Having missed their press dinner, Teqa’s PR person invited me to sample the food of the new executive chef Steve Cruz, who offers both modern and traditional Mexican cuisine.

I started with a spicy margarita made with Taneo jalapeño-infused tequila, lime juice and agave. Perfect, as it was not too sweet and had a small kick ($12, also available with a cucumber slush or for $42, by the pitcher).

Worth the trip alone is the lobster guacamole with fresh guac mixed with pico de gallo and huge chunks of lobster marinated in a chipotle, agave aioli ($16), served with fresh chips. Tuna lovers will enjoy “tuna on crack” ($16), a chopped mixture of sushi grade tuna, avocado, cucumber, sriracha, toasted sesame seeds, cilantro oil also with tortilla chips.

Skip the jumbo lump crab cakes ($14) as the breading over-powers the crab. That was the night’s only miss!

We sampled every taco, each on a housemade thick corn tortillas with a different salsa accompaniment. They’re $9 – $10 a pair. There’s pulled pork with a grilled pineapple salsa, chicken tinga with roasted tomato chipotle salsa, braised short rib with roasted corn pico de gallo, mahi mahi (my favorite) with a mango pico de gallo, grilled skirt steak with a roasted tomatoes pico de gallo and  a crispy taco de papa, a potato filled tortilla (think flauta for this one) with roasted tomato salsa crème, fresca cotija cheese. All recommended.

I’d also suggest the fork-tender braised boneless short ribs ($25) in a sweet tamarind BBQ sauce, over a roasted corn puree. Or the four seared sea scallops ($26) with a butternut squash reduction, roasted corn salsa and yucca chips, drizzled with cilantro oil.

The desserts are also good, especially the moist tres leches ($8).

Teqa’s worth the visit – and it won’t break the bank.
 
– bonnie

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Teqa
Murray Hill
447 Third Avenue,
New York , NY
(212) 213-3223
Teqa on Urbanspoon