No More Torturous Waiting for Burritos

The best Mexican restaurant, actually one of the best restaurants, period, in Forest Hills just entered the digital age, making life a hell of a lot more pleasant the next time you can't shake your craving for what are quite possibly the most delicious nachos in the world.

Now, if they'd only deliver, like every other restaurant in town. But one can't expect life to be too good to us all at once, can we?

5 Burro Café Review

Location: 72-05 Austin Street Forest Hills, NYC

Hours: 12:00PM - 4:00AM — 7 Days a week

Hi, it’s Mark again, from mealswithmark.com , with another local restaurant review.  My partner and I have been cohabitating in Forest Hills for almost two years now and we are always looking out for and trying new restaurants to wow us with their food and ambiance.  We have had a lot of hits and misses in Forest Hills.  But surprisingly a lot of hits lately.  We both enjoy a good meal out every so often with amazing food, great ambiance, and incredible company. Our culinary escape took us to 5 Burro Café  on Austin Street in Forest Hills.

We have been wanting to try 5 Burro for quite some time.  Whenever we mention to people that we live in Forest Hills, everyone raves about 5 Burro and they are surprised we haven’t tried it.  They can’t stop talking about how great the food and the drinks are and how much fun they have when they go.

We have walked by on many occasions and after hearing how loud and seeing how packed they were, we said 'no thanks' and we kept walking and found some mediocre place to eat or just gave up and went home and I whipped something up.  Packed and extremely loud is a turn-off.  Before the Forest Hills faithful starts on their rants, see above. We have had more hits than misses lately. We have actually discovered and had some pretty amazing meals as of late in our neck of the woods. 

Since 5 Burro is always loud and packed at night we decided to check them out on a Saturday during lunch time. We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived and there was not a crowd of people outside and the noise level was at a bearable level. 

Upon entering the restaurant, it reminded me of our many trips to Mexico and eating at some of the local establishments. The décor and the feel of the restaurant definitely felt authentic. The restaurant was cute, quaint, and cozy, but definitely small in size, which explains why it is always so loud and packed when we walk by.  

When I go out for a meal I don’t want to have to wait 45 minutes to an hour to get a table and I want to be able to hear my dinner companion and be able to have a conversation without screaming.  A restaurant’s appearance is one of the things that weighs heavily with me when I pick a place when I eat out.  The food is the most important, but experience is as well.  So, my first impression of 5 Burro Café was a pleasant surprise, after walking by some many times and being turned off.

We started out our meal with frozen margaritas.  Before going to 5 Burro we read some reviews on Yelp, but I always make my own opinion of a place.  That’s what is great about a review, there can be many different views on the same place.  But, we chose the frozen margaritas after reading the reviews ahead of time. 5 Burro is known for their margaritas.  We went with the classic.  They were delicious but could have had a tad bit more tequila.  This drink definitely hit the spot on this warm Saturday afternoon.  It was $8, which was a great price for a 16oz. drink.  5 Burro also brings you out some fresh chips and salsa and it pairs well with their frozen margaritas.

For starters, we went with the Aguacate Relleno which was an Avocado stuffed with Shrimp and smothered with fresh veggies, spices, and 5 Burro Café’s homemade house dressing.  This dish was refreshing with a great, unique blend of spices and flavor.  You can go with a half order or a full order.  We went with the half order, which I am glad we did since I filled up on the free chips and salsa. 

Since when my partner and I go out to eat we share, we took awhile going through the menu and picking two choices.  We asked our server for recommendations and he seemed knowledgeable about his recommendations on the menu, but he didn’t talk excitedly about anything.  When I go out, I always ask the server their suggestion because you can really see their passion for the establishment that they work for and what they are excited about and that they think everyone should try.  I didn’t feel like he had a personal favorite or anything excited him.  Usually, I go with my server's recommendation, but not this time.  Don’t get me wrong the service as a whole was good. 

I went with the Ensalada Mexicana Con Carne.  This consisted of fresh mixed greens, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, steak, lime, avocado, and topped with original 5 Burro Dressing.  First the positives.  The steak was seasoned and cooked very well.  The veggies on the salad was crispy and fresh and the portion size was very large.  On the flip side, there were way too many onions, a little less would have balanced out the salad better.  The 5 Burro original dressing was very flavorful, but was a tad bit watery.  I like my dressing a little thicker so it sticks to my salad to give it that flavorful kick.  Overall a great steak salad, which most places don’t get right.

My partner went with the Fajitas De Salmon.  Grilled Salmon served with grilled onions, mixed peppers, rice, beans, pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream and choice of flour or corn tortillas.  The salmon was flaky and cooked perfectly.  When all the ingredients wrapped together in the warm tortilla wrap, it was a delicious explosion of subtle flavors in your mouth.  Besides the salmon, the standout on this dish was the seasoned rice and the black beans with the crumbled cojito cheese on top.  Usually when both of us go out for Mexican food, the rice and bean sides are a second thought, but at 5 Burro, it complemented and paired so well with the fajitas and tasted delicious, so skipping it was not an option.

Due to the yummy frozen margaritas, the free chips and salsa, the appetizer, and our large portion meals, we had no room for dessert.  But it is worth mentioning, 5 Burro does offer Flan and Apple Chimichanga for dessert.  

  

I highly recommend 5 Burro Café. I recommend for the first time to try it during the day for lunch to avoid the crowds and noise.  But it is also a fun place to hang out with friends after work or on the weekends for some appetizers and so good drinks. Just keep in mind it gets packed and loud during peak hours.

