Margon Does Midtown Proud at Choice Eats

Margon (46th btw. 5+6th) didn’t let us down last night at the Village Voice’s Choice Eats event, representing with a nice selection, featuring roast chicken, fried chicken wings, and slices of their famous Cuban sandwiches.  But the real prize, was their seafood salad- both shrimp and the famous octopus version, which I think may have flown under the radar for most of the event. 

On a night where beef and pork made the biggest splash at the Puck Building, the seafood salad turned out to be one of my favorite things.  The not so small “tasting”, in all its glory, plus a round-up of some of my favorites, after the jump…

 

The line at the Tiffin Wallah (28th btw. Park+Lex) table was too long for me, but I did get to sample some pork cracklin’ (I cherry picked it from the tray of roast pork) served up by Albert’s Mofongo House, which is owned by the same people who run the International Food House Latin Buffet on 35th btw. 7+8th.  

The line outside to get in was super long, and most of the food ran out well before the end of the event, but all in all, with free booze, and pretty hefty servings at most of the tables, it was well worth the $25 in advance, and I fully expect to see this event back next year.  The lighting was terrible, and I was a little too busy stuffing my face to get any real good photos, but here were some of the highlights:

Jerk chicken and hot sauce from Peppa’s, the pastrami from Fette Sau, the tamarind ribs from Kampuchea, the roti dishes from Nirvana, the pulled pork and truffled grits from the Smoke Joint, pork dumpling from Vanessa’s Dumpling House, and the amazing pork and rice w/ a spicy slaw from Krik Krak.

I’m sure the short rib slop that Fatty Crab was serving was delicious (I’m a big fan) and the Carribean food from Culpepper’s looked out of this world, but alas the lines were too long (and my stomach is only big enough).  Kudos to Robert Sietsema for all his great choices! 

Were you there? Got any favorites?  Post them as comments below…  (and if I knocked you over to get to more food, I apologize.) 

4 Comments

  • I posted on this too…I missed Fette Sau, Krik Krak, and Vanessa’s Dumplings! Alas, there was just way too much to eat. Next time, next time.

    Oh, just saw your comment. Heh.

  • It was pretty packed and hard to navigate, but I managed to do quite a bit of booze and food sampling. Sadly, I didn’t see you, Zach, though I was trying to keep an eye out. I liked the pulled pork and grits from Smoke Joint, though it was their sign claiming Spitzer does his illicit business there that really got me. LOL! My friend and I were nearly slayed by the jerk chicken from Peppa’s. Thank GOD the Sierra Nevada sample table was in close proximity. A++ for its fire-extinguising capabilities.

    I loved the goat biryani from Deshi Biryiani and the spread from Tiffin Wallah (veggie biriyani, uttapam, dhokla, and chaat). My friend wasn’t impressed by Schnitzel Haus, saying it tasted like a cut up hot dog. The Hummus Place’s basic hummus struck us as bland. Queen of Sheba’s offering was dubbed “spongy” and kind of reminded me of Chef Boyardee beef ravioli. The mini Cuban sandwiches from Cantina were fine.

    Favorite dish of the night: the chocolate pudding-type stuff from Petite Abeille. (I’m sure that’s their technical name for it.)

    Highlight of the night? The guy at the Sunburnt Cow table. SO good-looking that I forgot there was food at the event.

  • Such a great time! even though I was dizzy with over stimulation by the end

    -The Kampuchea rib with cilantro sauce was my favorite.
    -Fatty Crabs shortrib randang is something I always enjoy. I was hoping they would serve the pork belly watermelon salad though.
    -Mercaditos shrimp taco was really tasty, and a change from all the meat being served.
    -Petite Abeille had a very well spiced meatball
    -The dish from Kuma Inn was an embarrassment. Stringy noodles in soy sauce, basically. I was really looking forward to trying their dish too :-(
    -Philoxenia had a savory stuffed grape leave, which was some type of lettuce and not actually grape leaves.
    -Some random super fan of Chiyono, tried to give accolades for the restaurant, while claiming it was the only NYC restaurant serving Japanese regional cuisine. He shut up when I mentioned Otafuku in the E Village. Chiyonos lotus leaf was crunchy, light, and a good break from all the heavier dishes around.
    -The dish from Tiffin Wallah was good, but what could be bad covered in that brown Indian Sweet sauce that every northern Indian restaurant has for dipping.
    -Hummus Place’s hummus was nothing to write home about.
    -Towards the end, someone from Maison du Couscous, force fed us a fried spinach and cheese pastry- and even though I was stuffed at this point, I was glad that he did
    -For dessert, though I didn’t see many, the bread pudding thing from Marrema was really excellent.
    -Hennepin beer went well with a lot of the dishes
    -From a ladies perspective, The Jaeger girls could have been a lot more attractive. But I enjoyed the free keychains and test tube shots

  • I’m jealous that I decided to not go after Swan had to cancel… but then in a way it’s good because I am uber claustrophobic and soopling’s pic of the crowd makes me twitch. Twitch. Ah well. I should have found some people to go with! Maybe next year; $25 is an absolute steal.

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