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Casa Adela


cabrales

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Wilfrid, Beloved, Nina and her beau and I had dinner at Casa Adela tonight (66 Avenue C, 212-473-1882). We had the following, family style:

-- Sancocho, "hefty stew that includes just about everything: oxtail, root plants plantains and other vegetables" ($3.25)

-- Ensalada de Pulpo Con Arroz y Habichuelas, Octupus salad with rice and beans (9.50)

-- Ensalada de Aguacate, Avocado Salad (3.00)

-- Bacalao a la Vizeaina, Codifsh in a tmoato sauce with onions, potatoes, olives, raisons and garlic (8.00) -- arguably the best dish of the meal

-- Pernil Asado, Roast pork (6.50)

-- Steak with Chimichurri Sauce (price uncertain; off-menu item) -- cooked essentially medium well despite the request (perhaps misguided under the circumstances for a rare preparation)

-- Chicharrones de Pollo, Chicken cracklings (5.00 or more)

-- Habichuelas (Beans -- Red kidney, black or pink; 1.50-2.50)

-- Rice varieties (separately charged)

-- Dessert flan

Both the Rotisserie Chicken and the Pollo Guisado (Chicken Stew) dishes were unfortunately sold out. :huh: The restaurant permitted BYO without corkage. We finished almost three bottles of wine, including a Pouilly Fume, Cuvee Pur Sang, D Dageneau 2000. The bill was $14/person, tip included.

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Glad to see others enjoy this joint! I especially like their rice and (pink) beans, which are quite tasty and good on their own, not just as an accompaniment. Also, try their carne guisada--beef stew--and oxtail stew if they have it. Long-stewed delights.

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Note I couldn't say the dishes were uniform in quality, though. For example, the pork dish was rather dry and the steak (due to the nature of the steak utilized, according to Wilfrid) was rather overcooked and was not at the rare level we had requested. Note also we did not sample the roasted chicken, as it was sold out.

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A couple of belated remarks. As far as the steak goes, it wasn't so much the cut as a combination of cultural differences and the type of restaurant it is. By Puerto Rican or Dominican standards, that was a rare steak. I agree with Cabby that it was medium well by our standards, but I don't know how you would convince a family-style Puerto rican restaurant to serve bloody meat. Also, it's a cheap joint catering to locals, and the kitchen was ready to close up (hence the chicken dishes being finished), and they weren't, therefore, too bothered about how they were cooking the steak. Let's be honest, they are not dependent for their prosperity on return visits from fussy foodies :wink: .

I liked the bacalao too, and wish there'd been more. I also liked the big, floury, sauce-laden potatoes in the sancocho. Overall, although the restaurant is smarter and more comfortable than some of the other Latino diners in the area, I didn't think the food was out of the ordinary. Just decent examples of that kind of cooking. Of course, maybe the the chicken is sensational. :rolleyes:

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As a long time patron of Casa Adela (and food professional)

I recommend that when going there, check to see if Adela is actually there.

She spends much of her time going back and forth to Puerto Rico.

The chicken is fabulous---early in the day.

The outdoor pig roast (pernil) that goes on during Labor Day week end is not to be missed.

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