Will somebody please go eat at Villa y Zapata already?
**Update 2: Looks like I've got crappy-bad timing, because when I walked past this evening, there was a For Lease sign on the window. Argh.
**Update: Please don't go to the Villa y Zapata's on West 25th between now and January 5, because they're closed for the holidays. What bad timing I've got!**
Last Saturday afternoon Jim and I sat down to heaping plates of tacos and chimichangas and delicious, delicious steaming mugs of cinnamon tea, which tastes like liquid Christmas at the Villa y Zapata on West 25th. As we do nearly every Saturday afternoon.
And like nearly every other Saturday afternoon, we were the only people in there.
I shouldn't need to remind people that last Saturday afternoon was the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Jim -- who's typically got about as much vitriol as a footstool -- suddenly banged his fist on the table.
"I'm sick of this. There are probably 4,000 people in this neighborhood this afternoon. Why the hell aren't there people in this restaurant?"
That beeline people make straight from the parking lot into the West Side Market and back without even a thought about coming out onto West 25th is something that drives me nuts about Ohio City.
Please - save my husband's sanity! Have some tinga poblana or an enchilada platter for lunch! This stuff is cheap, delicious, and so filling that you won't even need to eat dinner later!
**Update: Please don't go to the Villa y Zapata's on West 25th between now and January 5, because they're closed for the holidays. What bad timing I've got!**
Last Saturday afternoon Jim and I sat down to heaping plates of tacos and chimichangas and delicious, delicious steaming mugs of cinnamon tea, which tastes like liquid Christmas at the Villa y Zapata on West 25th. As we do nearly every Saturday afternoon.
And like nearly every other Saturday afternoon, we were the only people in there.
I shouldn't need to remind people that last Saturday afternoon was the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Jim -- who's typically got about as much vitriol as a footstool -- suddenly banged his fist on the table.
"I'm sick of this. There are probably 4,000 people in this neighborhood this afternoon. Why the hell aren't there people in this restaurant?"
That beeline people make straight from the parking lot into the West Side Market and back without even a thought about coming out onto West 25th is something that drives me nuts about Ohio City.
Please - save my husband's sanity! Have some tinga poblana or an enchilada platter for lunch! This stuff is cheap, delicious, and so filling that you won't even need to eat dinner later!
posted by Christine Borne at 3:08 PM
8 Comments:
Do they have a liquor license yet? We like margaritas with our Mexican food and last I heard, they still couldn't serve these.
I don't think they have a liquor license, but they're also open for lunch only. Do you really need a margarita with your lunch? :)
Didn't there used to be a Puerto Rican spot where that restaurant currently is?
When they first opened we visited... and found it a bit sketchy (i.e. cleanliness didn't seem a priority). Any renovations over the last 8months? And being only open for lunch is another problem. I live in Ohio City, so if they aren't open for dinner I will likely forget about them.
And yes, no liquor license is a problem for any sit-down restaurant downtown, IMHO.
The Puerto Rican restaurant was Lozada's, which has been gone for the entire time I've lived in Ohio City.
You have to think about this place more like Nate's Deli rather than, say, Luchita's - i.e., lunch only, eat there on a Saturday afternoon. I've always been a bit disappointed that they're not open for dinner on the weeknights. I've got no idea why they're not pursuing the liquor license - but frankly, it doesn't bug me much. There are plenty of other drinking establishments around.
What I love about Villa y Zapata is that it's cheap as hell, it's good, and it's not fancy or trendy. It's more like Nate's Deli. I really want to see these places survive - I don't want Ohio City to just be full of fancy food. That's not (completely) what it's about.
In terms of cleanliness, I have never been inside the kitchen, which is what matters. The dining room is a bit shabby (so is Nate's), but so what? I'll say this as someone who's worked in food establishments and who's had to take numerous food safety training courses - unless I catch a glimpse of a rat running out of the kitchen, I am not really worried about eating there.
I goddamn feel bad about not going there, especially what with my constant, though often unspoken need for mexican food.
And likewise, I do hope that folks go eat at La Brasa near West 65th and Denison. Central American, but with a similar vibe. Don't let the neighborhood get you down.
Aw crap, I was all excited to go there. At least there's still Phnom Penh close by for some yummy, reasonably priced Vietnamese/Cambodian food. Highly recommended.
I think I'm going to move on to Phnom Penh now, though I don't have the stomach for spicy food I once did, AND it's cash only and I never have any cash on me.
What sucks is that this was the second Ohio City restaurant I felt like it was my personal mission to eat at as often as possible so it wouldn't go out of business (the first was the Monastery.) Maybe I've just got the kiss of death on me.
Post a Comment
<< Home