Good Mexican Exists At Tribeca’s The Bigger Place, If You Know What To Order
I’m going to preface this post with the fact that no, I didn’t grow up in Austin, Texas, or anywhere in California, and therefore am not an expert by any means when it comes to “authentic” Mexican food or even Tex-Mex. I’ve eaten some delicious tacos in New York from both street vendors and brick and mortar places and mostly liked what I got. Also, I grew up eating bastardized Mexican food in the Midwest, where your plate automatically came with rice, shredded lettuce and refried beans, and flour tortillas are the default. When I stepped into The Bigger Place on Warren St. (at W. Broadway), the interior reminded me of those restaurants I grew up eating in. The place was packed at lunch, though, which is always a good sign.
My mission, as always, was to find tasty food for less than $10. Most of the stuff on offer here is between $8 and $10 if you want a full on meal. And you get a lot of food for your money, so you’re not going to leave hungry unless you have a huge appetite. They call themselves a Mexican American kitchen, and half of the lunch menu is things like burgers, sandwiches and salads, because who doesn’t want a Caesar salad at a Mexican restaurant? The other half has enchiladas, tamales, burritos, tacos and chilaquiles, among others. I’m not sure how it compares to Tajin on Greenwich St. or Gloria’s Pushcart, except that they primarily serve burritos.
I was thinking of ordering tacos, but the ones I saw a guy eating at the table next to mine didn’t look too exciting.
Instead, I went for the mole poblano chicken ($9.75) and my co-lunch’er got the Azteca burrito ($9.95). Both came with rice and some “Oaxaca salad,” aka, the lettuce salad I wish came with street meat.
First up, the mole poblano. I can’t even tell you how much I loved the mole sauce covering the two large pieces of chicken. If it weren’t against social norms, I may have licked it off my plate. And some of it awesomely bled into the rice and salad, definitely upping the ante on both. It also came with three corn tortillas to make tacos, just in case you weren’t already stuffed.
The burrito was…interesting? According to the menu it contained beef, peppers, onions, pico de gallo and sour cream. It only appeared to have the first three of those ingredients. There was a bottle of salsa on the table to doctor that up, and I’m guessing you could ask for cheese to be included. Also, it was more of a normal size burrito rather than the Chipotle football, so you might want to take that into account.
I was really happy with what I got, although I’m not sure I would order a burrito here. Also, I saw that nearly every other table had chips and salsa sitting on it, so it’s possible they just forgot to give us ours or maybe those people aren’t cheap like me and just paid for it. A girl can dream about free chips and salsa, can’t she?
This is probably not going to be the best Mexican food you’ve ever had, but the mole was damn good and I’m pretty sure they make it themselves. Also, given the sad state of Mexican food in the FiDi and Tribeca, I’ll take what I can get.
THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)
- There’s not a hard shell taco in sight.
- The mole sauce makes me want to lick my plate.
- You get a lot of food for $10 or less.
THE — (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)
- No cheese in my burrito? Sacrilege!
- It’s not “real” Mexican unless I buy it from a lady on a street corner or cart.
The Bigger Place, 60 Warren St. (at W. Broadway), (212) 528-3175
Posted by Andrea H at 11:30 am, July 22nd, 2010 under Mexican, The Bigger Place, Tribeca.
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Interestingly, the Caesar salad was actually invented in Mexico by a chef in Tijuana (albeit for American customers). My understanding is the reatuarant closed down recently because of decreased tourism for fear of border violence. The strip club they added to the back couldn’t even keep it afloat. They tossed your salad tableside (at the restaurant).