Puebla la Cucina Mexicana???

When does it open??? This area needs good, cheap Mexican. I wish they would put a menu up or something. I see the chairs and tables being prepped!

I just walked by this morning and saw the menu in the window... looks good. Signs said they open Nov. 1, 4-11pm for dinner & take out, with Sunday brunch and lunch and delivery to follow after a couple months or so.

daisyh wrote: I just walked by this morning and saw the menu in the window... looks good. Signs said they open Nov. 1, 4-11pm for dinner & take out, with Sunday brunch and lunch and delivery to follow after a couple months or so.

AWESOME!
The Sunday brunch idea is a brilliant move on their part. If they have good margaritas, they're going to make a killing.

Just to confirm, this is the new place opening on Vanderbilt...correct?

Carnivore wrote: The Sunday brunch idea is a brilliant move on their part. If they have good margaritas, they're going to make a killing.

The million peso question is -- can I get some cow head up in this place?

daisyh wrote: I just walked by this morning and saw the menu in the window... looks good.

how did the prices look?

snootyusher wrote: [quote=daisyh]I just walked by this morning and saw the menu in the window... looks good.

how did the prices look?

I just passed by there a few minutes ago. The entrees range between $10 and $14, with smaller/individual dishes about half that. Quesadillas, for instance, were $6. Wish I'd had my camera with me -- I'd have taken a snap of the menu for you guys.

And the usual bring your own beer and wine until they get their licence, which is always nice. I wonder if you bring tequila will they mix a margarita for you?

apollonia666 wrote: The entrees range between $10 and $14, with smaller/individual dishes about half that.

Judging by the prices, I'm guessing this isn't a cabeza and lengua kind of place. Shame.

qtrain wrote: [quote=apollonia666]The entrees range between $10 and $14, with smaller/individual dishes about half that.

Judging by the prices, I'm guessing this isn't a cabeza and lengua kind of place. Shame.

It ain't authentic Mexican if they ain't got lengua. I pray that this isn't going to be another Metzcal.

apollonia666 wrote: Quesadillas

Oh.

Puebla opened last night, and I was happy to be their second customer! I had guacamole, made fresh at your table (!), tasted the jicama salad {mmmm}, and had the skirt steak entree, {$13.}, which came with a fresh cactus salad and "churro" {sp?} beans. This style of food is great, IMHO. The head chef, Roberto, comes from Puebla, he designed the menu to reflect the home cooking style directly from there. It was like no other Mexican food I've ever had, and I thought it was reasonably priced and very delicious. Will be interested in hearing the opinions of others more suited to food analysis and writing. So pleased this is on Vanderbilt! Yay!!! 8)

sje wrote: Puebla opened last night, and I was happy to be their second customer! I had guacamole, made fresh at your table (!), tasted the jicama salad {mmmm}, and had the skirt steak entree, {$13.}, which came with a fresh cactus salad and "churro" {sp?} beans. This style of food is great, IMHO. The head chef, Roberto, comes from Puebla, he designed the menu to reflect the home cooking style directly from there. It was like no other Mexican food I've ever had, and I thought it was reasonably priced and very delicious. Will be interested in hearing the opinions of others more suited to food analysis and writing. So pleased this is on Vanderbilt! Yay!!! 8)

sounds good! I'll check it out.

I'm guessing they were charro beans. kinda soupy, whole beans?

i was a bit disappointed, but it was their first night so i'll probably give them another chance in a few months.

we didn't get chips and salsa. our server wasn't the most friendly person in the world. maybe it was more crowded then they expected, but if anything you should be overly cheery and welcoming in your first week.

the meat/fish dishes sounded good, but i'm a veggie. there weren't many options. i had the vegetable tostadas which consisted of a small amount of what looked like black refried beans (and i mean a SMALL amount... they barely covered the tortilla), shredded lettuce, a slice of plum tomato, a slice of radish, a little blob of guac (which was really good) and creme fraiche. there were two of them, they weren't very big and they were $8.50. nothing else came with them.

i wasn't sure about the cheap green tablecloths. they also use those canning jars w/ handles as glasses which i think is a bit cheesy. but they do leave a wine bottle filled with water at your table which was nice.

we ended up at another restaurant afterwards because i was still hungry. the people there said we weren't the first to come in to get more food after having 'dinner' at puebla la cucina mexicana.

i'm interested to see what others think...

