Bite of the Best

Dinner at La Palapa was a must after meeting chef owner Barbara Sibley at Share’s sixth annual A Second Helping of Life in September and sampling her refreshing Sopa de Aguacate con Cepitas – Chilled Avocado Soup with Spiced Pumpkin Seeds.

Barbara and her co-owner and co-author Margaritte Malfy have two La Palapa restaurants — one in the east village (77 Saint Mark’s Place); the other in the west village (359 Sixth Avenue) both serving authentic Mexican cuisine.

While perusing the menu, I sipped on their signature Margarita Cazaorees Nectar Agave — a fresh lime margarita with tequila cazadores blanco, cointreau, organic agave syrup and a splash of orange. Before filling my margarita glass, the bartender had dipped the rim into agave nectar then a blend of piquín chile powder and salt giving each sip a salty spicy kick. I also nibbled La Palapa’s freshly made blue and yellow corn chips,  guacamole and three salsas:  tomatillo (mild), guajillo (smoky) serrano (sweet and spicy).

We sampled the Camarones con guacamole de mango — a guacamole with chunks of mango served with grilled shrimp ($8.95)  and Crepas de flor de calabaze — crepes suffed with squash blossoms and baked with a saffron infused cream and a sharp cheese, chihuahua.

Neither of these appetizers (antojitos) are in their new book by the same name, published earlier this month — but 75 other Mexican small plates are, along with 75 color photos and illustrations. Each dish in the book stems from Mexican home cooking, calling for fresh authentic ingredients.