Alejandro B.
Yelp
Sometimes you don't want to cook, but you also don't want to spend too much money.You don't want to sit down in a full service restaurant, but a generic place like Chipotle or Panera won't cut it either (you ARE in New York City, after all).
I was in one of those moods yesterday. Walking around the City with some time to burn before an appointment, I was craving a cheap and filling dinner that didn't leave a hole in my wallet (we lovingly call those "platos de obero" where I'm from, which translates into a working-class meal). Xi'an Famous Foods in Midtown was packed (and they caution against taking out their noodles, anyways), so I kept on walking.
My phone was buggy when I tried pulling up the Yelp app as I arrived in Hell's Kitchen, but this place and its rating caught my eye. I actually missed it walking down the block, as Leon Bakery is quite unassuming and simple looks out of place. As usual, Yelp led me to a great find.
In a neighborhood like HK, it's quite an anachronism, but what a delicious one it is. I'd expect to see a restaurant like this in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, but not on 9th Ave. The interior is painted in a bright orange hue, the walls are lined with Mexican staples (from canned beans to dried chilies and tamales flour). There are three tables by the back, close to a television playing the latest Univision telenovelas ("Por qué María?! Rompiste mi corazón!!") I ate next to an extended Mexican family, further proof that this place is authentic.
The cashier let me know that they only made tamales during the morning (and I've read enough to know that they're a very labor intensive dish). I settled on ordering a torta sandwich, which is layered with refried beans, iceberg lettuce, tomato, avocados, white Mexican cheese, and your choice of jalapeño strips or chipotle. My meat of choice was pork al pastor.
Sadly they only accept credit cards for orders over $10 (during this quarter, my credit card offers me 5% cash back on restaurants, but unfortunately all the places I end up craving turn out to be cash only! Darn!)
Back in Puerto Rico, we have a street cart that sells a sandwich known as "the tripleta." It's an assortment of meats piled high with lettuce, tomato, and mayo-ketchup on a soft, cushy roll. This is the Mexican version, and don't tell my fellow Boricuas but I actually liked this sandwich more.
The avocados (that Hail Mary of foods) were on-point, green as can be. The cheese was slightly melted and slightly chewy, providing additional texture. I enjoyed the pork--melted in my mouth and well seasoned overall. And you can tell that bread is baked on site, probably. While at first glance you probably think it's not sturdy enough to hold all of its contents intact, I think its soft texture is better suited for this type of sandwich.
My meal came down to $7. I ate half of my sandwich at the restaurant, and splurged on the remaining half as a midnight snack (to be fair, I had worked out and walked a lot that day).
The only flaw with my meal was that I found a piece of bay leaf in my sandwich. While bay leaves give great flavor during the cooking process, they're not edible and should be removed before serving.
León is easily one of the top three lowkey Mexican places I've tried in the City. I'm rarely this far west, unless I'm going bar hopping later at night, but I am compelled to go back. Buen trabajo, León Bakery!
