Casa Carmen
Just a few weeks ago I boarded a last-minute flight to New York to visit my friends and family. Hoping to escape the Chicago polar-vortex, New York wasn’t much better. It rained, it snowed, and it hailed - all in one day.
Walking through the Big Apple on Saturday, I had wished I wore leggings under my jeans, an extra t-shirt under my oversized sweater, and an extra layer of fuzzy socks to slip under my damp Campus Adidas.
After a twenty minute hike through the cold, we landed at Casa Carmen. I’ve never been a Mexican-food-for-dinner-girl, but I was so impressed when I had one of the great Mexican meals of my life.
My family bundled, chaotically running through Tribeca trying to get to the Casa.
Immediately after I walked in, I thought I was in Mexico again. The sandstone walls reminded me of the Sierra Madre, and the smell transported me back to the beach. When we sat down, my eyes trailed to the back of the restaurant where there was a green wall behind the glass. I was no longer in the cold New York winter.
The meal started off with fresh guacamole and baked tortillas, not tortilla chips. Instead of being broken into the wedges we think of when we hear “chips and guac”, the “chips” were full tortillas that you had to break yourself. While I thought this would be enjoyable, breaking the tortillas was definitely a challenge. I would have preferred the pre-cut triangles, but the guacamole made up for that.
The appetizers came all at once and I was overwhelmed by how beautiful everything looked. When I think of Mexican food, I think tacos on a plastic, red, oval platter. Casa Carmen was surely upscale; the food was creative and delicious.
The first appetizer I tried was the quesadilla, and it was not your average after-school-snack-type filled with Mexican Blend from Horizon. Casa Carmen’s was a warm tortilla filled with Oaxaca and spicy peppers. The peppers were too spicy, but that didn’t stop me. It was amazing. Delicious. Spicy. Gourmet.
The next appetizer was the Ceviche Verde, made with the raw Catch-of-the-day (which I didn’t even know existed in New York), tomatillo and lime. If one dish made me believe I was in Mexico, it was this one. It was so fresh and tasted like a tropical vacation.
We also ordered their famous Tostadas de Cangrejo, which I did not have the privilege of trying as there were eight of us trying to cram food onto our plate, yet it looked delicious.
We talked and enjoyed the setting we were in while it rained down Franklin Street. I was at a restaurant a block away from where Taylor Swift lives, and suspicious news channels showed that she was in New York that weekend. Not Kansas, not Tokyo, but New York.
For my main, I split the Catch of the Day (again!) with my mom. Half of the fish was covered in red and the other green. It looked like a piece of art and I was shocked. Not only was the presentation beautiful, but the fish was fresh and tasted amazing. It was a bit smokey, spicy, but in all just incredible. We were served rice, beans, and tortillas on the side to make our own little tacos, which I really enjoyed doing.
To end the amazing meal we ordered the most amazing desserts. The churros with chocolate sauce and goat-caramel were exceptional; I was literally spooning the chocolate and caramel out of their cups with my spoon. We also got the Pastel de Elote, a corn cake, which I was concerned would taste like cornbread (which it kind of did), but it tasted amazing. It was a great dessert that encompassed the restaurant's vision of upscale and creative Mexican cuisine. Furthermore, I tried the Tres Leches con Fresas which was great too.
While I came in close-minded, Casa Carmen was incredible and the next time I'm in New York I’ll definitely go back, which is rare for me. There is only one restaurant I remember repeating in New York, and I go there a lot to see my family: a Korean Barbeque restaurant that actually closed a couple years ago. Casa Carmen will be one that I will add to my list of favorite restaurants and hope to come back to.
