After a groggy Saturday morning filled with my typical Saturday morning rituals - cartoons, Guitar Hero, and general laziness - I met the ladies at Arriba Arriba for a bit of Mexican brunch. I’ll have to preface this by saying that I’m allergic to eggs, so reviewing brunch isn’t exactly my forte. I do, however, enjoy any excuse to have a drink or two before noon on a weekend, so take that as you will.
Through rigorous testing, Amanda and I have found one of the simplest methods to deciding if a Mexican restaurant is going to be worth your time and money. If the name of the place is easily translatable for your average gringo, or if it’s a catchphrase from a cartoon character, it’s most likely not going to be good. While Arriba Arriba didn’t completely shatter The Rule, it did show it’s not an absolute.
They charge $11.95 for an entrée and a drink (screwdriver, mimosa, or bloody mary) for brunch, which isn’t cheapest you’ll find in the city, but it’s certainly not a bad deal. Also, free chips and salsa is a major bonus in New York; it seems most Mexican places just skip out on the free appetizer. It was incredibly fresh and was a great start to the meal.
I had the Mexican Sandwich - a well-seasoned breaded chicken breast with potatoes and a small salad. The breast was well cooked, generously sized (I’m pretty sure only about 3/4ths of the thing was actually covered by the bun), and all around pretty tasty. The potatoes were kind of an afterthought, and the salad served its purpose well enough – that is, to give me something other than just the sandwich.
I won’t say I loved Arriba Arriba, but it was pretty good food at a reasonable enough price for brunch. If your brunch needs some spicing up, give it a shot and you’ll be pleasantly satisfied. - Davis
I found this place ages ago, when Laurel and I ended up just going to Vynl, so I was glad to finally give it a try. I've never enjoyed Latin/Mexican breakfast, as I'm not terribly keen on pico de gallo in eggs, but I was way excited about trying something else. At the prix fixe price of $11.95, my Arriba quesadilla with chorizo and screwdriver were pretty tasty. I will say, however, it wasn't the best I've ever had. The company, however, was great, as usual. Forcing Davis to spend time with the ladies is always worth the effort.
The waiter was extremely attentive, and I felt like we were the only table in the joint. In fact, to be fair, we were only one of a few, but he had pretty much all of them. By the way, I'm watching Pulp Fiction right now, and Travolta's really high, so I'm a tad distracted in this entree (er, entry, see what I mean?).
Arriba, Arriba is worth it and I suggest a visit. A bad note, though - the one drink that is included with the meal is tiny and it's unfortunate if you want to get a little drunk in order to improve (ruin?) your day. I suggest that you drink more, because we simply didn't do it up right. Apparently (and from what we could see), their drinks are GIGANTIC, but the ones that come with the prix fixe simply don't cut it. I was definitely full, but I wasn't drunk enough. Oops, now Uma's high, too. - Jennifer
Address: 762 9th Ave (@51st Street)
Website: http://www.arribaarribawest.com/
Open Late: 1am on weekends
Delivery: yes, 42nd to 59th st (11th ave to 6th ave)
Take Out: yes, yes
Bar/Happy Hour: yes and yes, 4pm-7pm drinks are buy one get one half off, and on Mondays 4pm-close Margaritas are buy one, get one half off
No comments:
Post a Comment