New York: Yerba Buena

The hospitable, enjoyable boozy brunch has largely left the island of Manhattan. Brunch in Manhattan these days involves fighting crowds of self-important yuppies, battling snotty hosts tripping on an overinflated sense of power, and waiting in line for at least an hour for mediocre plates dished up by a rookie line cook who would probably rather be at home nursing his hangover of death instead of cobbling together that week’s leftovers and calling it brunch. Sure, the drinks (which are usually pre-mixed and rather weak) are often abundant, maybe even unlimited, but if they weren’t, then you might actually taste what you were eating, and the whole moneymaking racket would go down the tubes. The cattle-herding nature of what is now a Manhattan brunch does absolutely nothing for my hangover, and well, sometimes a girl is just in no condition to make it out to Brooklyn, where all the high-quality, properly-mixed-stiff-drink brunch places now hold court.

Yerba Buena is not exempt from all of the aforementioned transgressions, but at least the drinks are nice and strong, the food demonstrates some care, and the staff actually smiles at you. The margaritas are individually mixed by hand, and the wait isn’t atrociously long, despite the restaurant’s miniscule dimensions. We were quoted a thirty-minute wait one Saturday morning, and were actually seated in about fifteen, with a graciousness that is rarely seen at other Manhattan brunch standbys.

Tacos de Pescado: crispy tilapia Baja style, jicama cabbage chipotle slaw, rice and beans

The offerings at Yerba Buena are decidedly Pan-Latino, and this may be why the food avoids the slapdash disposition of its peers. You can’t just throw hollandaise sauce on it and call it a day. Though the menu is a bit scattered, taking detours through Mexico and Venezuela, with a stint in Peru, Yerba Buena manages to put out some respectable renditions of Latin-American classics, and even makes an effort to incorporate authentic ingredients native to the countries it pays homage to. The fish in an entrée of fish tacos is skillfully fried, the now-rampant chipotle mayo texturized by strands of crunchy jicama. The tacos aren’t mindblowing, but they are definitely tasty, although corn tortillas would have been preferable to the flour ones used, the softness of which lend a certain one-dimensionality to the dish. A side of rice and beans is not particularly noteworthy, the rice tasting suspiciously like Rice-a-Roni.

Tres arepas: Chicken tingas with fried egg, BBQ short rib and pork belly

A trio of arepas is an exercise in adorableness, each arepa the size of a small Whoopie pie. The chicken and short rib are the best, the smoky sweetness of the chicken softened by curds of egg, and the beef pliant and faintly spicy. The arepas themselves have a nice texture, the cornmeal carefully toeing the line between crisp and tender. The only dud of the three was the flavorful but excessively chewy pork belly.

Ceviche limeno: hamachi ceviche, pink grapefruit, maiz cancha

An appetizer of ceviche features fat chunks of decently fresh hamachi, simply accented with lime and wedges of grapefruit. However, I was perplexed by the niblets of toasted tumorous corn sprinkled throughout. These might make for a novel bar snack, but they contribute next to nothing to the dish, and their tooth-breaking brittleness is jarring juxtaposed against the fish and citrus.

Churros con chocolate: Mexican hot chocolate, cinnamon dusted churros

End the meal with a plate of tiny churros, which impressed me with their light-as-air crunch and well-balanced cinnamon flavor. The accompanying dipping chocolate, however, is disappointing. Its thin, Swiss Miss hot cocoa-like consistency seems to sink into the churros, rather than clinging to the expertly-fried dough in silky skeins of thick, rich chocolate.

Do you go to Yerba Buena to sample the apex of Latin American cuisine? No. But if an appropriately trendy, fairly tasty and minimally irritating brunch is on your agenda, Yerba Buena will not only welcome you with open arms, but bid you goodbye after it’s all said and done with an indulgent smile and a warm handshake.

Yerba Buena

23 Avenue A # A

New York, NY 10009

Phone: (212) 529-2919

Best dishes: Churros, ceviche, arepas

Hours: Weekdays, 5pm-12am; Weekends 11:30am-4pm, 5pm-12am

Sunny and Annie's Deli

The Korean deli is a New York staple. Where else can you find made-to-order sandwiches and salads, soups, groceries, a hot and cold buffet, sushi and udon noodle soup all in one place? It is the perfect lunch standby for the mercurial and demanding New Yorker. The key, of course, is to figure out which delis excel in whatever it is you're craving at the moment.

Upon moving to the East Village this past summer, I did a quick search on Yelp, which revealed that Sunny and Annie's was the place for sandwiches in the neighborhood. Specifically, the P.H.O. Real Sandwich - pho masquerading as a hoagie.