Check out their menu at: http://5burrocafe.com/

Follow them on Social media and share your photos and your experience there!

https://twitter.com/5burrocafe

https://www.facebook.com/5BurroCafe/

https://www.instagram.com/5burrocafe/

Also check out my other local restaurant reviews:

http://edgeofthecityblog.blogspot.com/2018/05/restaurant-review-guantanamera.html

http://edgeofthecityblog.blogspot.com/2018/04/compadres-77-restaurant-review.html

https://mealswithmark.com/numero-28-pizzeria-review/

Compadres 77 Restaurant Review

My name’s Mark, founder and creator of the everything food blog Mealswithmark.com!  I started the blog because I love and enjoy cooking and want to share my recipes and my culinary discoveries with others. Compadres 77 has a few drawbacks, but the one possible saving grace might actually be the food! Join me in my experience at Compadres 77’s new location in Forest Hills.

Compadres 77 is a New Mexican restaurant that opened about three weeks ago in the former location of the Italian restaurant Tuscan Hills (a Forest Hills staple which moved to another location in Forest Hills) located on busy Queens Blvd.

With a lot of competition in Forest Hills for Mexican fare, does Compadres 77 have what it takes to survive?

Upon walking into Compadres 77 with my partner, it was a cute place, but will definitely not sweep you off your feet with a wow factor! It had minimal decor and lacked ambiance. The restaurant felt like more of a fast food restaurant/take out place like Chipotle or Dos Torros, than a fine dining experience, but we were keeping open minds.  The Mexican music was a nice added touch to make up for the lack of ambiance.  They should definitely try to hide the huge refrigerator that you see when you walk through the doors. 

We were not approached when we first entered the restaurant, but when we finally were, we were told we could just sit anywhere. Since there was no better section than others we just chose a random seat.

We were given menus and not told much else. The server asked if we wanted anything to drink and we asked for water, which took some time to get to our table. *just a side not, they were not that busy.

We asked our server for a drink menu because when going to a Mexican restaurant, we love having a margarita on the rocks with some amazing authentic Mexican food! The server informed us that they don’t serve alcohol and was not sure when or if they would be getting it in the future. He did not offer us any other drink options besides the water!

Our server brought us over complimentary tortilla chips and salsa and we ordered guacamole for starters. He brought us over the guacamole and didn’t offer us any additional chips, we had to ask for more ourselves. The guacamole was good, not amazing but definitely fresh and tasty. However, it would have been nice if they came to the table and made the guacamole in front of you like they do at some other Mexican Restaurants (example: El coyote). It would have added to the ambiance and the character of the place.

My partner and I always order different things on the menu so we have the opportunity to try more stuff because we share. :). My partner ordered a beef quesadilla and I ordered a couple of tacos.

Let’s start with the quesadilla. The beef quesadilla was surprising delicious. The beef was very tender and the quesadilla was packed with cheese, which we both love! The server also brought over two sauces and sour cream to dip the quesadillas in! The Green sauce was a nice added kick along with the sour cream!

I ordered two tacos and we split them in half.   I ordered the fried Pork and the Chorizo Tacos.  They came plated nicely and loaded with onions and cilantro with a side of lime and radishes to add to the tacos.  The tacos were very tasty.  The meat was seasoned and cooked well.  But again, they were good but nothing special.  Even though they were two different tacos with different meats, they tasted identical.  There was nothing distinguishing one from the next.   We both said they taste similar to the tacos from the Taco Truck on Austin Street for the same price.

We ended up deciding to order a dessert to share.  We asked the server if the desserts were made in house, he stated no but they were all delicious.  That was disappointing.  In my opinion, when a restaurant does not make their dessert in house, they lose some credibility.  We decided to go with the Tres Leches Cake.  Tres Leches is my favorite Mexican dessert and one of my all time favorite desserts.  The Tres Leches sauce was good, but the cake to me tasted stale.   It was a disappointing piece of cake. 

In summary, I feel Compadres 77 needs to step up their game some if they are going to survive in Forest Hills.   First, they need to spruce up their appearance and ambiance.  They need to add more Mexican flare and décor.  They need to make themselves stand out from the crowd of other Mexican restaurants.  Maybe even add some live music.   They have to show the El Coyote and the 5 Burro Café regulars that they deserve their patronage too. 

Second, they need to work on either obtaining a liquor license or allowing for BYOB.  Guests not having the option to order a drink or have drinks with their meals, will limit their clientele.   A lot of people that go out to dinner versus having dinner at home want that option/availability.  Who wouldn’t want a Margarita with some good Mexican food after a long and stressful day at the office?

Third area of improvement would be their customer service.  They need to do a better job training their staff to be more attentive to their customers.  Check in on them more frequently and asking questions.  Also, make the guacamole table side - this would add to the customer service and would also add to the ambiance and the experience.  If you advertise that it is fresh, show your customers that.

Lastly, make sure the desserts you serve are fresh, if not don’t serve them.  Better yet, get someone in house that can make desserts.  It would give the place more credibility.

The one plus that Compadres 77 has in its favor, is the food is pretty darn good!  They just have to build off of that!  They have potential to be a great addition to the neighborhood.

Compadres 77 is located at 115-20 Queens Blvd., at the corner of 77th Ave in Forest Hills.

Check out my review of Numero 28 on Restaurant Row in Forest Hills:

https://mealswithmark.com/numero-28-pizzeria-review/

Or just check out my blog at https://mealswithmark.com for some great recipes for your next weeknight dinner!

Until next time!  Have a delicious day!

Tacos Polo Cart Mystery

I wanted to get some of my favorite to-go Mexican food this past Monday, but the Tacos Polo Cart, usually parked in front of Citibank, was missing. Today, I got an email from a reader asking if I noticed it was missing, that it hasn't been in its usual spot all week.

Please tell me they are coming back. I absolutely loved their food.