Cafe Condesa: A+

Wow, I can't believe it's been a MONTH since I last posted. My excuse is really my puppy, Franklin. And that's not really an excuse but sadly he's pretty much all I think about now. So clearly that needs to change and I need to get some kind of an adult life back...but before I review Cafe Condesa, perhaps a picture of Franklin to get things started??



How cute is he????

Ok also before I start this "review/personal restaurant experience" I have to admit that I've pretty much stopped taking pictures during my meals out. This is due to the fact that I find the flash going off every ten minutes very rude and annoying, and so from now on, unless the mood in the restaurant strikes me as being incredibly casual and the other people in the restaurant are hippies or don't care about being blinded by my flash, I'm going to refrain from taking pictures. Sorry. But I'll try to be better about updating my blog from now on, pictures or no pictures.

Cafe Condesa has been one of my favorite restaurants in the West Village since the first time I took my friend Akeli there on a whim. I don't think I had read any formal reviews of the place but I skimmed a bunch of five star yelp reviews and decided to give it a try. Mostly I was intrigued by the resounding "excellent food at strangely inexpensive prices" sentiment in all of the reviews. I've been to Cafe Condesa four or five times now and I can truly attest to that sentiment. It's not just that the food is amazing (and we'll get to the specifics in a moment), it's that the prices are so low, not only for the West Village, but also New York City in general, that each bite becomes even more heavenly because you can't believe the deal you're getting.

The best appetizer I've tried, and I've tried it several times now, is the baguette and warm brie, drizzled with honey and pinenuts. It's probably pretty difficult to go wrong with an appetizer like this, yet I've never had anything so tasty in all of my life that contained the same simple ingredients of baguette and warm brie. The brie to baguette ratio is perfect and the warm brie itself is just the right temperature and gooiness. The honey is wonderfully sweet and sticky. In other words, I have never ordered this and not gobbled down every last bit of baguette and brie and everyone who has shared this appetizer with me has been equally delighted.

I have two favorite main courses, both fish: Lemon Sole and Striped Bass. To be fair, I didn't get to enjoy more than a couple of bites of the Striped Bass because my sister ordered it and, while she's very generous and I'm sure would have given me as much as I could eat, I saw her face light up in pure pleasure after the first bite and didn't want to rob her of her happiness. Both fishes are cooked perfectly, so that the fish is melt in your mouth but not at all fishy tasting. The sides, "mashed potatoes, spinach and a parsley lemon butter sauce" for the Sole, and "tomato, poblano pepper and capers with plantains and rice" for the Bass, compliment the fishes perfectly.

For dessert I have only tried one: the chocolate souffle cake with (I believe) espresso gelato. Kind of a tried-and-true staple dessert, but nonetheless one of the richest and most heavenly chocolate souffle cakes I've ever had. The extreme richness of the gooey cake, balances perfectly with the sweet lightness of the espresso gelato.

The reason this is the first ever restaurant to receive an A+ is because for once I have found a restaurant in the west village with amazing food where I didn't feel like I was still getting swindled by the price. Too often I end an amazing meal with the sentiment "Wow that was exquisite but I sure am paying for it." At the end of a meal at Cafe Condesa I guarantee the only thought going through your head will be "Can this bill be right??" as you prance out the door, body filled with a delicious meal and pockets filled with enough money for dinner next week at Cafe Condesa.