VinDivine

PRO: great food, fun, happenin’ vibe, friendly service in a cool space
CON: semi-fake sangria (made from mix and they add fruit when they serve it), wine list is a little expensive

There’s so many tapas spots popping up these days it’s a chore separating the playas from the posers. That’s what we’re here for, people! So chalk one up for Boqueria – this place rocks. Great space, good scene, seriously good food at decent prices. Righteous!

This place is everything a Spanish tapas place should be. A little cramped, the room is a narrow (duh, it’s New York) minimalist-designed space with a long, white marble bar on the right side, some tables down the left and some additional tables and a little more room in the back section. They have a sliding chalkboard behind the bar with daily specials. I dunno, just that the sliding board was a cool touch.

This place gets pretty shoulder-to-shoulder so we grabbed a couple sangrias while we waited for a table. Super nice bartender – Emily – served us pronto, and the sangria was ‘good’ but not made in the traditional sense. Looks like they pre-make the wine and then throw in a little fruit when they serve it. Cheaters! But hey, it didn’t stop us from ordering a couple more (ok, 6) when we stole 2 seats at the bar and started diggin’ into the tapas. First though we had to deal with a group of 3 d-bags (actually 2 d-bags and 1 d-hag…d-hag is our new word for a female d-bag. Spread it!) who tried to shove us out of our seats. After a little jousting we put them in their place and got down to business.

We started with some basic tapas, all priced reasonably between $6-10 – Patatas Bravas topped with salsa and garlic aioli. Spuds, salsa and garlic. How can you go wrong? We didn’t, tho I would have liked a little more salsa on the patatas. The Pimientos de Patron, blistered peppers with sea salt, were tasty as well, and a good sized portion. Then we moved on to the Croquetas Cremosas – 3 croqs, 1 each of mushroom, salted cod and suckling pig. I’d read somewhere the croquetas here were bland, but that person must have been on crack. These were all prepared well and not coated with too much breading. And I mean, if they can make salted cod (-piece, for some juvenile reason I can never resist the urge to say ‘cod piece’ when the opportunity arises) taste good, then bravo amigos. The Pintxos Morunos, seared lamb marinated in lemon and cumin with salsa verde, were a a little disappointing. Heavy hand on the ‘ole salt shaker for these puppies, and the ‘salsa verde’ was a no-show.

We didn’t try the Paella (what kind of reviewers are we?!) as I simply wasn’t in the mood. So there. I hear it’s kinda over priced for whatcha get. But they have a good cheese and meat selection all priced at $5 a pop.

VdV Ratings (out of 10): 4

Hours:
Sun-Sat 12p-12a (Fri-Sat until 2a)

Boqueria
53 West 19th St. (betw 5th & 6th)
New York, NY
(212) 255.4160
2nd location: 171 Spring Street (SoHo)

brunch, tapas