Sunny and Annie's does an impressive job of capturing the flavors of a bowl of pho between two pieces of bread. All of the necessary aromatics - bean sprouts, cilantro, onions and basil - are in there, along with some unconventional but welcome additions, such as avocado and tomato. In lieu of mayo and mustard are squirts of sriracha and hoisin sauce. Crammed into the heart of the sandwich is a generous amount of roast beef. Unfortunately, the beef is dry and well-done. A bloodier, moister roast beef would better mimic the rare beef that is usually sliced into the broth. I can picture a more upscale establishment taking the concept even further, serving a star anise spiked beef broth with the sandwich for an Oriental riff on a French dip sandwich.

The P.H.O. Real sandwich may not warm you up like a bowl of noodles would on a cold winter day, but if you happen to be running around Alphabet City one day with a hankering for pho, the P.H.O. Real at Sunny and Annie's is a stand-in that's worth a try.

Sunny and Annie's

94 Avenue B
New York, NY 10003

Mercadito Cantina

Admittedly, New York is not a hot spot for great Mexican food. A quest for the authentic Mexican flavors that can easily be found on the West coast will usually take you on a trek to the farther reaches of Queens or Brooklyn. Those who stay in Manhattan, determined to get their fix, will often find that indulging in a quality Mexican meal on the island will set them back quite a bit. Mercadito Cantina falls into the latter category. However, the caliber of the food at this tiny but inviting East Village restaurant makes the $20-30 price tag worth it for this deprived New Yorker.

Guacamole - traditional and camote (cinnamon spiced sweet potato, roasted jalapenos, toasted pumpkin seeds). The Camote's autumnal spin on guacamole rounded out the sharp, summery flavors of the lime and avocado nicely. The result was a dish I wouldn't mind having as comfort food on a wintry day. Mercadito's chips are great as well.

Chipotle guacamole: pineapple, pickled chipotle, tomatillo pico de gallo and mint. This is what pineapple salsa would be if it decided to be guacamole for a day.

Pescado tacos: tilapia, chile poblano, tomatillo-garlic mojo. How can something so simple be so good? As someone partial to Baja-style fried fish tacos, I was skeptical when the New York Times declared Mercadito's seared tilapia rendition one of the best in the city. After one bite, I was a convert. You won't miss the fried batter with these fish tacos. The skin of the tilapia is seared to a perfect crispness; it provides a great contrast to the creaminess of the avocado. The skin was also seasoned to just the right degree - enough to accent the tartness of the tomatillos while still allowing the clean, delicate meatiness of the fish to shine through.

Carne tacos: hoja santa marinated grass fed skirt steak, salsa verde. Another winner. The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare and the assertively beefy flavor of the meat was almost a shock. The salsa verde counterbalanced the subtle richness of the beef.

Tacos al pastor: ancho-guajillo marinated red snapper, grilled pineapple. Mercadito's aquatic riff on this traditionally pork-oriented dish won my favor as well. The fish was fine-textured and flavorful, and stood up well against the sweetness of the pineapple. Mercadito does a good job of taking lowly cuts of meat and fish and elevating them to great heights in their tacos. I recommend going with a friend and sampling several different tacos (the tacos come two or three to an order - don't bring too many friends).

Hongos y huitlacoche: wild mushrooms, fresh huitlacoche. The combination of both the mushrooms and the huitlacoche (a.k.a. Mexican truffle) resulted in an incredibly earthy dish with a deep mushroom flavor. However, this dish suffered from a bit too much salt.

Mercadito Cantina performs on almost every dimension, making it one of my go-to restaurants. The service is incredibly friendly and accommodating. I dined at the restaurant on a chilly, rainy day and both the bartender and the server offered to close the doors and the windows so my companion and I wouldn't be cold. The staff didn't even seem to mind when we changed tables twice in an effort to avoid the draft coming in. We ended up at the bar, where Giovanni, the bartender, told jokes and made sure we were taken care of for the evening. He even had the servers turn up the lights so that I could get better pictures of the food. (Thanks, Giovanni!) The decor is simple and pleasant, not overly trendy, and it is the perfect place to catch up with a friend or have dinner with a small group.

So until I can reside on the West Coast for an extended period of time like our Californian friends and partake in Mexican food snobbery everywhere I go, I will gladly be returning to Mercadito Cantina again and again for their delicious fare.

Mercadito Cantina

172 Avenue B

New York, NY 10009

(212) 388-1750

Reservations accepted - the need for reservations increases the later in the evening you want to dine.

Best dishes: Guacamole, tacos

Special deals: All-you-can-eat taco Mondays for $23; all-you-can-drink Sunday brunch.