José Andrés Livens Up Hudson Yards With Moody Lighting and Lamb Barbacoa | Eater NY
"A revamp of José Andrés's Spanish Diner, opening at 10 Hudson Yards with its entrance at 10th Avenue and 30th Street, this Mexico City–inspired lunch-and-dinner restaurant is presented as the second location of the D.C.-area original recommended by Bib Gourmand and has been described as a "sexier spot serving a collection of ceviches, tacos, and lamb barbacoa for two." The New York menu omits the Oaxacan chapulines tacos (sauteed grasshoppers) that had diners abuzz in Washington, replacing that boundary-pushing option with a tamer taco: the menudo de res taco stuffed with tripe and trotters. The menu begins with guacamole made to order ($18) and a ceviche bar offering tomato or shrimp aguachile ($18, $20); soups and salads include a deconstructed gazpacho jazzed up with pineapple and mango ($15) and a Caesar salad with a shoutout on the menu ($19) to Tijuana, where it was invented. Six street tacos ($7–$8) feature pollo en salsa verde, carnitas and suadero; larger "fiesta" plates for two include pollo al mole with rice, avocado, refried beans and corn tortillas ($55) and a slow-cooked lamb barbacoa ($65). Drinks lean on D.C. signatures such as the Salt Air Margarita (Milagro Silver, orange liqueur, and “salt air”) and the "El Bajío" Michelada, alongside agua frescas, wine and Mexican beer. Rockwell Group swapped out utilitarian diner decor for lush greenery and an atmosphere meant to evoke a Mexican street festival, and references to Monarch butterflies are threaded throughout: the website notes the oyamel tree is "considered a sacred fir native to central Mexico," adds that "The forest appears to be draped in gold thanks to the butterflies covering the trees," and that locals "believe the butterflies bear the spirits of their departed as they appear around Day of the Dead." The opening arrives alongside other new Hudson Yards restaurants and the area's post-pandemic push for in-person work." - Melissa McCart
