What do you think of when you hear about Mexico? The first things that come to my mind are little men with mustaches, cheap labor, and contaminated water. However, a little restaurant on the upper West Side of Manhattan portrays Mexico through the fabulous vehicle known as food. Polanco is a Glatt Kosher Mexican Restaurant designed to give one the feeling of a traditional Mexicano setting. Polanco comes complete with Spanish-Mexican music, miniature cactus plants on each table, and even an authentic Mexican, to serve as your waiter.
To start, every table has tortilla chips and FRESH salsa, nothing spicy about it, but nonetheless fresh. To start off I ordered Tacos Polanco as an aperivos (appetizer). It consisted of two soft corn tortillas topped with chicken and ground beef, or one of each. The chicken came served cooked with onions, green and red tomatoes, and covered in salsa verde. The chicken was very tender and moist. The beef is cooked with potatoes, onions, tomatoes, plantains and raisins, topped with salsa roja, The taco was very sweet, which complemented the chicken. I was however disappointed in the level of spicyness (new word) of the food, and asked the waiter for the spiciest sauce he had. Two minutes later he returned with a dish filled with a smoky flavored hot sauce. Great taste to the sauce, but only had a little kick, not habanero worthy.
I looked to see what kind of unusual foods were on the menu, and believe it or not I found Lengua, which is cooked tongue with onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, and Chile poblano, served with two soft tortillas. I was extremely happy to see that it came served appealing, in display, and that the tongue was sliced nice and thick. It took on a unique flavor as far as tongue goes. Usually it is either pickled or in a sweet sauce, this had a delicious tomato-onion flavor.
The soup of the day was Garlic Soup, a combination of tomato, garlic, and egg. Very tasty, sweet but with a kick of garlic in the aftertaste.
As far as the main course goes, you can go three ways: Staying with Chicken and/or Meat (both served Mexican Style), or go for the Fajitas. The Fajitas come served with either chicken, meat or mixed. They are served still sizzling of the grill with sautéed vegetables and a side of guacamole and Pico de gallo (like an Israeli salad). Of course Fajitas are eaten in flour tortillas, so part of the fun is making your own tortillas. The Fajitas were sloppy to make, and sloppy to eat, but that is the best way to enjoy your food, and besides, it's Mexican.
If you like chicken, the Pollo al Chipotle comes highly recommended. It consists of two grilled cutlets, bathing in Chile Chipotle sauce, it was moist with a little kick from the Chile. This dish is O.K. if you are forced to eat chicken or are afraid to try anything else, but as always MEAT is the way to go.
I was curious as to how they would make a kosher Mexican steak (cow is different than dog), but the moment of truth arrived, a rib-eye steak was served drowned in a blood red guajillo sauce, topped with mushrooms and onions. The steak was apparently marinated in a Chile sauce, and retained the grilled flavor, even though it was floating in guajillo sauce.
So, for those keeping counts, if you want to go for a steak, Polanco makes delicious moist steak, that is ranking in my top 3 moistest steaks available in Manhattan.
To wash down the meal, I ordered a Negra Modelo, a black beer imported from Mexico, and a Banana Chimichanga for dessert. The Chimichanga is a flaky pastry puff stuffed with banana and chocolate chips and fried. It was a nice greasy ending to a greasy, sloppy, delicious Mexican meal.
Note: Polanco has an all you can eat on Monday nights in two shifts.
Ambiance- Mexican motif, Mexican music, and heavy smell of Chile and refried beans when you walk into restaurant.
Food- Nice portions, very tasty, not as spicy as you might think Mexican food is. Also, nice variety of different dishes to chose from.
Prices- Surprisingly cheap for Manhattan. Main dishes run from $12.95 to $17.95. All major credit cards accepted.
Kosherut- Under strict supervision of the O-K. Mashgiach on premises.
Wheelchair Accessibility- Except for a little step to get into restaurant, all of restaurant is on one floor and accessible. (Including bathroom).
Service- efficient, polite, quick service, as well as educated about the various foods. (Including the Mashgiach).
Overall Rating- *** (three stars)- a great place to go out and eat, relax, and even learn about another culture.