Happy Hour at Tasca Chino
The newest restaurant to hit our neighborhood is Tasca Chino loctaed inside the old Sushi Samba on Park Avenue South. The restaurant helmed by Chef Alex Urena is billed as Spanish and Chinese fusion which is playfully evident from the decor of bullfighters and Chairman Mao covering the bright red walls. We stopped in a few times for happy hour at the bar where the small food menu covers everything from dim sum to tapas. Each order begins with some warm complimentary breadsticks covered in toasted sesame seeds and some wonderful dipping sauces. There are crisp salty Spanish Croquetas in both Salt Cod and Ham served with a spicy szechuan pepper aioli; a perfect marriage of the two cuisines. Less successful plates were the Black Bass Ceviche and Spanish Mackerel Crudo. The bass was overcome by an aggressive tomatillo sauce and the mackerel had so much soy on top my tongue felt like sand paper after just a few bites. Hopefully the...