffle in 1989 by the James Beard Foundation to encourage American consumption of it. The stack of ingredients properly complimented each other, all coming together with the savory mushroom sauce, which I didn’t let go to waste thanks to my leftover chips!

I was hoping to finish my meal with the blue corn dessert crepes, but they were out, so I went for the regular crepes and was pleased nonetheless. The two dainty crepes were drizzled with dulce de leche and disappeared in less than two minutes.

After dessert, we sat and sipped our red sangria and enjoyed the warm ambiance. I was thrilled to have found a precious little hole with delicious food and a welcoming environment. A Friday night with no wait-list, no reservation and no complaints!

Also in Cheese, East Village, Mexican, Tortilla