Mercat

Mercat means market in Catalan, the language spoken in the Spanish region that inspired this restaurant and tapas lounge in Noho. The 90-seat space is equipped with an open kitchen, a ham-and-cheese station, and a basement tapas lounge, and the wine list is all-Spanish, with a selection of cavas, sherries, and seasonal sangrí­as. - New York Magazine

I was really impressed by this restaurant - it has a trendy-yet-undiscovered feel and a great atmosphere, with the open kitchen and racks of wine stored overhead. We were seated near the kitchen, with a good view of the restaurant and bar. I was a little jealous of the poeple sitting behind me at the kitchen's bar seating, but it was still a good table.

We ordered a few starters including Patates Bravas, potatoes with garlic and spicy sauce, and Carxofes artichokes, with fennel alioli. I had seen the potatoes on the bar and thouht they were like peanuts - free for any patron - I guess it is a good thing I didn't try to grab one then - as they were very good and lots of tables had ordered them, I'm sure they are a top seller. The artichokes were basically fried artichoke leaves and were crunchy and salty.

From there, the menu looks amazing. I wish I could remember what I ate, but I have waited too long to write this review. I would definitely go back though, as there are so many good looking dishes to try.

El Boqueron

El Boqueron serves authentic and traditional tapas, that is, small entree dinner portions from various regions of Spain. We dish up exquisite dishes that leave your mouth savoring for more.

El Boqueron is right on the corner near V's apartment and though she's lived there for nearly two years, we've never been. Finally it seemed like a good time to try it out. The restaurant seems a little too fancy for its location next to the elevated subway tracks in Astoria, the prices of some entrees seem a little high, but we enjoyed the food and the friendly service.

Continuing our trend, and because of the fact that this was a tapas restaurant, we ordered a few little dishes, starting with a spinach salad. It was served with warm crunchy bacon bits and a very nice dressing, which made for a good start to our meal. Next we had a few slices of Manchego cheese, a white Spanish cheese, that is to me, kind of like a mix between cheddar and Parmesan.

From the hot tapas choices, we tried the stuffed mushrooms, which weren't quite as good as we'd hoped. I think because they were rather small mushrooms, and the stuffing, vegetables and bacon, wasn't very bacony. Overall they tasted fine but weren't amazing.

We also tried (for the second time this week) chicken croquettes. About the size of two 'tots,' they were crispy with an almost creamy filling of ground chicken. There was some kind of white cream sauce on the side which was great to spread on the hot 'tot' to cool it down a bit. (I had originally posted this as a description from another restaurant, but that was a mix up and has been corrected for the record).

Our last 'tapa' was my favorite, and probably the simplest too. Chorizo sausage cooked with Rioja wine, was served sizzling in a crock. Hot and perfectly seasoned, not too tough and not too dry, the sausage was very good. It was a nice way to end the meal too. We decided against dessert and that made for a reasonable bill and a satisfying meal.