Are you a big eater, veggiequeen? I took half my steak home for breakfast because I was stuffed! Also, we got handmade potato chips instead of chips and salsa.

no, i'm not a big eater. both tostadas were pretty small and there was really nothing of substance on them... only a bit of lettuce and a tomato. we didn't get any chips/salsa or the potato chips. they did have side dishes... maybe i'll have to order one of those next time.

does anyone have the phone # for this place? i'm sick and need take out. thx in advance.

Just came back. I thought the service was slow, but the food was tasty and at a good price. We had nachos with beef (not ground beef--grilled strips--tasty) and I had a quesadilla and Mr. M (as Cupcake used to say) had tostadas. I wasn't completely blown away but that was more because of the service--I think this will be a nice place to have around for those evenings when you just can't face cooking.

BTW, I could've sworn I saw Toly walking in and out. I would ascribe that to my inability to correctly identify him, except I saw him when we went to NooNa when it first opened, and it turned out that was him. Does he own this place too?!

Emily wrote: Just came back. I thought the service was slow, but the food was tasty and at a good price. We had nachos with beef (not ground beef--grilled strips--tasty) and I had a quesadilla and Mr. M (as Cupcake used to say) had tostadas. I wasn't completely blown away but that was more because of the service--I think this will be a nice place to have around for those evenings when you just can't face cooking.

BTW, I could've sworn I saw Toly walking in and out. I would ascribe that to my inability to correctly identify him, except I saw him when we went to NooNa when it first opened, and it turned out that was him. Does he own this place too?!

I think that he and the woman from Le Gamin are partners in both this place and Noona. I can't wait to try this!

Carnivore wrote: [quote=Emily]Just came back. I thought the service was slow, but the food was tasty and at a good price. We had nachos with beef (not ground beef--grilled strips--tasty) and I had a quesadilla and Mr. M (as Cupcake used to say) had tostadas. I wasn't completely blown away but that was more because of the service--I think this will be a nice place to have around for those evenings when you just can't face cooking.

BTW, I could've sworn I saw Toly walking in and out. I would ascribe that to my inability to correctly identify him, except I saw him when we went to NooNa when it first opened, and it turned out that was him. Does he own this place too?!

I think that he and the woman from Le Gamin are partners in both this place and Noona. I can't wait to try this!

Mr. C is correct. Toly and the woman from Le Gamin are the nabe restaurant, bar and shoe store moguls...

and damn, I'm hungry now.

Alrite,

Just walked out of this place. All i can say it it's a mess over there.

Went in, most of the tables were full (good sign)
Got a table

sat there.
waited
waited
waited

finally had to flag down a waiter and ask for a menu

sat there
waited

watched 2 different people asking for checks, because they've been waiting 20 minutes for checks.

sat there.

couple next to us asked for their guacamole they ordered... 40 minutes ago.

sat there. (mind you, this is with no chips or salsa or anything, just some water)

sat there. waitresses running around, apologizing to people who have been waiting 1.5 hours for their food.

then i got up and left. our waiter walked by, i said i was leaving and he
should cancel the order. he asked "you didn't get anything?"

no, i didn't get anything. like everyone else.

anyways, i understand it's their first couple of days, but seriously, this is new york. you can't expect people to wait 2 hours for their food.

maybe i'll try again in a month

A shelf full of Jariscos does not a Mexican restaurant make.

Just returned from a first meal, and I was also very disappointed. Yes, it was their first weekend, so the cluelessness of the staff could be forgiven. but really. I asked for my check three times only to see the waitress yell at the the busboy "that's not my table, I have nothing to do with it!" and.. ugh. Just ill vibes.

The food? I really, really would like to like this place. A good mexican spot so close by would be a dream.. and maybe they'll get it right soon? But this meal was uninspired.. almost gross. My chile relleno (a great barometer of taste) was a limp chile with mozzarella(?!) melted on top like pizza (not very relleno - which means "stuffed") and some chunks of chorizo. Suggestion to them would be not to mess with one of the only vegetarian entree options on the menu by adding pork. And not great pork, at that. Alongside that came a huge mound of rice.. and no beans. Huh? My friend's watercress salad made her feel ill (how can a sald make you feel nasty?).

Anyway.. sorry for the negativity. I wish them the best.. but I just couldn't hold my lengua.

interesting. I think I'm going to wait a few weeks before I try them out.

NooNa on the first night, at least, the food was good and the wait staff was nice. it took forever, but still. this sounds a little more concerning.

are they open for brunch yet? And more importantly (since they don't yet have a liquor license), if I bring a bottle of tequila, will they make me marguaritas?

