HELL’S KITCHEN

“ -Nouvelle- Mexican Done Right "Among NYC restaurants that gussy up Mexican food for Gringo foodies, Hell's Kitchen is among the best. Offering less expensive, better food and drink than Rosa Mexicana and a modicum of comfort and courtesy missing at Mexicana Mama, Hell's Kitchen is worth a little trek. Staff was unfailingly accomodating and polite. Chef has a rare deft hand with the deep frier as evidenced in the pita-like toasts offered gratis (instead of the usual crisp tortillas) with an excellent black bean dip, the surprisingly delicate duck empanada on red mole, and the banana pastry for dessert. Excellent balance of textures and flavors in my red snapper on a bed of plantains, onions and tomato, all in banana leaf - fine attention to detail in the prep. Paired wines were excellent. Restaurant would earn a 9 were the noise lessened and the tables more generously spaced. In sum: good show!" Attention Spicy Food! "Can I say good food, friendly service and a relaxed atmosphere all in one! No reservations were required, however the small space means you most likely will need to wait a bit. Margaritas need some help - may be the cheap tequila. The food is hot, hot, hot to trott if that's what you like. However, will aim to please on the spice scale. Prices definitely match the quantity and quality of the food. Recommend eating at the bar for an intimate, relaxed dinner." "Nouvelle".

About our chef - Jorge Pareja was born in 1971 in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero. Having emigrated to the U.S. in 1989, Jorge still fondly recalls his upbringing in the thriving farm community of Alpoyeca as an ideal example of people living in harmony with the land. High in the plains between mountains, or cañada, cut by the river Tlapaneco, Alpoyeca has an excellent climate for farming of all types. Protected from the heat of the long equatorial days by the sheltering shade of the mountains, Alpoyeca has warm days and cool nights. Jorge recalls life on his grandparents’ farm: “We had the perfect conditions for growing any type of plant. In spring and summer, we grew everything from corn, beans, tomatoes and chiles to mango, melon and papaya. We would eat these foods right from the plant. In winter, when the rains flooded the river, we grew rice.” During the rainy winter, mountain streams, or barrancas, would also flood, often altering the course of the river uncomfortably close to towns alongside it. Jorge humorously recounts: “Every year the people of each town hoped the barrancas on their side of the river would flood first and direct the river away from their town.”

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