Midtown Lunch

Sabor de Mexico seems intent on quietly taking over the downtown area, although not quite as fast as its close relative Chipotle. I had checked out the first location on Trinity Place (at Thames) when it first opened and was called Caliente Mexican Grill, and on that and subsequent visits found it was dependable if partly Americanized Mexican food. Their strong point is meats, which I’d tried in the form of tacos and a burrito, but they also serve them in a torta and the more desk friendly burrito bowl. I decided to try the latter when a craving for carbs and meat hit.

I opted for the pastor burrito bowl ($8.50)with cilantro lime rice, black beans, firecracker salsa and all of the fixings (lettuce, cilantro, onion, pico de gallo, yellow cheese) minus the sour cream. I’m not really sure how this compares with the Chipotle version but it was good, with a nice balance of rice, meat, beans and vegetable garnishes.

The meat wasn’t the best pastor I’ve ever had and didn’t have much of a kick to it, but was good when I got a bite with the salsa on it. Also, I appreciated the freshness of the tomato (this shouldn’t be a high point, but this time of year it is) and that the cilantro lime rice wasn’t dry and actually contained chopped bits of cilantro. Some may find this a deal breaker, but I found it nice to actually identify the herb that my rice was supposed to taste like.

Sabor de Mexico isn’t going to blow your mind with its authentic Mexican flavor, but if the lines are too long at Chipotle, head here.

Sabor de Mexico, 76 Nassau St. (btw. John & Fulton), (646) 410-0591; 97 Trinity Place (at Thames), (646) 410-0374; 11 Park Place (btw. B’way & Church), (646) 410-0594, www.sabordemexicogrill.com