Went there last night. I was psyched after walking by every morning on the way to subway to see that it was bustling with folks seemingly having a good time.

We seated ourselves after eye contact with busboy that is was ok to do so. We sat there, were given menus, chit chatted, waited and waited some more. Headnod to the waitress walking by, smiles to the busboy, nada.

Finally, one of the waitresses comes over to ask us how long we were sitting there and that, sorry, the kitchen is closed??? I think she even mentioned they were out of stuff. :shock:

We left in a huff and ended up having crummy chinese. grrrrr

Eve wrote: Went there last night. I was psyched after walking by every morning on the way to subway to see that it was bustling with folks seemingly having a good time.

We seated ourselves after eye contact with busboy that is was ok to do so. We sat there, were given menus, chit chatted, waited and waited some more. Headnod to the waitress walking by, smiles to the busboy, nada.

Finally, one of the waitresses comes over to ask us how long we were sitting there and that, sorry, the kitchen is closed??? I think she even mentioned they were out of stuff. :shock:

We left in a huff and ended up having crummy chinese. grrrrr

What time was that?

Subject: needs work

My waitress was impressively friendly, but also obviously overworked. Had to wait a long time for the food, which was pretty cold, lacking in flavor and amount. The guac seemed little more than a smashed up avocado plus hot pepper. Where's the cilantro? Onion? Salt? Flavor? It's early, though, the kinks should be worked out. I hope.

jeez, it *just* opened. How could I have 2 interesting and tasty meals there so far, and you poor people get nothing? They got SLAMMED right after opening, and I'm not surprised the waitstaff is not totally used to the menu yet, or that they ran out of something, or they don't have the timing worked out yet.

This isn't Taco Bell, it's a very specific regional cuisine, perhaps unfamiliar to you, and maybe unlike any other Mixican you've tried.

These things take a bit of time to work out, there's no way to do it beforehand. I'm surprised at the mean spirited, public comments so freely and unthinkingly expressed here, after Cathy and Toly worked so hard to open a place for others enjoyment and the betterment of Vanderbilt and the neighborhood in general.

I wonder if any of the negative posters here ever owned a restaurant? I'd bet big $$$ they have not, and never will. :roll:

sje wrote: I'm surprised at the mean spirited, public comments so freely and unthinkingly expressed here, after Cathy and Toly worked so hard to open a place for others enjoyment and the betterment of Vanderbilt and the neighborhood in general.

is that really a problem, though? would you rather comments be withheld? and i think you're being really judgmental on the commenters who you say are making their comments without thought.

i think a purpose of this message board is to tell people about their experiences, good or bad. and i think we're mostly wise enough to realize that a restaurant is going to have some tough times right after opening. additionally, as residents, we are not indebted to businesses' good intentions if the final product is poor. if the restaurant is bad, we shouldn't keep our mouths shut simply because they tried.

allowing people to make these comments lets others make an educated decision on whether they'd rather go to the new restaurant immediately, or wait out the kinks. keep them coming, people!

Subject: Over-entitled Brooklyn?!!

sje wrote: This isn't Taco Bell, it's a very specific regional cuisine, perhaps unfamiliar to you, and maybe unlike any other Mexican you've tried.

SJE agreed. Two week rule folks, everything needs an adjustment. For those that dine at 9:45, you snooze, you lose. What the hell is up with over-entitled Brooklyn?!! I read through some of these restaurant reviews and I feel a more nausea come over me, more than any bout with tomain could ever deal.

Q: What whine goes with Mexican food?
A: No cow tongue... no pork brain... it can't be authentic... blah blah blah.

Are any of you actually going to request it for the future menu? How often do you Food Network paraplegics drop the remote and venture to Sunset Park or Queens for tripe? I like it fine, it's a kinda grissly and bit greasey, but its real.

snootyusher wrote: allowing people to make these comments lets others make an educated decision on whether they'd rather go to the new restaurant immediately, or wait out the kinks. keep them coming, people!

Agreed, one should make comments they feel are constructive to a business, so keep them coming. But comments are open to commentary once posted. So do not dismiss, patron dialogue is also valid. Local business much like Regional Cuisine takes development, appreciation and growth from its patrons otherwise you end up with a mall worthy Mc-taco(TM) that you could have nuked at home.

With all due respect SJE asked for feedback, abeit from "food analysists, whatever that means, and now when people post their comments he/she derides them for doing so. And, a restaurant cannot better itself without the clientel speaking up. Most of the posts seem like valid critique to me.